We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Young a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Music was always in my life. I learned how to perfect my own craft from constantly being surrounded by different artists. Seeing their dedication to their creative projects helped me start to develop my own routine. I started to realize the environments/feelings I needed to be in touch with to make music. Time was overall the best teacher – the more I made music, the more I understood myself & the things I wanted to talk about as well. I can’t say that I would have wanted to be more advanced sooner because I believe there’s a process to everything. The most essential skills to me are being ambitious & never complacent. You have to remember that you’re doing this for yourself… & being ambitious will replace that lack of motivation you feel from outside sources at times. Knowing that you can always improve will help you push yourself further even when you think you’ve made it far enough. You can always be better, so aim for it. The only obstacle I felt was holding me back was getting used to change. Things are forever changing & I had to learn how to stand on a solid foundation regardless of where I was in life. I had to remind myself that I had to adapt to the new things life would bring as I got older & just keep going. I told myself no matter what, just keep going.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I didn’t wait to get in the music industry, I had to make it happen. I believe that if you want something in life you just have to go for it. You can’t wait for someone to tell you who you are or how valuable what you have to offer is. I had to turn people into believers by standing tall in my field, no matter who was supporting. I make music for people to relate to & understand more about myself. I let them into the way I think & sometimes that’s all someone else needs – to not feel like they’re the only one. I’m super proud of all my accomplishments so far, big or small. I’m proud of myself for making connections people would say only a manager can get you. I want people to look at my journey and say “it’s possible.”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I used to believe that every connection was going to push me further in my career & that every opportunity I’m given, I should automatically take. I learned that what comes with knowing your value is being able to differentiate what’s worth your time or energy & what isn’t. Not everyone has your best interest in mind & you can’t constantly play small in hopes to get big one day. Sometimes it’s ok to say “I think I can do better, I think I deserve more”. The more you act like you know your worth, the more other people will have to follow suit.

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

The most rewarding part of being an artist is probably the reassurance people give you. Sometimes you do amazing things & you think nobody got to see it. & then randomly someone will come up & sing your lyrics or tell you how much they love what you’ve been doing. Thats a beautiful feeling, it’s indescribable. Even though the music I write isn’t for that purpose, it make me feel good knowing people actually hear me. They actually listen & they also see what I see in myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/taybangz/1417423756
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taybangz/
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lcmzMarbtBMONFkIueQ0kdGM948Qn5i7A
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/cdjGiirFd67juCyc6