We were lucky to catch up with Noel “DJ TRUE:129 TRUICK recently and have shared our conversation below.
Noel DJ TRUE129, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Being the only one in the room: how have you learned to be effective/successful even when you are the only one in the room that looks like you?
Having an eclectic background, I often find myself in situations like that. I’ve learned from an early age that you have to go into these situations having a strong sense of self awareness and owning the audience; having a strong sense of confidence without being cocky but also listening and being very aware of the surroundings.
At an early age, I knew that I wanted to entertain in some way, shape or form. However, being raised by a single parent that had aspirations of me doing everything but entertaining, I became the class clown. I got involved with drama and music and began playing in different bands. With my many hours of television consumption, I found myself gravitating toward older comedians, variety shows and different genres of music. A myriad of music genres was always a strong foundation in our household. Further, being able to grasp the concept of “reading between the lines”, helped me (and helps me) in many situations being the only person in the room that looks like me. I have found that with age comes the mastery of “reading between the lines”, not negating the difficulties attached, which I try to work through. Personally, I believe that having an effect is success because claiming success in a situation is based on one’s own opinion, which only matters to oneself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
The next part of the interview is where we’d love to learn more about you, your story and what you are focused on professionally – whether it’s a business, nonprofit, artistic career etc.
Please tell our readers about what you do, what you feel is most exciting or special about it, as well as anything else you’d like folks to know about your brand/art/etc. If relevant, please also tell our readers about anything new (events, product/service launches, expansion, etc)
Before I go on, I want to thank Jaz (Joshua Newborn) for suggesting me for this interview and Bold Journey for contacting and taking the time to hear my thoughts. I’ve been a part of many interviews, but this is the first time I’m being interviewed by myself.
Further I wanted to say, but never got an opportunity to say I’m a “fan” first. I’ve seen so many people miss that step in the many years of being exposed to the industry. I have seen firsthand that so many have relied on a formula for success and forgot about “art for art’s sake”.
I’ve been called many things for many years, but the name that has stuck for a little bit over 38 of them has been DJ True129. I was born Noel P. Truick from Brooklyn, New York.
For the longest time I chose how I wanted to participate in the music industry and what I was willing to tolerate. It was during the pandemic that a good friend and I were speaking about the state of music. He asked me how come there was never a DJ True129 album. It wasn’t that I hadn’t worked on music for myself but I wanted to do something different and didn’t know what that would look like. Additionally, I wanted to pull something together that represented all of the different genres I’ve DJ’ed over the years as well as follow the “art” that brought me to love the culture. After pulling a lot of my close friends together, I came up with multiple tracks for an album. I will be releasing two singles off of the first EP “Connect To The Space” in January 2024. I’m considering it to be a World Electronic Audible Art Project. I’ve formulated partnerships with Corey McCormick-long time music mentor and bandmate on production. We created The Funk Pharmacists in 2013. A well as, Manager Lee Scheinbaum-co-owner of Omniprznt: a curated marketplace where our art, music and media can be obtained. I also called in some very good friends that I have had the pleasure to work with musically such as Geri Soriano from Supreme Beings of Leisure; Medusa Da Gangsta Goddess-legendary Project Blowed MC; Kevin SANDBLOOM-singer/songwriter; Meloney Collins-Jazz vocalist; Kenisha Greene-R&B Songstress. I am introducing Alyce Rising-the inspirational guide providing affirmations and insight to finding your personal space. One of my goals of this project is to keep a grassroots format coupled with the simple concept of receiving something tangible with your “art” purchase.
We are in the early stages of the aforementioned marketplace. Currently, fans are able to follow us @omniprzntmedia and be a part of our mailing list at mailinglist@omniprznt.com
Fans will be able to have access to exclusive content (please follow, like and thank you in advance).
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?
Just three?! Man. Well, in no particular order but what comes to mind first is to strive for perfection with the understanding that nothing is perfect for everyone. Second, whatever field you are in, envelop yourself in your craft and bring something new to ensure your longevity. Third is a quote that comes from a documentary from back in the day from The Bishop Don Juan. He was describing how to be successful and simply stated that “You gotta be liked”. Which, in this context, it would be considered a skill. To be loved or hated involves commitment from the recipients and when dealing with large numbers there is only so much that you have available to give. Discovering this took time. Not to say that I’m right on this but this IS my journey. Currently, we live in an age where information is everywhere and accessible but in my opinion the dependence of knowing everything and not checking your sources is a major irresponsible problem. Being proactively responsible for the truth you give and seek will add miles to your journey.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I want to believe the approach that we are taking with starting this curated marketplace is one challenge because it is a new twist to an old concept. I learned at an early age that having something in hand after a purchase is a gratifying action. In today’s society, we are meant to believe that going the digital route is the best outcome. However, owning art in its myriad of formats cannot only be sentimental but lucrative; those of us who are collectors understand this. Due to the fact that our first introduction to the world is music, as an independent, we don’t have the backing of major industry or heavy monetization. Another challenge is reaching people globally. To overcome the challenge of global exposure we are utilizing the internet as an advertising tool to promote art.
The internet IS a powerful tool to help with that but a further challenge is having to vet real followers vs bots/generated data. For example, last year I attended a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to see a well-known artist. Arriving early, I had seen an opening act by an artist that I and the people around me had never heard of. Now, to be completely honest, this was a newer artist and me keeping up with new music, even as a DJ, is a challenge. One practice I’ve adopted to mitigate this challenge is to look at the monthly listener count on an artist’s page. What I discovered was the opening act had exponentially more monthly listeners than the headline artist as well as other well-known artists. This lead me to believe there may have been bot generated data in the monthly listener count.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @omniprzntmedia , @djtrue129official
- Youtube: DJ True129
- Other: mailinglist@omniprznt.com
Image Credits
Promo Photo : Joshua “Jaz” Newborn Promo Photo Digital Art : Hanif Panni Album Covers : N. P. Truick
