We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Roleph Dubreus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Roleph, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career by the time I was a freshman in high school. I wanted to make my own tv shows so I went to college to major in film. While I was in college is where I fell in love with songwriting and developed a skill for it. Fast forward to 2021 where I’m freestyle rapping with my college friend for 6-8 months straight, we decided to start performing in public and take are skills there. After being fired from 4 jobs back to back, I took it as a sign to fully commit to my creative endeavors. Start of 2022, I was unemployed for 8 months and me and my homie lived like rockstars in our city. That’s truly when my creative journey began
Roleph, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Roleph Dubreus. I’m Film Director/Hip-Hop Artist. I’d say my music is more heavily central while my film is secondary. My artist name is Zodic. I got into the industry simply by having a dream to push hip-hop to a whole other height it hasn’t seen before. Hip-hop music has been very tame as of late since 2017 in my opinion and I wanted to do something about that. So I spent years songwriting, practicing my projection of my vocals, mixing my sound for years until it was ready to put out. After that, consistent networking & multiple performances in venues all around the country. Washington state, Vancouver Canada, Salt Lake City, Austin Texas, New York City etc. You’d be surprised how the music industry is a lot closer than you think if you look closely.
What I provide is music projects to be consumed, I’m an editor, a film director, screenwriter, songwriter, event coordinator. Basically my secondary roles are to help amplify my main roles as an artist and a film director.
I solve a demand for better quality music/film content that’s more fun, exciting, and at times focuses in on topics that may be considered taboo or socially ignored. For example, a girl cheating on her man and if she got exposed to the public about it.
I believe what sets me apart is that I don’t play it safe.
I’m not afraid to step out and experiment even if there’s a chance of failure. I always bank on myself, that’s simply how I’ve always been since I was young, so this feels normal to me. Not only do I not play it safe, my projects hit hard so you can feel the message I’m trying to deliver. I make sure my intention is felt and after the first impression, people will be looking for me after.
Typically, you only get once chance to impress someone, so you should take that chance very seriously.
I’m most proud of myself by consistently improving/evolving myself thus evolving my work. I know I’m not perfect, and I know I can always be so much better than what I am now. So I always strive to be the best I possibly can be for myself, friends, business team and loved ones.
Once you hear my projects, you’ll feel my stamp all over it and if not, I’ll do it over so it is felt next time. My music pushes the agenda while still being mainstream and still feeling familiar. A good middle ground. Because of that, you’ll feel safe to work with what I offer to the table as we are slowly showing something different while it’s still similar. I perform and create something like it’s my last, because I never know if it’ll be the end of me or the fact that my last piece of work will define me.
I know without a doubt after everything I’ve been through to get to where I am now that I will be the most successful hip-hop artist/Filmmaker of my generation. Because of the hard work, passion, integrity, and good faith moral compass I put on every note of my work.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to impact culture in a positive way that benefits the world for the better through music and film. Our entertainment mediums truly are powerful instruments to persuade the world to do things they wouldn’t normally do.
I’m not doing this for myself alone, I’m doing this for all the people who’ve ever met me and came in contact with my projects and representing them. All the people I’ve ever touched, I carry them with me wherever I go.
I will strategize, fall and get back up again to earn my place as one of the most culturally impactful and creatively gifted people on earth and in all of history.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This is actually currently ongoing as of now. I didn’t have a lot of money flowing in from April & May of 2024. Although I got 2 part time jobs & just hired for a new full time job, those part time jobs are a patchy schedule at best and my new job having me start in mid-June due to low number of trainers.
So during those two months, I barely had any money. I had to borrow money from my friends/family to take the bus to work & take multiple shifts. Even then, it was still barely enough to make rent. Then I started slipping behind rent & with all my other credit card payments, car expenses etc., I wasn’t making enough to survive. I started starving. Staying in my house for weeks imagining the eviction notice on my door. All while having to plan a hip-hop concert within 3 months & even more money leaving my pocket. My 5 year old son visiting me for the summer from June to August. All these things was weighing on me & it was hard to bear it all alone. But out of the chaos, I had to create a plan to not only get myself out of this financial hole, fund/earn money from my concert so I can gain traction/trust with my fanbase, be debt free by the end of the year, and be a loving father that can take care of his son. Failure was NOT an option. I MUST succeed.
Before June, where everything will truly start. Promotion for the show, my new job, my son visiting me etc., I was working at one of my other jobs on elevator all day(7-8 hours). The elevator broke down between the 2nd/3rd floor. I was the only one in the elevator, my coworkers tried to get me out, they couldn’t. I could hear them radioing security that they couldn’t get me out. I was at my breaking point. I could feel the devil on my shoulder, whispering in my ear to give in and quit. I nearly lost my mind in that elevator. Instead of breaking down, I stared the devil down and told him to leave me alone. You’re not going to scare me. If you’re going to get in my way, you’ll have to kill me. Once I said that, I sat on the ground and started meditating, having faith that I was going to get out. After an hour, the firefighters got me out. I went home and clocked into that same job the next day like nothing happened.
From then on, I started my new job, making more money than I have ever seen. I was able to put my son in summer school, helping him count and read so he can be more than ready for kindergarten when he went back to his mother. Promote my show to get my friends to come, pay all the people associated with the show so they can do their job to help promote. It is now August 24th and my show is tomorrow with a large amount of people expected to come after 3 months worth of promotion. Although I’m 2 and half months behind in my rent and have already been hit with an eviction notice to pay within 30 days, I’m confident I can pay the remainder of all my rent in september(Have to pay $4,000 within 3 weeks) and completely repair my car and become debt free by the end of the year to start pushing new music to take my career to new heights, just as I planned in May.
If I make it through these next 3 weeks, then I’ll have single handed completed the biggest comeback of all time within this generation.
This year has most certainly been the most difficult of my life, but also the most rewarding as well. I’ve learned so much about myself and the world. Everything is starting to fall into place slowly but surely. There is nothing in this world that can stop me except for myself. I had to make sacrifices, lose sleep, give up food, give up pleasure, comfort. I had to stay focused, stay patient, adapt as things were constantly changing, take things one day at a time and hit each day as hard as I can and remain consistent through it all. And I have to say, it was all worth it. All to live my dream and have it affect people for the better. It’s safe to say since May, the devil has left my shoulder. I believe things will start looking up for me from here on out. Wish me luck!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zodictopic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zodic_trendz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roleph.dubreus/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roleph-dubreus-b70a38231/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZodicTrendZ
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zodictrendz
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ODUWGqo3FOiPAJywKPKI0
email – rolephd@gmail.com if anyone is looking to work with me that contacts you guys directly
Image Credits
1st image edited by Gold Kid
2nd Image & edited by Spencer Compau
3rd Image shot & edited by Gurdjant Sidhu
4th Image shot & edited by Richard T
5th Image shot & edited by Roxanna Ortiz
6th Image shot & edited by Bryan Jobes
7th image shot by Ty