So as my followers know, and my
non-followers don’t know, I am just fully about this entertainment life. From
dancer, to musician, to singer, to comedian, to blogger, to you name it, I do
it. The best thing about it is that I get to do what I love doing, and
surprisingly people come back week after week just to see what it is I’m doing.
See now that makes zero sense to me because I always get the feeling that anybody
can do this, yet I receive comments everyday saying things like “You’re so
funny”, and “Your music is amazing”. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to come
across as arrogant, I also receive comments saying “F**k you dumbass monkey
n***er, you’re not funny, and your music sucks”. People sure are crazy. So I’m
gonna give you a little insight into the realistic life of an artist, and for
those of you who feel like you already know how our lives play out, here’s a
random disclaimer…
Now lets begin.
Depending on which form of art you
choose, you will get a variety of different reactions from people. Tell
somebody you’re a singer, they will probably brush it off with a “That’s nice…”
as if they are subconsciously telling you, “I ain’t buying your music!”
However, if you open a conversation by telling somebody you’re a comedian, 90%
of the time they are gonna ask you to tell them a joke. In which I respond,
“Show me the joke money.” As an artist in general, we lead frustrating lives.
So my music is on Youtube, and Soundcloud, along with my email address. If
you’re a company that does events, I’m really not so difficult to contact. The
most frustrating thing about being an artist, is the dumbass offers we get. “Hi
Tyrael, I love your music, would you like to perform at xyz event next week?”
I’m thinking great, finally my 15 years of writing lyrics, working on my voice,
learning to produce music and compose, is finally paying off. “Sure thing, my
current rate ranges between £150 and £400 depending on how many people are
attending”, this is where sh*t gets f**ked. “Oh well we won’t be able to pay
you, but if you perform, it’s good promotion for you.” Get the hell out of
here, so if you work at subway, and you make sandwiches for a living, and I
want you to make a sandwich in your SPARE time. Next thing im trying to pay you
in promotion… Are you really going to take it? What kind of bulls**t is this?
Another perfect example of how dumb
this is; a plumber comes out to fix your sink, “That will be £80”, then you
reply “Oh well I won’t be able to pay you, but think of it as practice, and I
will tell all of my friends how good you are.” Artists, if you are performing
for free, stop that s**t, I have performed at enough free venues to tell you
that, it gets you nowhere. If you’re willing to work for free, then record
yourself and put it on Youtube, or Soundcloud. After a year, you will probably
have been seen by 200 people. Isn’t that better than making some other clown
money by performing and receiving nothing?
Life as an artist ain’t all bad
though, if you are making a couple of dollars here and there, technically, you
are being paid for your work. This makes you a professional! Now telling a girl
at a bar you’re a professional music producer, or professional blogger, sounds
a lot better than Underground rapper. Throw the word professional in front of
whatever it is you do, you are gonna get all the chicas, believe me. My boy
earns a few hundred from Google Ads a month, not enough to live on, but when he
approaches the ladies he doesn’t tell them that. The only line he uses, “Hi, I
work for Google...” guaranteed my friend, guaranteed!
The life of an artist is tough, but we
have a couple of perks here and there, being independent feels great though.
Most artists aren’t eating solely off their work, but at least they still have
that chance available, even if it is a 1% chance. Beats not doing anything
other than work a 9-5 and having a 0% chance. Finally, the best part about
being an artist, when you are actually great at your craft, forget the fans,
you get to meet other artists who are amazing, who you otherwise wouldn’t have
ever met. My network of dope artists is crazy, I mean we all pretty much broke,
but the talent is wild. And if all else fails, you have to remember, a slice of
toast, is just a burned piece of bread!