Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.

J. Buck

After I released my last project “Bar Talk” it was the first time that I felt misunderstood as an artist. Bar Talk was perhaps the most personal I’ve been as a writer and unloading so many of my faults, addictions, mistakes, and short comings for it not to be received in the way I had hoped was hurtful. Not to mention that the pandemic hit, I was drinking uncontrollably, my mother was battling cancer and I was restructuring my management team. I struggled with writers block for a long time during the pandemic because I was hesitant to find what I wanted to share after sharing so much and peoples responses being “why is this album so depressing” or for them just not to listen at all. Read more>>

Salem Strikes

Like a lot of trans people, I’ve always felt like I was different but never really knew why. It took me 5 years to come out fully to myself, and when I started having a bit more pride in myself (because no one else did) I eventually got kicked out of my childhood church community for wearing vans with rainbow stripes on them. I began a spiritual journey that led to my current witchcraft practice. A few years later I was kicked out of my parents home and slept on friends living room floors, garages and couches because of my family’s inability to respect my identity leading to a toxic home environment. Read more>>

Becca Reuben

I would never want anyone to think I was trying to be an “influencer.” Not that there is anything wrong with those who are. I view what I do more as a diary of what I’ve worn and what I think other people may also like to wear. I have never made any money off of my Instagram or TikTok. This is purely a hobby for me. It is an outlet I have used since 2017 to be creative and share what I love! I do not take myself seriously, it is purely for fun! Read more>>

Jason Carey

My whole career! Some of it I’ll take responsibility for as who I am, what I do, and my brand has evolved over the years. For years I have felt like managers and agents just didn’t know what to do with me. Honestly they still don’t because I’m a swiss army knife of talent and abilities. My personality and voice are my perceived assets that anyone can use. I say perceived because my vision, my brain, implementation of ideas is my real super power. Read more>>

Marcus Ollie

For the most part, I believe it is second nature for us as human beings to paint the picture of a canvas that’s already been blessed with a beautiful creation. We prejudge people before we get to know them. We already know how this person talks and what they’re interested in. We’ve all heard the saying, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Read more>>

Karl Hibbert

Early in my creative career I remember learning “If you can explain your dreams for others to understand, they’re not big enough” – With this, I attack every goal and milestone I want to attain with an unwavering passion that guarantees me nothing short of success… For the first two years following the curation of Fortunate LifeStyle, there were no physical garments for sale, which meant no online/store locations to shop, which meant no/low brand engagement for *possible* consumers. Read more>>

Jennifer Ruiz

This is a lesson I learned recently… vocabulary matters. The words you use to title yourself, depicts how people envision what you do. However, if what you do they have never seen before, logicly they will envision the closest thing to it that they know. However, what is envisioned may not even be close to what you do. Which leads to confusion, and in turn, leads to disconnect. This has been a battle for me way too long. I feel I am just getting a grasp on the situation. Read more>>

Madison Ledyard-King

As an artist and a visionary creator, one of the biggest things starting out that many of us can attest to is the desire — nay demand, to wear many hats in pursuit of our artistic creativity. Which, by all means, is a good thing as it can nurture our creative aspirations and inspire our other interests. But, where I found myself at the past few years is nurturing those other aspirations and neglecting the main passion that got me into creating art in the first place, acting. I started realizing this when people would hit me up wanting me to direct something for them or saying how proud they are to see me flourish as a writer, and so on and so forth. Read more>>

Trish Roper

Oh, absolutely. Maybe not so much my work, but the industry and what it means for the people who work in it. There have been several times where I (or even my coworkers) have found ourselves with a client who somehow insults our industry, intelligence, worth, or makes assumptions about our finances because we are hairdressers. I’ve had people ask me if I am going to go back to college and get a real job, how I survive only working four days a week, if my parents are disappointed in me, etc. Read more>>

Honest Lee Soul

As a band, one of the most common questions we get asked is “what kind of music do you play?” It’s a fair question. As a society we’re used to placing things in categories or boxes to shape our understanding. However, as creatives, we don’t like to limit ourselves as strictly one thing or another. We create freely. That’s not to say that what we create never has clear direction, but for instance, if we want to write a blues song, we’ll write a blues song; if we want to write a funk song, or a rock song, or a ballad, we’ll do that too. We’re not limited to one particular style or genre. Read more>>

DeAndre Buck

As both a pursuant of hip hop and spoken word I am often times given more credit for being a poet than I am a rapper. I believe that sticking to my morals and goals as an emcee, never sacrificing the type of music that I want to make, and the meticulous approach in which I write has fallen upon a niche audience. I am respected as a member of a poetry troupe, and despite having done quite a bit in the lane of music I am still considered unknown by many bc I don’t make popular music. Read more>>

Monica Guardado

I feel like our culture likes to define people based on how they earn a living. If you tell someone you are a banker, or a doctor, people will view you through that lens upon first meeting you. Every time I get off stage after playing a set, I’ll go into the crowd and just talk to people. Inevitably, the subject of what I do for a living comes up and I tell them: I’m a molecular technologist who works at a genetics lab. I see the confusion on their faces as they try to compute that I am a healthcare worker AND a musician. Read more>>

Marly Mcfly

I wouldn’t say misunderstood but more undervalued because I don’t meet the expectation that’s often associated with being a Black artist and that isn’t exclusive to myself. Artist of color are put in this “Black Art” sub genre as if what we do doesn’t qualify as art. we’re expected to display or traumas or talk about the “Black struggle” but we are more then that. No two black people are the same. We have our own interests, we love, we have success, we enjoy life, everyday isn’t doom and gloom. I want my art to show our successes and triumphs as much as we are reminded of our tragedies. Read more>>

Varion “Se7eN Howard

Professionally is where I am misunderstood the most. There isn’t an abundance of Mega Star poets. Therefore there isn’t an infrastructure to model after., adhere to or emulate.. I invested in my vision from an artist stand where it’s more about fruition on the vision than it is about ROI. Needless to say that model is flawed because overspending usually occurs. I began to want other poets to experience what I had achieved or at least a version of it and what I learned was most people were not willing to invest in themselves as I had done yet wanted the same results. Read more>>