We were lucky to catch up with Wil Fuller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Wil, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Earning a full time living doing what I love making music was a process. At times it felt impossible to be honest. After college I got a job at a insurance company calling clients about their policies. It was a good job with good pay and benefits but I definitely was being pulled in a different direction career wise so I wasn’t happy. I decided to put a plan together that would eventually get me to making music full time. That involved A LOT of sacrifice. I was newly married and my wife was pregnant with our first kid. On top of that we decided to leave Illinois and move to her home town of Los Angeles. The sacrifice was realized time away from them because I would work my regular job for 8 hours a day then right to the music which took me into to 1, 2 sometimes 3am. The plan was to do this until music money caught up to regular job money then quit the regular job. I was lucky that my wife believed in me and supported my goals because she carried the sacrifice with me. After about 10 years it worked ! Yes it took a long time! But I never gave up even though there where times that I wanted to.

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.

I was born in Evanston Illinois for people who may not know where that is, it’s the first suburb north of Chicago. I grew up on the south side of Chicago for the first half of my young life until my mom got a job at Northwestern University that moved us to Evanston. My mom always made sure that I was involved with music as a kid which is when I fell in love with it. I played drums in my grandad’s church when I was young and was also a part of the Chicago Children Chior.

From there I went on to become a music producer and DJ for a rap group with a cousin and friend in High School then on to getting signed to an independent label with 2 of my brothers. I’ve worked with many artists along the way including The Game, Akon, Lil Flip, and many more.

When I finally started making music as my full time career I transitioned into the TV/Film world which I fell in love with because I mainly make music for Kids shows. When I moved to LA I met to of my best friends to date Ace and Ryan young. We started our own label together and made a ton of connections in the industry. Ace went on to become a finalist on Season 5 of American Idol which in turn helped us to meet even more people who was doing what I wanted to do. So a lot of doors started to open. I was introduced to one of my best friends today named Alex Geringas who became a mentor and brother. Our first time writing together for a new show on Netflix called “ All Hail King Julien” led us to our first Emmy Nomination for the Theme song “Who’s Da King” and that sky rocketed my career in making music for tv/film. Since then I’ve written a ton of theme songs for shows and movies one of my favorite being “Chasing Legacy” from the Fast n Furious franchise for the show called “Fast n Furious Spy Racers” I’ve also written songs for Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Disney , Universal, Paramount and different tv commercials and Animated movies like The Nut Job 2 and Lego Ninjago.

What sets me a part in this industry is that I’m what you would call a triple threat. I produce, Write and Sing/Rap. So being an artist actually ended up playing in my favor big time. I still release music as an artist today. I’ go by “Tha Vill” as an artist and have hundreds of song released with an upcoming release scheduled for October 12th 2023.

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

For me the most rewarding part of being an artist is making music for kids. It may sound corny but Kids are the future and I like to feel that I help them with music as they grow into their roles they will play in society one day. I know when I was a kid music on Nickelodeon, Disney and other shows definitely inspired me even if I realized it then or not. I wrote a song with my great friend Alex Geringas for Nickelodeon called” Like Nobody Else” and it was a song encouraging kids to be themselves and that there was nobody else like them and to embrace that and take pride in that and show themselves to the world with no shame or guilt because we are all different and special.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Yes, I believe that non creative people think totally different than creative people. I think we are much more optimistic as non creative people are more it is or it isn’t type of thinkers and both are ok. I think having a little of both ways of thinking is beneficial. As an artist I only think the biggest and best things will come as a result of my art. That means I have no room for doubt in my creative process which os a learned skill set. I hear mostly no in my industry which makes each yes that much more inspiring and motivating to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Thavill.io
• Instagram: I_am_tha_vill
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThaVillMusic?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wil-tha-vill-fuller-a6597634
• Twitter: @thavill