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

westside_elliot., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

I’ve always called myself a “perfectionist.” After enough unfinished and scrapped projects though, I had to admit that trying to be a “perfectionist” was the roadblock to my growth. I had a job where I struggled hard. I brought my “perfectionist” approach with me and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get it right. My manager at the time gave me an advice that stuck with me. “You just need to fail more.”

That changed my approach. I just said to myself, “f*** it.” And I carried that into my music. I learned in sales that in order to get one right, you need to get a hundred wrong. I started creating habitually, and the first song I had ready, I released it. Ever since then I have been releasing a new song every other week, consistently. I couldn’t care less if people disliked the songs, because I chose to be content with whatever I have created and released to the world. I hope to maintain this attitude as much as I can, not just with music but with everything I am pursuing.

Westside_elliot., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m “westside_elliot.” Elliot isn’t my legal name, but it’s like what Batman is to Bruce Wayne. The name was inspired by a show called “Mr. Robot.”

I wanted to be a creator since I was inspired by Michael Jackson as a 3 year old. I think I was enamored by the influence he had on stage. My motivation behind this pursuit has changed and developed a lot since then, of course. Now music is just one of many things I’m pursuing in life, which all point to the same purpose. Ironically, because I’m not taking music so seriously as “the ultimate thing” like I used to, now I can actually focus on it better and do it better. Not sure if that makes sense.

I grew up playing guitar, piano, bass, and drums, because I wanted to be a rockstar. Started producing music Junior year in high school. I rapped for the first time my Senior year in high school because I couldn’t find a rapper I liked at my school that could get on the beats I was making. In 2024, I am a rap artist, a producer, and a songwriter. I’d also love to sing but I lack the skills. For now. I’d love to create a full on R&B or rock project one day.

I think my biggest strength as a creator lies in my ability to direct a team and help bring out the best vision for a person’s artistry. I’ve started and led 3 bands and collectives. I’m good at spotting talent and knowing exactly how to utilize people’s talents to bring about a collective creation. Like a director of a movie. You can expect to see many different sides of me as I continue on as a creator. As for more details about me, I put them into my songs. If I had a therapist the first thing I would do is play my songs for him/her. It would save a lot of time in the session.

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

It’s the fact that I can speak fully without the barriers of language and without interruption. There are certain things or feelings I struggle to express in words. I’m not at the point where I can freely express anything and everything through music yet, but I’m definitely closer to it than I am with the languages I speak. It’s therapy for me.

I’m also intrigued by the science of creating. All the music I grew up loving and wondering “How are they doing that?”, I get to dissect it and recreate it while making it my own. Whether it be songwriting, the recording process, mixing or mastering, I’m into figuring out how my favorite artists did what they did. I used to love legos as a kid, and this is like lego for me.

Another aspect of it is that I get to experience God. The ultimate Creator. I celebrate and worship the Gifter, not the gift. When I create, I get a minuscule glimpse of what it was like for God to create everything, and come to understand the amount of love and joy that was put into all His creations. In other words, when I create, I’m reminded of God’s love. And that really is the most important thing after all beyond the music, the creating, my day jobs, or whatever else I’m pursuing in general.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Oh man, a lot. Let’s start with Rick Rubin’s Instagram. That’s mainly for the creative side of things. There’s also this Instagram page called “visualizevalue”. They post some great thought provoking quotes and graphics. I’m on it almost everyday.

I’m also a sales professional besides being an artist, so I watch and read a lot of business related contents. But that’s also because you can’t expect to be successful as a creative without being a businessman or a businesswoman. Creating is the first step. Making money is the second. How can I make a living as a creative if I don’t know how to sell the products I created? Creating does not equal making a living as a creative. This is an important lesson I learned the past 2 years.

“The School of Hard Knocks” is one of the businesses I follow on social media to get some valuable advice. Others are books. One book that I think about all the time is called “Never Split the Difference.” It’s not exclusively a business book, and I’d recommend it to anyone that’s reading this. I’ll let the book speak for itself. Lastly, the most important book in my life is the Bible. I read it almost everyday. If any book really changes my life in a way that truly matters, it’s the Bible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jasonleftdachat.beatstars.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonleftdachat/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonleeisworking
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@westside_elliot./videos
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/westsideelliot
• Other: https://linktr.ee/westside_elliot

Image Credits

Dong Kim, Dalure