Meet Aaric Mychal

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaric Mychal a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aaric, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I have had a pretty high self-esteem my whole life, I think I was just raised that way. When it comes to my music, my confidence had to be built over time. At this point I’m very confident in my output and I don’t really get hung up on people’s opinions of my music. To get that this point I had to develop a set of rules for myself.

I don’t compare my self to others. There is always going to be someone out there who more talented than me but, that doesn’t take anything away from anything I’m doing.

Feedback is great, but I take opinions with a grain of salt. Sometimes opinions can interfere with the creative process and have you convinced you’re doing something wrong. I stopped putting stock into other people’s opinions on my music, especially from people who haven’t done what I’m trying to do. I also had to learn to trust myself. Generally, that gut thought I had was steering me in the right direction. No one else can create your art for you, nor can they tell you how to create. Bet on yourself every time.

I don’t chase trends, trends change.

And lastly, if it doesn’t align with my goals, I cut it out my life. I’ve cut off a lot of “friends” over the years. Keep good energy around you at all times.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a music producer based out of Dallas, TX. I got my start shortly after graduating high school with some hand me down equipment. It wasn’t the best gear, but I learned a lot using it. At that time, I wasn’t set on going to college and I put all my time into making beats. Eventually I learned about an audio engineering program at my local community college and decided to enroll. This allowed me access to much better equipment and a recording studio and then I was really able to hone in and develop my skills. I spent a lot of hours at the college working on beats and collaborating with artist. While in college I worked 2 jobs and saved up enough money to buy some professional music equipment of my own and set up my home studio. If I wasn’t working or in class, I was making beats. My family and friends said my bedroom was a studio with a bed and they were right. During this time, I use to upload all my music online and would mass copy beat CDs; some I would sell but most of them I would hand out to people for free just to get my name out. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of independent artists, independent film makers and I’ve done some work in radio.

It’s cool to be able to make take ideas that I have in my head, create them and to be able to share them with people. It’s also a cool experience to play my music in front of crowds and to see people connect with the music in person.

Currently I’m juggling a few projects. I have a beat tape/instrumental album titled “Hill Valley Havoc” releasing this summer. I also have a collaborative project with a guitarist named Prince Chuck we call “Attack of the Mutant”, that’ll be spawning a few singles this year.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Patience – Not everything is going to happen all at once and unfortunately things don’t always happen when we want them to. Patience is also important in moments when things are panning out the way you want them. Sometimes being too eager can ruin an opportunity. You just have to let some situations play out.

Self-Motivation – You have to be your biggest motivator and your biggest fan. There are going to be days where you’re doubting yourself and where you have creative blocks but, you have to hype yourself up and pat your own back. You’re also going to encounter negative people who are upset that their own goals didn’t pan out. You can’t let that deter you. Instead remind yourself of who you are and why you’re on this journey.

Preparedness – My wife always says, “stay ready and you won’t have to get ready” and this is 1000% true. Don’t get caught lacking. You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity because you didn’t have you s**t together.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always open to collaboration. Rappers, singers, fellow producers, film makers, music supervisors; if you’re interested in working with me feel free to reach out to me via social media or at [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aaricmychal.com
• Instagram: @aaricmychal
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/aaricmychal

Image Credits

@b3gallerson