Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Heroek of Los Angeles

Heroek shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Heroek, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Something that I put off doing for a long time with my music was asking peers for feedback on it. For the longest time, I’d work on my music alone and keep it close to my chest until I felt like it was near-finished. Now, I’m a lot more open to taking a work in progress and going to other music producers or people close to me and asking for feedback or advice.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yeah! I’ve done a lot of things for a long time, from music to podcasts to YouTube content, but I always want to think of and introduce myself as a music producer first and foremost. Of my pursuits, it’s what I care most about and what I want to find success in the most.

I also love hosting my podcast, Hero’s Journey, where I talk to other music producers, artists, and bands about their careers with a focus on the early days and how they got started. I’ve learned so much from those conversations, and have ended up collaborating with a couple of my guests, like Paul Bartolome with our song “Save Me” and KIETH MONTANA on “Say It Ain’t So.”

For now, my YouTube content has become less of a focus for me, but I always enjoy making music content on there. I love collecting vinyl, and one series I do is unboxings of the records in my collection. With modern records that have more extensive vinyl packages, I make longer form videos that run a couple minutes long, and I also have a short-form series with vintage vinyl that can be done a lot quicker, usually in 30-60 second vertical videos.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That I would be an NBA player! That was my dream throughout childhood because I loved watching and playing basketball. Kobe Bryant was and still is one of my greatest inspirations, from his skill on the court to his work ethic in anything he did.

But there was a point around 13 or 14 years old where it started to become clear that an NBA career wasn’t in the cards for me. I wasn’t 6 and a half feet tall, didn’t practice nearly as much as the actual prospects and realized fandom wasn’t enough to make it.

Thankfully, that’s right around when I discovered music production and absolutely fell in love with it.

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Don’t rush anything. Don’t put out anything that’s not ready. I’ve made that mistake multiple times before. From YouTube videos with editing mistakes to my debut album “Cerebria” that I felt I had to put out but wasn’t ready yet.

Eventually I went back and fixed what I could by remastering “Cerebria,” but I think I’ll always feel a bit of embarrassment around that project. Even though it was slowly coming together, I wanted to give myself a deadline and put it out, because I had been sitting on the songs for so long.

But looking back now, I know I could make it so much better, from sound quality to actual changes in the songs themselves. I’ve considered doing a remake or re-release version of it, but that side of my brain has to fight with the side that likes the reminder to take my time and make things great before release. We’ll have to see which argument ends up winning.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Oh, the project I’ve known for years. I recently produced and released my first rap cypher with some talented rappers. “Heroek Cypher, Vol. 1,” go check it out and all the artists who helped make that come to life.

The logistics alone of getting those 10 artists on one song took a while, but I’ve had the dream for a long time of making the biggest rap cypher ever. At this point it’ll have to happen in the future when I have a bigger platform or can more easily get rappers on board, but I’ve been so inspired by DJ Kay Slay.

I remember the first time I saw and listened to “Rolling 110 Deep” and loved the idea of bringing so many rappers together on one song. Then when I learned about him doing “Rolling 200 Deep,” I was just dumbfounded and thought it was crazy. 200 rappers on 1 song! Are you kidding?! And these aren’t just any rappers either, both of these cyphers had rap icons and legends on them.

After seeing that, I was hooked on this dream of making the biggest cypher ever. I’d love to make a cypher with over 200 rappers some day, but I also don’t want to think about the logistical nightmare that’ll probably be [laughs].

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people realize and are inspired by the fact that I kept going and that I did it. Even when songs were getting single or double-digit listens, even when no one was watching my YouTube content, I just kept creating because it was so much fun for me and I loved it.

I know it’s cliche to say someone shouldn’t get into music or these other creative fields for the money, but it’s true. The scary thing is it’s not like other careers with a charted path. For example, lawyers go to law school and take the bar, then might become an associate, to lawyer, to partner or whatever. Honestly most of my law knowledge comes from watching “Suits,” so maybe there’s more to it than that [laughs]. But with music, there isn’t that blueprint. A lot of people just start doing it in their bedrooms or dorm rooms until it somehow stumbles into being big enough to focus on as a career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://padlet.com/heroek/heroek-hub-sk7mmzyhbb3jge0f
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heroekmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Heroek
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-554242446
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heroekmusic
  Robotek (Second YouTube Channel): https://www.youtube.com/@R0botek
  Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/heroekyt
  Threads: https://www.threads.net/@heroekmusic
  Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/heroek.bsky.social
  Heroek Headlines (Newsletter): https://heroekheadlines.beehiiv.com/subscribe
  Heroek Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/heroek/

  Heroek on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3JGIIk1vSbNwt9I9QSHnrR
  Heroek on Apple Music: https://apple.co/3vyk7L5
  Heroek music on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW3FV7-ZE89ixixQsXa0G8oAz3S9sXkWo

  Hero’s Journey on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyeRInSXR5lANzR1Sz8QiFCH4-Qu8SSdi&si=H6hxII_2Elu3vZKx
  Hero’s Journey on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2nGjbdH1eruOzWjNF2SkZs
  Hero’s Journey on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3jJyysW