We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebekah Ragland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebekah below.
Rebekah, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I try to keep my creativity alive by staying consistent with these strategies:
I explore new interests and hobbies to gain new experiences which helps spark fresh ideas. My current hobbies are collecting Pokémon cards, building Legos, and I’m a vinyl collector. New hobbies that I’m getting into are producing beats, learning more about FL studio, and practicing more with my MPK mini. I set aside time to be creative in these moments. I stay curious, I ask questions, explore different perspectives, and dive into topics that will intrigue my mind. I gain a lot of knowledge from listening to other people, and seeing how things work from other aspects of life. Curiosity leads to creative insights. I also keep a journal to jot down ideas and thoughts, aspirations, and goals. Manifestation is real, and it works!
I surround myself with inspiration; my children, my parents, my friends, they all inspire me! My environment is also filled with things that inspire me such as books, art, music, nature, and collectibles.
I collaborate and network with others; working with other people can introduce new ideas and ways of thinking off fueled creativity.
I practice mindfulness, I meditate in the mornings to start my day. Slowing down and being present can help my mind make an unexpected connection, and new ideas to spark. I have to limit distractions so I can focus without interruptions, allowing my mind to wander freely. I also learned it’s okay to take breaks. When I first started curating playlist I was releasing them monthly; not noticing it was putting me under stress. Now I take breaks; stepping away from my projects and giving myself time to relax, instead of rushing a project. Creativity thrives when you’re not afraid to take risks, embrace failure, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
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’m a Freelance A&R and playlist curator; where I create playlists featuring independent artists on many different platforms. Those platforms include: Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify, Tidal, Youtube, and Youtube Music. I reach out to artists via X (Twitter) and Instagram, where they can directly send me their music catalogs. Once I have their music I start to create a playlist; placing all the songs in an order that would make you think that I gathered all of these artists under one roof in the studio. I also have a graphic designer, “@Will_gotheat” who created my album cover for Independent and Underground Volume Series.
The most exciting thing about creating these playlists is hearing the complete mix, it’s truly special! It really feels like a compilation album produced by a well known producer. But in reality most of these artists aren’t even known yet; and that’s what I’m aiming for! Giving artists an extra platform to be heard. The beauty behind it all is networking with so many artists. They’re all blessed with talent that the world should know about.
As for anything new, I would like to bring more visuals to showcase artists in a podcast form. I’m going to get more in depth behind the inspiration of their music, background, and influence, and also show snippets of their music videos if possible. But I will have more information on this soon. You can check out all of my playlists on all platforms by searching ‘AndrettiiBadu’.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Having been introduced to music at a young age, I have heard many different types of genres. I have learned to appreciate “old school” music, country music, classical piano, jazz, gospel, and rap to name of few. One of my strengths; is I never stop learning about music because music is always evolving! I started playing the piano by ear, way before I started to take lessons to read music. For twelve years I studied Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, and many more great composers. This actually helps give me the ability to identity different and unique sounds; which I use today to help me find samples to the songs that have been recreated in today’s music. I don’t play the piano anymore, but I use those skills to teach myself how to produce my own records.
The best advice I have to give is to never give up, trust the process, and keep going! Get out and network as much as you can! I never would have thought I would be getting this much recognition and feedback from so many people. I started this journey 4 years ago, back in 2020, and honestly it takes time, but the journey has been surreal. To me, it’s still just the beginning, and there’s so much more in store! So believe in yourself!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes! I’m always looking for new artists, producers, engineers, content creators, literally anyone to collaborate with! I’m starting to get more into producing, so I am looking for producers to collaborate with on beats. I mainly make melody loops, so I would love to send off some loops to any producers who want to add the beat to it. I’m always looking of new artists that haven’t been featured on my series yet or would like to submit their music to be featured. I’m active on my Instagram and X (Twitter) account, follow @AndrettiiBadu. You can also email me [email protected]
Be on the look out for Independent and Underground Series 2: Volume 7 to drop soon!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/AndrettiiBadu
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrettiibadu
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrettiibadu
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
