We were lucky to catch up with Troy Baham recently and have shared our conversation below.

Troy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?

I learned how to create and perform music through a mix of trial and error, coaching from friends and collaborators, and outright imitating artists who came before me. I more or less learned to rap as part of a hip hop collective in New Orleans called DYR. To this day I still thank my best friend, Perry, for teaching me how to count bars when I was 17. During this time, I also played my first few live gigs, and we recorded all our music ourselves in the most stripped-down example of a bedroom studio. I learned songwriting by imitating artists like Little Brother and John Mayer and my penchant for multi-syllabic rhyme schemes came from my admiration of Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks. That same diy ethic was transferred over to Grid Squid Entertainment, the hip hop collective I founded when I moved to Texas. We were organizing and hosting monthly live music showcases and had even started doing weekend runs of shows throughout Texas, New Mexico, and the Gulf Coast.

Now that I look back on my formative years as an artist and performer, I believe that my development as a creative could have possibly been sped up by working with other artists and professionals that were more established and knowledgeable than I was. For the most part, I was making music with my friends, playing shows with my friends, and trusting my gut to figure out the best way forward. The quality of my early music could have easily been improved by working with a professional studio, but there are also things I know about the recording process and operating a DAW because I spent so much time doing those things for myself. There are other speed bumps in my musical career that I believe could have been avoided had I not been so determined to do things myself or my own way, but I don’t think of those as obstacles as much as I view them as the growing pains of “growing up” as a creative. I’ve definitely learned to outsource more aspects of my creative endeavors, but I think learning to do things myself alongside some of my best friends gave me memories and experiences that I will always look back on fondly.

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

My name is Troy Baham Jr. aka SymmaTree. I am a hip hop artist from New Orleans who moved to Central Texas for graduate school in 2010. I’ve remained in Texas since then and continue to argue with friends and loved ones whether or not I’m officially a Texan. Since then, I’ve founded a hip hop collective, been the frontman for a handful of live bands, and hosted multiple live music showcases. I make what I consider to be a cross between boom bap golden era hip hop and lofi (think lofi hip hop beats to rap to and you aren’t far off). I started writing raps as a freshman in high school because my dad was listening to Tupac’s greatest hits repeatedly in his car. So, one day I asked to borrow the CD and I don’t think I ever gave it back. I heard some of Eminem’s early stuff around the same time and those two artists are what pushed me to start putting pen to page. My goal then is the same as my goal now: I want someone to feel the same way about my music as I felt about the musicians I idolized when I first heard their work.

I make what I consider to be music for the working-class everyman. Most of my work is about the everyday search for purpose in a world where our contributions to capitalism seem like the only things that matter. We’re all trying to balance life, work, and whatever we feel is our personal calling. My music reflects that specific balancing act in these very uncertain times.

I’m most proud of being a part of a larger network of diy touring musicians. Of course, my own personal creative endeavors played a role in my development as an artist and person, but none of us exist in a vacuum. So, it makes sense that after all of my time seeking to create in larger groups like hip hop crews, collectives, and bands, I would once again seek to be a part of something bigger. When we think of touring musicians, many of us likely think of the large productions put on by artists such as Beyonce or Taylor Swift. But most of the bands travelling around the country are just folks driving around in cars and rented vans because they were able to swap a show in their city for a show in somebody else’s until they were able to build a fanbase. I’m a part of an even smaller subset of that community that caters to hip hop artists largely ignored by major labels and radio. I don’t believe that anything I’ve done had a large effect on the overall hip hop scene or culture, but I do believe that my contributions as an artist and facilitator has helped (in some small part) to keep the diy ethos alive in today’s touring hip hop community.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Directly support the smaller artists that you want to see succeed. You can argue that it’s easier than ever to be discovered as a musician today due to the internet. But it’s also true that the market is oversaturated. Streaming services have also created an economy where many consumers of music don’t believe they should have to pay for what we create. So, if there are artists that you enjoy (ESPECIALLY artists with a smaller audience or platform), directly support them by buying their albums, merch, or tickets to their shows if you can afford them. I know that everything is expensive now, but smaller artists are also living in this economy while providing art for public consumption. If you want a thriving artistic community, please do your part to help support the members of that community.

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

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/symmatreedyr
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/symmatreedyr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SymmaTree
• Other: https://symmatree.bandcamp.com/music