We were lucky to catch up with Teshlyn Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Teshlyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Music has been a part of my life since a very young age from singing in the church choir to receiving my first instrument (guitar) from my great grandfather. Hearing all different types of genres from my dad and watching my grandfather play various instruments developed my interest in a way where I wanted to be involved some way into music. In middle school I began to participate in the band playing the trumpet that led me to play in high school along with playing drums in the marching band. High school is where I became more invested into writing and recording my own music. At the time, my cousin Dre had already been recording his own music at home since early teenage years. My admiration grew larger when I found out that artist don’t need a large studio to record their own music and when I was a witness to my cousin making his own. Dre and I have had a strong relationship since birth up until now and he’s always done a great job at educating me and others on how to make things happen. At 14, I invested into my first recording microphone…it was a headset mic, not the best quality but it got the job done. Dre told me about a recording software called “Audacity” and that’s where I began my recording journey. Years later, my high school was granted MacBooks for all students which was a pivotal moment for many of us, especially me because it was an upgrade from the equipment that I had. In the 10th grade, many of us collaborated together I making music, some of us became groups using “GarageBand” as software where I learned to engineer and make beats. Being able to see and hear other talented individuals always inspired me to practice so I can be one of the best. Creating music is something that I did consistently with my peers so I knew that this was something that I wanted to do long term. What I didn’t know was how much of a journey it would be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Developing my music career, I have learned a lot from the people around me. I have been blessed to meet so many talented producers, artist, business owners, and influencers that inspire and motivate me to create. My mental health awareness brand “Stay Yellow” was the beginning of my true identity in music and the start of my personal growth. Having a brand gave me the opportunity to curate my career in a more professional way where it pushed me to start photography, videography, and graphic design. These are the skills that I felt were important for any businesses success and were key components to expanding further. Stay Yellow is a message to “Be At Your Brightest” where I can share it in my music, merchandise, even my own events. Promoting positivity and self awareness is how I love to connect with my community and I believe it is extremely vital to highlight the importance.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is having been developed from inspiration in return to have inspired others. My most favorite part of being an artist is performing on stage. Being able to spread a message through song that transmutes through vibrations to the human body which creates a euphoric feeling for myself and the crowd is magic. On stage is where I give 100% of my energy so that the viewers are really able to connect to the passion that I feel in my heart for the art. After each performance, I feel like I’ve ran a long race which lets me know that I gave it my all and the feedback is always a reward.

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

There was a time in my life where I was taking my music career a little too serious, implementing more business tactics, being overly critical of what I was creating and how I was creating it. Taking a step back after realizing that I no longer felt the enjoyment it and it felt more like work was when I had to make a change if I wanted to love music forever. Removing the stress of getting it perfect every time and stepping more into being myself even if I wasn’t always my best self allowed me to create in a more stress free state. Removing the pressure and just allowing the creativity to flow was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktree.com/teshiam
• Instagram: @teshiam
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/teshmusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@teshiam?si=0S-v-hp_iED_Qt-j

Image Credits

Amber Hicks, Aaron Oates, Neptunus Medius