Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Raph. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Raph, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
Since the start of my career, I’ve written and produced over a hundred songs and faced creative blocks with almost every one. Creating original, authentic, and fresh ideas has become increasingly challenging, especially with the rising quality and quantity of art on social media. Additionally, as AI becomes more integrated into creative communities and produces increasingly impressive work, the pressure to stand out has intensified. I’ve realized that this need to differentiate myself is the main source of my writer’s block, and as long as I continue making music, I’ll likely keep encountering these obstacles.
To navigate through this, I’ve started to develop several habits. I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration and make a point of saving ideas for future use – I have folders with literally hundreds of song snippets and aesthetic reels. I’ve also become more self-aware, recognizing when I’m fatigued and when my mental state starts to affect my creative decisions. Most importantly – as cliché as it is – I’m reminding myself to try have as much fun as I can with every project. I genuinely believe the audience can sense when the creative process has been enjoyable and will relate to the work more when it has been.
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?
Since the start of my career, I’ve written and produced over a hundred songs and faced creative blocks with almost every one. I’ve found that creating original, authentic, and fresh ideas has become increasingly challenging, especially with overexposure on social media. With AI becoming more integrated into creative communities, the pressure to stand out has also intensified. I’ve realized that this need to differentiate myself has been the main source of my writer’s block, and that I’ll likely continuously encounter this problem.
To navigate through this, I’ve started to develop several habits. I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration and make a point of saving ideas for future use – I have folders with literally hundreds of song snippets and aesthetic reels. I’ve also become more self-aware, recognizing when I’m fatigued and when my mental state starts to affect my creative decisions. Most importantly – as cliché as it is – I’m reminding myself to try have as much fun as I can with every project. I genuinely believe the audience can sense when the creative process has been enjoyable and will relate to the work more when it has been.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
When it comes to music, I believe the most valuable quality anyone can possess is a good ear—not just for technical aspects, but also for ideas. Being a constant source of inspiration is a huge asset, and I’m fortunate to be surrounded by people who are endlessly creative and always experimenting. Beyond that, strong social skills are crucial for building solid working relationships and friendships. This is especially important in a place like LA, where the sheer volume of talent means that being enjoyable to work with can be the key to getting into rooms. Finally, I’m convinced that being relentlessly hungry and having unwavering perseverance will almost always lead to success. Over the years, I’ve seen many friends grind away at their craft with little recognition, and almost all of them have now achieved the success they deserve.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
As cliché as it may sound, I’ve been struggling lately to find joy in making music and creating the world around it. The process has become so business-driven that my motivation has been steadily fading recently. It feels like I’m constantly chasing metric goals rather than staying true to what I want to express. This has also led to feelings of insecurity and jealousy, especially when I fall short of certain benchmarks or see others in my niche doing better. It’s a completely destructive mindset that I want to break as soon as possible, which is why I’m taking a small break right now to reflect and rediscover why I wanted to do music in the first music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4dnl0VOP7cS57VQOWxr3ND?si=zRfkll08Sh64kj02OsDY2w
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raphxll/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@raphxll
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@raph.ll
Image Credits
@junsummerpark
@hideout.ca
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