Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Sky.
Justin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
This is heavy haha! Let’s see, I started writing stories in elementary school, which lead to writing poetry. I remember seeing a freestyle rap cipher in high school and I fell in love with the art form. My friend and I then spent countless hours each week teaching ourselves how to rap and how to play with language. I used to battle all the time and my friends would always encourage me to enter contests. I entered the Dub Magazine Hip Hop Contest and won first place for emcees. From there, I went into my friend’s makeshift studio and made my first mixtape. It was randomly heard by an online radio station overseas and I was invited to Portugal to perform at an international music festival. This was at the same time, I moved from the IE to Los Angeles to pursue my art full time. I was introduced to The West Coast Get Down (Kamasi Washington, Cameron Graves, Miles Mosley, Ryan Porter, Tony Austin) by my cousin, and after rapping with this live (jazz) band a few times, they invited me to be a part of what they were doing. I performed with them and on my own for years, all while exploring other facets of my creativity such as film-making, music videos, graphic design, and poetry. In the fall of 2016, my first book was published, There’s Comfort in the Darkness. It is a book filled with poetry, short stories and other writings which are accompanied by visual art created by myself and other photographers and painters from all over the country. I continued to work on music and perform, and, in collaboration with decorated song-writer/producer Jason Goldman, I created my first concept ep, EDEN. EDEN (Everything’s Dead, Everything’s New) was released December 2, 2017, to high reviews and I am currently creating more content to accompany the project. Overall, all of my projects are connected by an idea, and I look forward to getting it out into the world very soon.
Has it been a smooth road?
No. Haha! Not smooth at all. Some of the struggles along the way have been accessed to resources, creative relationships needing mending, and the mental struggle of choosing to work for me: you know, the usual entrepreneurial/music/art industry struggles hahaha! But I’m grateful because these challenges have taught me a lot and the future is looking bright because of what I’ve learned and what I vow to continue to learn.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Justin Sky – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am an artist. That is the umbrella. Under that, first and foremost is music. As a musician, I compose, rap, sing, and produce music. Music is my first love. It has also lead to other art forms such as graphics and digital design, painting, and film-making. Music definitely leads the way in my business and artistic endeavors, and I am most known for my live shows. You definitely should come experience one soon haha!
I’m most proud of the ability of me and my collaborators to constantly think of new ways to express ideas and to be unique in our approach and execution.
And what sets me apart is my affinity for expressing my ideas visually. Even the music is created with visual intent and polarizing colors. My artistic vision is fueled by expressing a world of encouragement, escape, and entertainment through music, writing, and visual mediums. I aim to give my audience outer-worldly imagery intertwined with real-world feelings and scenarios.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love that it’s so vast. It’s vast in size and in ideas. Whatever I need or want to find, I can find it in LA. There are so many different cultures, so many different outlets, and so many different and ever-changing activities to engage in. I love it!
The thing I like least about LA is the traffic, but even that’s something I’ve learned to work around haha!
Pricing:
- EDEN, the concept ep is available in physical form for purchase at JustinSky.com for $6.99 and is also available on all major streaming platforms.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JustinSky.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/justinsky_
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/justinsky_
Image Credit:
Mellow Smooth Photography and Visual Thought
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