We were lucky to catch up with Slim Da Wit recently and have shared our conversation below.

Slim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I knew I wanted to be a full time artist while in college. Unfortunately the numbers across social media didn’t support the reality I was trying to usher in. In the interim, I became an English teacher at my old boarding high school in Waltham, MA (4 hours away from my hometown of Newark, NJ). While there I ignited a passion for inspiring the youth, helping them grow and expand their linguistic capacities through the means of music and songwriting. Around my fourth year, after becoming the 10th Grade Class Dean, I experienced what stepping fully into a teaching job would look like. Not only did it deplete me of my energy, but it sucked up every bit of my time. After this year, I left in hopes of pursuing a music career full time. In this past year (since leaving) I haven’t been financially stable, my eating and workout regimens have altered considerably (not in my favor), and I’ve been at the heart of resolving family issues. However, along with that, I get to see my nephews and little cousins grow in real time. My closest friends and family aren’t just a phone call away, but a walk/drive/bus or train ride away. I get to go to my church right around the corner from my house. I’m surrounded by my tribe in what has been a difficult year, while I felt pretty isolated with a salary and benefits in Massachusetts. While I’m not yet successful by society’s financial standards, my soul and spirit are full and I get to creatively express myself. This all ultimately has led to me experiencing more joy. I think about going back to teaching full time every single day. It’d be less financial pressure on the people around me who have been helping me pay all my bills. However, I know the time that job demands. I know I’m happier on this side of things.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began songwriting at 12, writing a song about my childhood crush moving out of state. I began rapping at 17, and fully explored that in college. It didn’t begin really coming together until I made a TikTok, this forced me to look at what “actual artists” are doing and sort of replicate that. Amassing 100K+ followers on the platform was something I was especially proud of, being that I had been struggling on Instagram for the previous two years. I also take great pride in my first viral video, a rap I crafted as a conversation with my 12 year old self. I was picked on then, made fun of for a lot of my gifts, and quite insecure because of it. The thesis of the video is in the final line, “every reason why they tease you is what God is gonna use”. My music is always message based, toward spreading love and bettering yourself for the sake of bettering the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The 12 year old self video that amassed 1M+ views was originally to a YouTube instrumental. Each time I uploaded it, TikTok muted the sound because of copyright issues. I had to go back to the drawing board and was pretty upset, considering the emotional labor I put into it. I grabbed the original singing video that started the trend, chopped up the vocals, and created the instrumental from scratch. It took me a few hours, but I refused to let copyright stop me. This isn’t my most resilient story, but it’s what came to mind first—and for the result to be my first million view video? Only confirmation.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Spreading a better message through music. I come from Newark, NJ, one of the ghetto’s across the country. One of the caveats of living here is that you lose a lot of friends and family to gang violence and drugs. When I turn on radio stations and hear music that’s hot right now it’s all violence and drugs. Children hear and want to emulate this, then the cycle never stops. I’m here to make being positive cool again. To bring love back.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slimdawit
• Twitter: https://x.com/slimdawit
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/slimdawit
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/P1pFMCdbR61nFfuH8

Image Credits

Xherd Aliko
Dillon Carmichael