Kill the Noise

I’m coming to you from Mexico City this week, so I’m having a great week. I hope you all are too.

It’s been a dope year for me, as I’ve also got the chance to see Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris for the first time. And every time I travel to a new city or country, it makes me realize how vast this world is and just how insulated life at home can be.

And I know seeing the world is a luxury and a privilege, but I believe it’s something we should all work towards, because it’s also so beneficial for the mind and soul, and it makes you realize how much more is out there.

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

In our daily life, we often get so caught up in the opinions of those around us that our minds become consumed with impressing them or proving them wrong. I often wonder how those insignificant urges become more important than our own happiness. Just to think at any moment, you could just pick up and move to another country, and all of a sudden none of the opinions of those in your community would even matter anymore. You’d have a whole new community to try to impress.

So how do we become so comfortable in our own skin that we are immune to the judgement of others around us?

How do we simply live life on our own terms?

It’s a process, and it doesn’t come overnight.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, my mom would always pick apart my decisions, because she thought my life choices were too risky. There was too much competition with limited reward, and only a small percentage of artists were actually successful. But in the midst of our arguments, she would always say “I just want you to be happy”. And I know she did actually want me to be happy, but on her own terms; not in the way I wished to experience happiness.

And as much as I fought allowing her opinion into my psyche, her negative opinions about my path kept infiltrating my thoughts. I questioned myself and my own abilities, simply because she wanted me to play it safe.

So I learned to stop sharing my dreams and aspirations with my mom. And I’ve continued this practice to this day. If anyone in my life has even the slightest doubts about my goals, I never mention my plans, because I don’t want their negativity to seep in and cloud my foolish ambitions.

But now that I’m a parent myself, I understand this fear. Because we want to protect our kids, and as we all know, the path of an artist is not easy.

It’s also difficult to not see our kids as an extension of ourselves. We need them to succeed because (to come back to my earlier point), we need the approval of those around us. So if our kids are failures, what does that make us?

And as I watch my son walk a very similar path to my own, I just try to instill a commitment to hard work, and let his destiny be his own. Of course, this is difficult, because obviously I want my son to get straight A’s and go to college, but I’ve recently had to accept that just might not be his path.

Earlier this week, my son, who has been working diligently to become a producer, sent me his soon to be released debut album. He’s been overthinking its release, because it’s understandably scary to put a piece of art out into the world for the first time, and to open yourself up to criticism.

But the album is incredible. It’s like Dilla, Alchemist, and Madlib had a 16-year-old baby. I’m not even kidding. So my suggestion was to just put it out proudly, and stop the self-doubt.

Of course, there are millions of pieces of content from successful entrepreneurs, artists, content creators, and writers that give this exact same advice. Just take that first step— no matter how scary it feels. Because if you’re not scared, you’re just playing it safe. And you know how I feel about playing it safe.

Thanks again for all of your support. Please keep sharing this newsletter with anyone you think could benefit, and I’ll keep churning ‘em out.

Have a great week y’all. Peace.