Today we’d like to introduce you to Brodiee.
Hi Brodiee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
How I got started and how I got to where I am today… that’s a long story lol. I think in general arts has always been something that’s been a part of my life. As long as I could remember, I’ve always been drawing, dancing, rapping, making small films. Any and everything that was involved with creating. Especially because my two older brothers Ryan and Jr have always been really good at drawing. And even my mother was always creating and making things around the house from just pure creativity and resourcefulness. Now at the time, I didn’t know it would be rapping that would completely captivate my artistic creativity. In fact, in the beginning, rapping was just a pass time and hobby for me. My main focus was drawing. I would draw nonstop, making folders and folders of the art I made while regularly practicing to better my skill and drawing techniques. So much so that eventually I would open up a small business called Nostalgickk, where I focused my drawing capabilities and made custom art pieces for any and everyone. But still amongst the years, the love for music and creating it never wavered or decreased for me. I always felt music had the unique ability to showcase one’s creativity but also connect and aid many in their day-to-day lives. And I thought that was always a profound quality of music and its ability to affect and influence the many environments and communities around the world. With all that being said my actual music journey didn’t start until last year in the month of September. I had still been focusing on drawing, and my business Nostalgickk and music from personal stance had taken a back seat as far as creation was concerned. It wasn’t until the circumstances of my life changed did music become forefront in ways I wouldn’t have expected or predicted. Last year ended being one of the toughest years I had experienced as an adult. I would experience death in a way I hadn’t before after losing 37 people in one year. One of which being one of the closest people to me; my god sister Giselle. And to further difficulties, a lot of my family and friend relationships were changing, and a lot of the times not for the better. And towards the middle of the year, around the end of July, my personal health would be drastically tested when I got in a car accident wrecking my car, leaving me with a severe concussion while messing up my back, ribs, chest, and spine. I ended being bedridden for roughly 4 months and had to use crutches to walk for 2 months after that. At that time, attempting to cope with the frequent deaths and changing dynamics of family and friend relationships, I felt the strain of heavy mental burdens and without the capabilities to use my release and escape of drawing because of my physical condition, I found myself drifting into a darker phase and mindset where I couldn’t see much light or positivity in the will to go on. Amongst this time is where I found the exploration of expressing myself through music once again as a beneficial support for me personally. And around early September I shifted my focus to release all the problems, feelings, emotions, and pain I had built up in my mind and heart into music. Still at the time, it was just a way to release what I was holding on to. Never did I think it would turn into this shortly after. But it figures, that’s just how life goes sometimes. Unpredictable and ever-changing and right when you think you have a good grip or grasp of it, it teaches you that you still don’t know as much as you think you do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Aside from the struggles I had mentioned in the previous answer to the previous question, making the music in itself was hard. It was a release and outlet that I needed but at the same time was difficult to process at times. Aside from everything that was going on in 2021, I had previously been a self-learning and healing journey from multiple years before. And as many know that comes with ups and downs and hard truths that aren’t always easy to face or deal with. And after everything, continuing that journey in my recovery process was hard in itself. That consequently paralleled to when I would make music. A lot of the songs I created were of current or past events, emotions, and perspectives I had on experiences of my life and those I knew so creating that music was like looking into a mirror and analyzing the deep parts of my mind and subconscious thoughts that would sometimes get pushed to the back while I was dealing with other things. So, at the beginning, it was a struggle making songs because halfway through a song, it was like ” Dang this really how I’m feeling, or dang that’s really how I felt back then?” It was a sometimes a bittersweet revelation of truth that was a hard pill to swallow sometimes.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I really do consider myself an artist in the truest sense. Now my main focus has been music but before, as I had mentioned, I would draw by hand. I created film sessions as well as hosted photography shoots for models and businesses. Now in a way, that’s kind of translated into my whole music process. The music I make is a reflection of me, my experiences, my environments, surroundings, and perspectives of my encounters with everything in this life. And I channel that in my lyrics and storytelling but also in my art. I take pride in making my own cover art for tracks and albums and having them showcase what my projects or singles are representing and conveying. And even more so in my merch and clothing. I hand craft all my designs and how I want them to look and be produced. So, I feel in many ways, I truly consider myself an artist, and not just a rapper, which I believe is what gives me my following and supporters. And so far, I’ve been able to reach 65,000 monthly listeners in 4 months after my first official EP.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Like we were discussing earlier, I was really involved in arts. But I also played a lot of sports as well. All my brothers were gifted at sports and my mom and dad were top of their respective classes in sports appearing newspapers for their sports, so at a young age I was really active in the sports scene. I think to an extent I was a lot more joyful and extroverted as a kid. A little bit by force lol. I am the youngest of 5 and all 5 of my brothers are introverted so as the youngest I always sent to ask and do the social interactions they didn’t want to do. Which in a way help me develop my people and interaction skills but as I got older, more independent while experiencing life, I found myself craving to satisfy my introverted qualities and tendencies more often than not.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brodieeofficiall.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_brodiiee_/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brodieeofficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDGC1Omi1V2DAsuTyxQpxeA
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/nostalgickk/
