We were lucky to catch up with Von Alexander recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Von, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew I wanted to pursue this path as an artist at a young age, 6th grade to be exact. It began with me leaning about poetry in the 3rd grade. I found that poetry was an outlet that came easy to me, my very first poem had won a first place prize against the other classrooms in my elementary school which lead to me presenting it as well. I always had a love for hip hop music, it was something I grew up and was raised on. The different techniques artists used to convey their messages, the music videos and it also looked like fun to me as kid. I would find myself always memorizing lyrics, listening to the radio for countless hours awaiting my favorite songs to play throughout the day after school.

After I reached middle school I was asked to be apart of a poetry club on the weekends. I think that’s where I developed my talent the most, learning how I desired to express myself was very liberating at that age with me being a kid that didn’t express much. As time went on I found myself having fun with friends in the classroom banging on the desks and coming up with rhymes to say. 7th grade is where it really kicked in for me, the year was 2007, Limewire existed and I was downloading and discovering so much music trying to figure out what I enjoyed most, that’s when I landed on Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Food & Liquor’. It was story telling in a way I had never heard before, I found songs that just really connected with me and that’s when I realized “this is exactly what I want to do”. That album unlocked an entirely different world for me and I still listen to it often.

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?

I didn’t start to really practice and pursue the actual craft until I reached highschool. I knew music was something I desired to do and create so I spent a lot of my time studying artists I enjoyed the most. Learning about production, how to create an album, the ins and outs of recording all happened at that time. I found myself wanting to know more about other artists that may have lived in my city and trying to create relationships with them in search of mentorship. Luckily I was able to discover that mentorship in a rap duo known as The Cranberry Show, two guys who liked the same music as me, that also enjoyed skateboarding and fashion everything my 16 year old mind had been enthused by. With their influence I found what kind of artist I desired to become.

Eventually I found a recording studio that I would go to after school whenever I could gather the funds for it. $50 for an hour of recording, I felt it would be easy to do. I started posting my demos on Facebook and learning how to network with others properly which led to me meeting producers from the city and other places across the country as well, I was just happy others saw potential. Everything just came together.

I would say I want people who are new to me to expect different raw emotions when listening to my art, that’s what started it all for me and it’s something that I stick to. I want others to be able to connect with my messaging and relate to my story even if doesn’t pertain to them personally. You can expect a wide array of variety within my catalog, there’s something here for everyone.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is honestly having the ability to share what I do to the world. It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself on public display for strangers to critique and engage with what you create. Being able to stand in front of a crowd, connect with them and tell my story is a feeling like no other.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

It may look easy to the untrained eye and ear but a lot goes into creating. It takes a lot of time to be able to not only write something that can grab someone’s attention, but to also present everything in a visual aspect as well is a process in itself. A lot goes on behind the scenes of what you hear and see, from the recording to the business and artists can be very sensitive about what they put their time into. It takes a great amount of confidence and patience to present your art to others wanting great feedback but we understand that everything we create doesn’t have to appeal to everyone though we’d love that, it’s just not the reality of creativity as art is subjective.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/vonalxndr
• Twitter: https://x.com/vonalxndr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@vonalxndr
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/aC5HtUtQLxzLCw647

Image Credits

Rodney Johnson jr.
ShotbyBasi