We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Taylor Hunt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Taylor below.

Taylor, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I first knew I wanted to peruse an artistic career ever since I was a kid. My dad first taught me to draw when I was about 6 years old and from there I began to develop my artistic skills from there. Once I got to middle school and high school I made a small hustle selling my artwork to my classmates and I even started drawing pen tattoos on my classmates arms. Although I got in trouble a few times because of it I still kept it going and as time went on I honed my craft and started drawing tattoo designs for my classmates and also drawing for projects for them as well such as drawing for science projects. Throughout that time I started doing music and originally started writing poetry then it developed into me rapping. Inspired by names like Tech N9ne, Eminem, KRS One, Queen Latifah, Jay Z & OutKast, I began to hone my craft in writing raps and my first attempt in releasing music was the effort of releasing an EP called “Dark Nights, Lonely Days”, but because I didn’t know how to really sell my music at that time so I didn’t sell any copies but it was a good lesson learned. As time progressed, I generally started gaining a real fascination for music and after graduating from high school I began to steer away from rapping and began to search fir my place in music and I found that it was producing music and I have been producing music ever since.

Taylor, 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?

My name is Taylor Hunt a.k.a. Rebel Beatz and I was born in New Orleans, LA and I currently reside in San Antonio, TX and I am a producer, musician and artist. My artistic passion began at the age of 6 when my dad first taught me how to draw and for years afterwards I have honed my craft and perfected my skills looking up to names such as Mister Cartoon, Chuey Quintinar, and the late Boogstar. Once I got to high school my artistic skills went from drawing and painting to music and in my freshman year in high school I started writing poetry and that later turned in to rapping. Drawing inspiration from names such as KRS One, Rakim, Tech N9ne, Eminem and many more, I began to begin to perfect my craft and I started rapping with a group of friends but we never really put out any records at that time. We would just hang out with each other before class and have small cyphers between us and just spit our raps whether freestyles or written. Although I have written many songs back then, primarily to instrumentals that I got off of YouTube, I never recorded any of them and after high school I stopped writing raps because I just felt like the passion to write wasn’t there anymore because I would write almost every day and I just felt burned out. Once I got to my duty station in Germany my passion for music was reignited once I met my dear friend whom I call my brother Syelent Blaxk and he taught me how to produce music. I started off chopping up old samples from names such as Enya, Michael Jackson, Force MDs and Chicago and taking inspiration from the YouTube series “Rhythm Roulette” and as time went on I learned and studied from greats like 9th Wonder, Kanye West, David Banner & the late great J Dilla.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects about me being a producer and an artist is the fact not only God blessed me with this ability and passion but also the fact that I get whatever musical idea that is in my head no matter the genre, sound, cadence, whatever the case may be and be able to make it into reality, even if it takes me some time to really finish it and I have to leave it as a rough draft for some time. The other rewarding aspect is that I can share my craft with the masses and allow many others to enjoy what I bring to the table and it is good to see that many people like the music I put out.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As far as resilience goes I have had to endure a lot from self doubt, not reaching a wide audience to faulty record deal offers. It was an extremely hard road and it only got harder as time went on but as long as I kept my faith in God and continued to work hard, I knew that I would make progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/REBELBEATZ
• Instagram: @iamrebelbeatz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYAMusicGroup?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NYAMusicGroup

Image Credits
Tiara Hunt