Today at Apple Creative Studios,
encourages young creators to pursue their creative ambitions
across music and the visual arts. In partnership with Apple Music,
they'll learn from top tier artists and collaborate with mentors
and peers, as they build their body of work.
I'm Zane Lowe, and I had the pleasure and privilege
of taking part in one of these discussions
with my friend Prophet, who posed some questions
about individuality in the face of increasing pressure from business,
audience and a changing music landscape.
We talked about inspiration, imitation, and the difference between the two.
The idea of being yourself, 'cause everyone is taken
and turning your individuality into a business.
It was a really broad and fairly holistic
conversation covered a lot of ground.
And I enjoyed it, not just connecting with the people,
the creatives who were taking part in this, but also taking great questions.
Why is it important from your perspective
to be authentic and be yourself.
You know, I think when we're forming our own identity, it's totally normal,
natural, and in fact, good,
to draw inspiration from people who speak to you
and connect with you through art,
right down to what you wear, how you wear it,
the music you make, the label you might sign to.
You should be informed by the greats that go before you,
the people that help you define who you are.
So the difference between being inspired,
I think, and letting that inspiration over take you
to the point it's not an inspiration,
it's kind of imitation. And I think we start imitating,
of course we do. We're trying to find our voice.
Eventually, if you do it long enough,
you live it and you start to find a way to translate
your experiences into music.
You will naturally start to develop your own voice,
and it's recognizing that. And that's the crucial moment when you need
to develop self-confidence.
Fake it till you make it, right?
Fake that self-confidence if you have to, believe in yourself,
tell yourself you're on the right path if it feels right,
even if there's opinions to the contrary or things pulling at you, distractions,
things that eat away your confidence.
If you want to get to a place where your voice is authentic
and appealing, you've got to get to that place
where you're as true to yourself as you can.
If for no other reason, because if you get successful,
can you imagine how torturous it would be,
being successful and not being the most authentic you?
That goes into something else
I've heard you talk about, which is individuality
- turned into a business, right? - Right.
Taking that most sacred piece of yourself,
that you put into that music, like a "4:44."
Something that means something to you
and figuring out the business after that, right?
Like, taking that that is you, and then turning that
into the business, versus the business.
Well, there it is. That's traditionally what has happened,
the business has taken your individuality and made it their business.
We like who you are, let us take it and turn it
into something we can market and make money out of.
Well, the good news is as creators now, if you're on this,
in this session, you are the business.
And what you create,
if it starts to connect
is the architecture of the business.
And you don't have to convince anybody anymore
that you can be in business.
You are the reason why the business exists.
If you went on strike, no business.
My name is Ariel. I had like a two-parted questions.
So my first question is, what was your experience
like building trust in the business and just building your circle of trust?
And then what advice do you have
for young artists like us, in building our own circles of trust?
These are great questions.
And they always say be careful getting into business
with friends and you should, but maybe don't look at it as business,
look at it as collaboration.
You know, if you think like, "Hey, I want to change my look."
You know, someone who's got great style.
Build trust from within your circle
and inspire the people from outside your circle,
the good ones you lead by example.
You cannot inspire good people to be around you
and do great things, if you're surrounded by bad people.
I would just, if I had my time again,
I would've built from inside my group far quicker and better.
And not thought other people had the answers.
My question is, how do you stay authentic to yourself
in an industry that's so draining?
I got very lucky. I got some good advice early on,
and I was sort of told to just stay in my corner
and be the best I could be in the thing that really moved me.
Trust your instincts,
be open to the inspiration that's around you.
And when you feel it,
get out of the way, and let it roll through you,
and just come through you,
and then use that experience to inform,
and give you the confidence to do the next one and the next one.
'Cause we try to force these things,
and every now and then you may force greatness,
but, man, it's exhausting.
And you just much better off just trying to be open,
and just, and that's what authenticity is,
is just being open to everything that's around you,
and feeling it, and letting it flow through you,
and do your best to translate it. That's what you'll get better at.
That's what you'll get better and better at doing,
and the great news about that is that that is the best part.
You don't want to rush that result
'cause that is why you're artists,
'cause you you're tapping into something special
and beautiful and letting it flow.
Man, why would you ever want to reach the finish line of that?
You want to be doing that until you take your last precious breath.
So, there's no race here.
It's all process.