Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Willie Contraband. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Willie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Well, it’s been a journey for sure. I moved to North Carolina in July of 2014 from New Jersey in hopes to start fresh and change my life from the negative environments I experienced in my previous timelines.

2014 was a really tough year. Everything in my life was falling apart from the people who I thought loved me to financial situations and even regarding my own personal identity in terms of who I believed myself to be was changing. Looking back it was a time of complete rebirth and what I thought my life was had to die in order for the new to come.

Laying dormant within was a passion for music I never knew existed. Growing up I was quiet and didn’t express myself much externally so low key I would write poetry to release and vent but growing up in New York and New Jersey and being from the streets there was no way my ego at the time allowed me to share that with others in fear of being judged and ridiculed.

In 2015 while working at Starbucks and climbing that corporate ladder I found myself naturally starting to write poems that were turning into songs on pieces of blank receipt paper. After a couple months I found myself with a ton of receipt papers on my desk at home and at that moment a desire took over me for some reason that I needed to put all this material together and record some music.

Mind you I didn’t grow up making music and there was nothing in my environment that was pushing me in this direction. It was something within and I was listening to it. At the moment I just moved to the state and had no connections or resources at all. I had no idea how I was going to make this happen but I was determined and applied my mental energy.

Little by little I was preparing the foundation of this new found desire and fire that was burning within. The name Willie Contraband came to mind one day randomly as a joke, I threw it to the side and didn’t take it serious and tried to come up with other names but nothing was ringing. A few weeks later I came back to the name in my notebook with a different perspective and when I said it out loud it just rolled off the tongue so smoothly that I knew that was it!

Now I had my face for the world and focused on practicing songs day in day out. I put myself in the mindset that I was getting myself ready to record these songs in a professional studio and had to be on point when stepping into the booth. Believe it or not about a month or so later a customer at Starbucks for some reason decided to share with me that he was a recording artist and was on his way to the studio. At this very moment I knew it was God talking through this person and jumped on the opportunity to ask all the information I could. It was history from there.

That year was when I finally came out with my first song then my first project and it took everyone by surprise. I remember feeling different but at the same time feeling like I was doing what I was suppose to be doing. I never felt more aligned with myself and my life.

Later on that year right before 2016 was starting I received a phone call asking if I was interested in getting booked for a show in Durham at The Pinhook. I immediately said yes and just remember getting off the phone feeling so excited and grateful.

That first show shifted the trajectory of me being an artist as well as the path my life was being taken in. A couple weeks later received an email for a booking in Miami, Florida and I couldn’t believe it! My second show ever in Miami?! Wow, God was really showing me to have complete faith on this journey.

2016 came and things started to move in the speed of light. I was getting booked for tours at this point traveling from New York to Michigan to Atlanta to Tennessee to Florida and more throughout the east coast. All while this was happening I was still working at Starbucks and was having to take so many days off. I will always appreciate them because they supported me fully even though they wanted to move me up into corporate management they still gave me the space to follow my dreams.

Mid 2016 as I’m getting off a 3 month tour on the road, I got into deep thinking. I put myself in a position that I felt the music was working enough for me to possibly leave Starbucks. I shared my thoughts with others and everyone thought I was completely crazy for even considering such a thing. That is when I realized I had to keep this to myself and created a silent 9 month plan to resign my position at Starbucks and leave for good to pursue my new life as an artist.

Let me tell you how this was the scariest but most empowering thing I have ever done in my entire life. I knew there was no looking back, I saved as much as I possibly could getting paid at an hourly rate and in those 9 months I started to create other streams of income little by little in order to not fully depend on the fluctuation of “music money” because I definitely did not want to be a “starving artist”.

My ending chapters at Starbucks was really the beginning of the rest and best of my life. I started to live life on my own terms and came to the realization that to an extent I was the creator of my own reality. My everyday actions and decisions were precise and important and full of intent. No longer was I just doing things for no reason. Everything had purpose.

2016 – 2017 really was an eye opener to behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. I was investing a lot of time, energy and money to be in certain spaces where others couldn’t believe I was able to access in such a short time period. I was overbooking myself and saying yes to everyone and every show and burned out at one point from being on the road for long periods of time, not sleeping in my bed and not being healthy from not eating right.

I started to be more strategic on how I went about touring and decided that I had to start saying NO to most things and build my value up in other ways. That was when I saw myself maturing as an artist but also as a business man.

During this timeline I had my annual show in New York and we went to an after party which was a lounge hosting a spoken word event. I have never been exposed to a space as such and it hit me different especially with my roots being in poetry. On my travels back home I couldn’t get spoken words out of my head. Now I know it’s been around for quite some time but in those moments it was something brand new to me.

With my craft being in the space of alternative hip hop and rap, my brain seamlessly began to mesh that with spoken words. I started diving deep into words and breaking them down. Looking at R.A.P – “Rhythm And Poetry” gave meaning to why I was in the position I was in. I intertwined my poetry with rhythmic sonics.

I received a mental download when I finally got back home. I resonated so deeply with the spoken words that I wanted to create a project with a similar theme and that is when it hit me. “SWIM” – Spoken Words In Motion. My latest and greatest project was born. I immediately put this into motion and got to creating the foundation.

Fast forward the process of creation, when coming into the final stages of completion I decided to have 2 intimate listening parties for the project before it was released to the public, one in the south and one up north. The feedback was phenomenal and that was turning point of solidifying myself as a legit artist in the music space.

At one of the listening parties someone came up to me and asked how can they become apart of this “SWIM Movement” and I stood their in confusion. “A movement?” I thought to myself, the intent behind this was just to release my emotions into this project, allow the world to hear it and keep it moving to the next thing.

That was when I realized that SWIM was bigger than just me and beyond just a music project. Putting myself in a vulnerable situation and sharing the deepest and darkest parts of myself allowed and empowered others to speak their truth. Since then SWIM has become many things beyond the music. It is a lifestyle brand with many branches.

We have SWIM events which is an exposure platform for artists to put themselves out there in a safe space and fully express themselves with no fear of judgement or criticism. It has become a water company as well by the name of Source Water In Motion where our mission is to hydrate our communities and make water and being healthy a cool thing. We also have #WaterWednesdsays where the SWIM team and additional volunteers go pass out water bottles to the homeless and people in need. We’ve been doing this since the summer of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

The latest acquirement and accomplishment is the establishment of Raleigh’s new creative hub and safe space called “The Portal” in Downtown Raleigh on Hillsborough Street on the NC State campus. My team and I have been working really hard these last few months to secure this space for us but more importantly for others. I remember not having the proper access to resources earlier in my journey and I’m on a mission to make that process smoother for others so they don’t have to go through all the trials and errors most artists, creatives and small businesses go through.

As of now we have been utilizing The Portal for events and workshops and for creatives to use for content and media creation. Moving forward we will expand and are looking forward to working with members of our community to create a quality network for all to benefit from.

Over the years my purpose continues to evolve and develop day by day. What started out as an attempt to change my life and shine my light has shifted and put me in the position to assist others in changing their lives for the better. I am eternally grateful for all I had to go through to get to this place of peace and love for self and the world.

It’s been quite the journey for sure, but really the journey has just begun.

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

I followed my heart and intuition to navigate through the industry and build up this business. Energy and quality is what has helped me stand out in all the spaces I am in. I must say at this time I’m most proud of the SWIM movement and how something from a negative place has now become a positive light for the community.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

YES! Tons of them. That’s a big barrier and challenge for majority of people. Being in a place now where I have access to resources is the reason why we have The Portal and make sure to share and spread valuable information and provide access to resources that can enhance one’s journey at an earlier stage.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s simple. Value creatives! Times are changing and creative arts will be at top demand for all businesses. Best way to support is to properly compensate creatives for their work and creations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.williecontraband.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_contraband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tD4IoBtLHE