Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zaey Delasoul. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Zaey , 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?
my work ethic is derived from failure i know that might sound crazy but it’s very true when you’ve been doing what i do creating music being an artist and all around creative you tend to go through trial and error a lot of time i tend to create things that unfortunately don’t do well from releasing
songs to my first two Ep’s not reaching the expectations i was hoping for failure has changed the way i work and how much effort i put into what i do i work smarter now and much more strategically after past failures because failure has taught me multiple lessons and shown me what i need to improve in order to get to where i want to be
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?
well my name is Zaey I’m a independent artist from mobile Alabama I’m a rapper, poet, and creative and i sometimes produce my own music. I started making music back in 2019 but my first two loves before creating my own music was listening to music and watching film I’m passionate about film and music and art from watching tv shows like breaking bad with it’s captivating ways of shooting scenes and using innovative shots that captured the attention of the audience to watching movies that have more cultural essence to them like Friday, Crooklyn and love jones that i remember from my childhood and even music videos from some of my favorite artist like Mac Miller Smino, Mos Def, Tyler the Creator and The Internet really inspire me when it comes to creating concepts and ideas for my own music videos. But what excites me the most about these things is implementing my love for them in some way into my work rather if its taking inspiration from the cover art of Mac Millers project faces with it’s very abstract look to doing my own take of that with my recent release soul intentions part 1: boy you so delirious and even learning how to create visual effects like I’ve seen in movies and recreating them in my own visual art i put out on social media to promote my music and creating art rather if it’s visual art or music is deeply apart of me i can’t go a day without creating a new song or even come up with a way to recreate something I’ve seen from one of my favorite movies creating art is in my veins and i can’t live without it. My brand is deeply rooted in my culture even the way i present myself i where my culture on my sleeve i want people who look like me to feel represented when they hear my music to feel connected to me through my art i feel the hip-hop space needs more of that especially from artist who are in my age group
but as far as anything to look forward to from yours truly i have recently this month released part 2 of my album soul intentions part 2: tell them what’s on your mind which has a few lovely artist my friends Lovely Ocean, KAHLÁN, Laysha, NAMIRÉ,IK.TOMII,ZAKIYAH and Jonah The Dreamr I Also Plan To Start Working On My Own Clothing Brand So Stay Tune
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?
when it comes to me i think three important qualities that any artist or creative should have is #1 confidence as a artist i experienced moments that rocked my confidence rather if it was seeing someone gain thousands of likes comments and shares off a video that made me go am i good enough? will i ever be in that position is my music good enough to be celebrated i always keep in mind that my music is impactful and means something so i continue to prove everyday through working on my craft and proving people who hate on me wrong if you can build your confidence then nothing or no one will be able to knock you down it’s also good to have confidence in knowing your worth and never settling for less it’s like i say a diamond should never surround themselves with coal because at some point that diamond will begin to question it’s worth
#2 patience: patience is key don’t expect your work to go viral over night that can happen and can be a great thing but a lot of people don’t know how to catapult themselves beyond that point of virality which is why the term “one hit wonder” exist some people blow up and then the next thing you know poof we never hear from them again so i remind myself that the journey is tough but also i can’t expect the seeds i grow to bloom overnight i have to nurture the soil so that my garden can flourish overtime
#3 discipline: in order to get to where i wanna be i have to put in the time and effort to make sure my dreams and goals are realized and in order to do that i must have the discipline required to put in those 10,000 hours so i can sharpen my skills in every aspect of what I’m doing
when it comes to skills i have to say the most important is time management learn to plan out your day rather if you have a job or school plan out what your gonna do after so that way you can improve on areas your lacking or struggling in while on your journey
another skill that takes time is consistency when it comes to being a artist for me is consistency it’s something i use to struggle in a lot i didn’t at one point have that drive to stay consistent when it came to my art I would drop a Ep and just not even bother telling people like looking back i think to myself you put so much effort into this so why not let the whole world know or in some cases release a song and then wait two-three months before releasing another song if i don’t stay consistent then I’ll loose interest in what I’m doing so I’m constantly working on music and creating to keep myself determined and inspired
Lastly the most important skill for me is creativity i can’t allow myself to be put in a box because then I’ll loose my edge i have to be more creative in every department of my music rather if its stepping out of my comfort zone when creating beats
or thinking of new ways to shoot videos for my latest song my level of creativity is my most powerful weapon in my tool box
my advice to anyone starting their journey is surround yourselves with people that bring out the best in you
ask yourself this question with every skill and quality i brought up who is someone you know that oozes that specific trait and learn from them and read and educate yourself through books on how to develop these qualities and skills within yourself
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
my three friends IK.TOMII And Marley Angel and Jonah The Dreamr They’re Like Family
Tomii is Just the embodiment of confidence like he’s willing to prove just how good he is no matter who you are he knows his worth and i admire that he has such a way when it comes to producing music rather if its making a song from scratch or manipulating a sample Tomii has a certain mystique about him that just makes him stand out i often get advice from him on building my confidence and becoming a better producer
My Friend Marley Angel Is someone who i strive to be like when it comes to consistently putting out music the man is on his grind 24/7 he’s a artist that you just can’t put in a box when it come to a specific genre the guy does hip-hop, country and folk music he is truly a chameleon when it comes to creating art I’ve made it a goal of mine to work and be just as consistent and learn from him so i can better sharpen this skill
Jonah The Dreamr I have to say is someone that anyone can learn from because when it comes to those he cares about he loves that person with all his heart and in his music career i think he is someone that oozes patience he is someone who understands things take time and that day by day if we continue to master our craft then one day all that hard work will pay off
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zaeygotsoul.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaey.soul/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/zaeysoulaan
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
