Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Reuben Stratum. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Reuben , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I think one of the most meaningful projects I worked on was my project Florida Nights. This one was one of the more meaningful projects because I think it really put me in a serious position in the perception of my local peers. Friends from school always heard my music and appreciated it, but the right set of locals heard and hailed the project which opened up doors for me to work with other more influential artists in the area. It helped that I produced every song on the album besides one,(LNP produced by Jordan Amadeus) which not only gave me the confidence to produce future projects but also to back up any claims of my work ethic.

Reuben , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Reuben Stratum; an artist, producer, songwriter, engineer, and idealist. I’m expecting the title to grow more as the years proceed but for now, I’m most comfortable with being an independent recording artist. I’ve always been into music and expressing myself since I was young, like most artists. My father was one of the more handy musicians at the church I went to when I was a child (and most churches we went to thereafter) and also delivered a sermon from time to time. in essence, I was a preacher’s kid. Like most preacher’s kids, I had an inclination for what the world outside of the church had to offer. Kanye West was a huge influence on me growing up because I feel like he and I had quite a lot in common. as the years progressed and by the time I was in high school, I had learned how to make beats and record myself on audacity, then slowly graduated to Mixcraft. I wanted to be like Kanye so bad.
eventually, as the years went by and life got a hold of me the way life does to people, I found my sound and my own stories of despair heartbreak, and triumph and how to translate them to people who have always shown me support. I stuck close to the guidance and critiques of those people and found myself with more admirers than I originally thought I had.
The main thing I want people to know about me is that I exist and I want to provide good music to those who are willing to hear it.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, there is. My dad made me a computer from scratch and gifted it to me one Christmas, this was before I had a laptop and was just playing around on the family computer. He put this computer inside of a cardboard box…and I was making some of my earlier projects using that carboard-box computer and a microphone I bought from saving lunch money I got every day. (it was $3) using those tools, I made 5 projects or albums. those 5 projects landed me in a very respected place amongst my peers in the music realm and even landed me here on Voyage. I still use the same microphone, and only recently got a laptop. My goal is to see how far I can take this without cutting corners or relying on gimmicks. It’s to be in a room with someone like drake or Kendrick or whoever, from the strength of my drive and vision. to be able to look back and be truly proud of the progress I have made. I am already so proud.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s when people randomly message me and tell me how a song impacted them no matter how long ago I recorded it, that shit always blows my mind. Most of the time I am living a pretty normal life, paying rent going to work doing the whole everyday civilian thing. Sometimes I don’t even feel like an artist just a guy trying to make it through the month. Then every so now and again, someone randomly tags me in an IG story with them listening to one of my songs. It not only is very rewarding it also inspires me to keep on going and keep going harder.

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/reubenstratum
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/reuben_stratum
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/reubenstratum
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81epktbIP_6fm2Krw7ZN1A

Image Credits
Photos by Mauro Rodriguez