Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to D2Millertime. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
D2Millertime, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Man, I wish I could just point to one moment in my life and say this is where it all started. This is where the drive and ambition came from but I don’t have a moment. My whole life I’ve always felt the need to prove myself. I’ve never looked at myself as the most talented, the smartest, the most…anything! There’s always been a voice in my head telling me I need to get better and the truth is, I love it. I love the process of improving myself, evolving, reaching new heights. Whether that’s because I’ve played sports my whole life or watching my parents achieve their own dreams no matter how many apartments we had to move to and jobs they had to work at one time to make it happen, I don’t know. I hate staying in one place, remaining stagnant, or that feeling that you’re plateau’ing and because of that I’ve always left it up to myself to get stuff done. At the end of the day no one can stop me from where I want to get to, but me.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Of course, Hi my name is D2 and I am a 21 year old independent music creator. Over the past 3 years I’ve managed to build my own brand in LA as a HipHop/R&B producer, although I’ve always found myself doing more than just that. I also engineer, promote, market, the list goes on. In today’s day and age, music is all about who and what’s gonna be the next biggest thing. What is hot today will not be hot tomorrow. With this in mind, I think the most exciting part about doing what I do is that I have discovered some of music’s most talented up and coming artists, photographers, and videographers in this city. Some through mutual friends, others through events. Me and all the hard working content creators around me have been together for so long it’s less working to make music and more so friends having fun achieving our goals together. The trust and comradery was built organically and this is really apparent in my recent debut album SUPER BOWL. Which if you haven’t checked it out already please do, I encourage you to. It’s out on all platforms and there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Look you gotta remain present, be willing to learn, and never get too high or loo low. Being present and in the moment helped me not be worried about how I’m going to achieve the benchmarks I’ve set for myself in the future. Too often we can get wrapped up and essentially paralyzed by our own expectations. Then you find yourself doubting everything you’re working for because you haven’t hit those points at the age you were hoping to. Stay present, your time will come but right now continue to build your foundation. In order to be willing to learn you have to first admit that you need help and that’s ok. Nobody is going to think you’re less than or not capable. Listen to those close to you who know what they’re doing and you’ll feel better about yourself because of it. Lastly keeping yourself level headed no matter what the situation will save you from a lot of disappointment. Even during moments in which you should be celebrating. Something didn’t go your way? Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’ll have plenty of new opportunities to showcase what you’re capable of. You hit a new milestone? That’s great! Take some time to enjoy it but not too long or else you’re going to lose sight of reaching the next level.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Honestly, I think both. It just depends on what stage you’re at in your career. However when you’re first starting out, I think you should lean into your strengths. Everybody is good at something, no matter how big or small that something is it’s still valuable. Since it’s something you’re good at it’ll allow you to be at your most relaxed, and when your relaxed that’s when the imagination kicks in to create something new. Nobody else can perform the skill that you have the way you can but you and that’s what is going to get you noticed. Then along the way you can go ahead to add some extras here and there so that you can perform at your highest level. I’m not against investing in multiple areas just don’t do it til after you’re established. That way when people go to you they know what they’re getting from you and then you can hit them with the extra skills to make yourself appear to be more versatile. You gotta have a foundation first. The tree has to grow its base before the branches can come out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/D2millertime
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2_millertime/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-miller-ii-b5a2631b2/
Image Credits
Chillin Visions (IG: @eric_b_chillin) Caleb Black (IG: @caleb.blaque)
