We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trust. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trust below.
Trust, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Well, of course, I put out my last album “Chew It” earlier this year, but since then, I’ve continued elevating and improving my tracks in preparation for my next project. This next album is really going to be a league above my past albums and mixtapes, and I’m so excited for all of my fans (both current and future) to hear what I’ve been working so hard on! So far, I’ve put out a couple singles from the project, and with that, some more music videos, mic drop performance, and other content relating to the singles, and people have been going crazy for it. In total, I have put out 4 of the tracks as singles: “Fallin 4U (feat. Ransteez),” “If I Were Bad (feat. Schmoo the Jew),” “We Outside,” and “Throw It.” Although they’re all very different than each other, each track really showcases my diversity, lyricism, and versatility; all genres can find a bit of themselves in my music and there’s something really attractive with that. This next album is really a testament to my time here in Atlanta as well, while also still sticking to my St. Louis roots, and I can’t wait for y’all to check it out. You’re really going to learn a lot about me and my talents through this upcoming project.
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.
Absolutely! So I’m Trust, an up and coming, female rapper based in the Atlanta area, but I’m originally from Southern Illinois, just right outside of St. Louis, MO. I’ve been rapping for about 3-4 years now, but within the last few years, my music career has really taken off and I’m making a name for myself in the music and rap industry. I first started rapping around the time I graduated college in Denver, CO, and I began with just me, a cheap USB microphone, and my HP laptop. However, after about a year, I started venturing out to different music studios within the Denver area, and that’s when I really started taking my music to the next level. I also started putting out music videos, video interviews, photo shoots, and performing at local venues, which has only helped me and gained me more and more exposure. Then, in March of 2023, I moved from Denver to Atlanta, which is where I’m at now, and it’s been crazy the opportunities I’ve had and the mark I’ve been able to make here and I will continue to build upon! I’ve worked with several recording studios, recording engineers, artists, producers, videographers, and business consultants since I’ve been here and all of these connections and collaborations have really helped me continue to grow, not only as an artist but as a musical entrepreneur myself. Within this past year, I’ve worked with so many artists, I’ve opened for Sukihana and Mooski, I’ve recorded at so many studios where the GREATS have and are recording their music, and I’ve made unbelievable connections with some of the greatest minds behind the biggest artists in the United States. 2024 is really going to be a life-changing year for me, I can feel it, and I’m really going to take off, so y’all better hop on board before I really make it big!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
For sure, that’s a great question. First, really do your research on distributing companies and get yourself a membership. Distrokid, United Masters, etc. all of these distributors are essential to starting off as an artist and getting your music out there to streaming platforms. Also, make sure you are registering your music on ASCAP so you’re making your royalties, and register your music with the copyright office so that nobody can steal what’s rightfully yours! This also goes for beats…don’t steal beats! Purchase your beat leases, keep your licenses handy on a dropbox or a Google Drive, and reach out to the producers who you frequent and let them know that you’re using their beat and you’re excited! Send them the finished product, and tag them in all of your social media posts relating to the track…they’ll promote the track too on their page and it’s always great to build dependable, reliable relationships with great producers. Honestly, it’s great to build relationships with all types of people in the industry: videographers, photographers, podcasters, djs, producers, engineers, studios, artists, art directors, radio broadcasters, venue managers, etc. in order to really further your career and build your team. You never know what opportunities could open what doors for you, so get your name and your face out there, and network!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Unfortunately, especially in this day and age, you can’t just believe what people say and give people the benefit of the doubt all of the time. I’ve had several hardships with videographers, for all different reasons and in all different regions of the country, and I could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I had just backed my deposit’s up with invoices and I had required contracts at the time of booking. The videographer who shot my first music video booked a second music video shoot with me, confirmed with me the morning of the shoot, and then when I got to the venue, he ghosted me and never showed. I had another videographer in St. Louis by the name of Rakeem Visions that booked a music video shoot with me, I paid a deposit, and when I arrived at the venue I had already paid to reserve for the shoot, the videographer started to ghost me too. After a while, the videographer finally let me know that he had “fallen asleep” and his “alarm didn’t go off” and then he cancelled the shoot…while I was still at the venue I rented. When I asked for my deposit back, he refused…even though he was the one that overslept and didn’t make the shoot. To this day, I never got that deposit back, and that guy still pretends as if he doesn’t owe me anything. I even had a videographer in St. Louis who shot one of my recent videos and he took a call from his baby mamma in the middle of the video shoot, argued with her for 45 minutes, and I had to plead with him to finally get off of his phone and continue shooting the video! I could go on and on, as I’ve had bad videographers in all of the places I’ve resided in (Denver, St. Louis, Atlanta) and so now, I make sure I get a contract upon booking the video shoot with exactly what I’m paying for, when and where, all of the details you could imagine…so that if necessary, I can take a videographer to small claims court. Don’t let these scammers, of all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, etc., get you out of your bag and take advantage of you! Do your research and try and protect yourself as best as you can before you learn the hard way like I have.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trust_therapper/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamtrustnoone
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@trusttherapper?si=vOgrn33ou0VyVjfg
- Other: Spotify Artist Profile: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tpP2q1PorUlg2pV2jLSvL?si=ti1DzWFkSqGi-i9wV-ONyg
- Apple Music Profile: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/trust-noone/1556580589
Image Credits
Photo credit: @dxnnydolphin @industriesmostwanted @mrshamoozoo