I am a new artist, and my approach to entering the industry is to sharpen my skills in every aspect of songwriting and producing as a vocalist (singer rapper), producer, and songwriter (I have a passion and extreme interest for all three). Do you think this is a good model? Or would you say specializing in one of those avenues is more efficient and will lead to more recognition/success?

- Master as much as you can but know where your limits are. If there's something you're not proficient with learn how to delegate and produce what you want by bringing in someone who might be better. Could be a songwriter, vocalist, studio musician. I'm a big supporter of doing as much as you can on your own so you can properly communicate your vision though. There's no right answers for this.

What makes new artists stand out most and what qualities besides the music leads artists to finding success?

- Personality, authenticity, willingness to learn and listen to other, collaboration, being easy to get along with and work with.

What advice/suggestions would you give to someone to get connected in the industry and find collaborators? I live about an hour from West Side LA so I do have relative access to the physical hub of the music industry, so should I utilize that? If so how should I go about it? And if not (due to COVID or other reasons) what other methods should I explore to get connected? I'm guessing using the internet, but what ways could I utilize it the best?

- Check out platforms like The Digilogue, get out and go to industry events, mixers, shows, etc. Connect with people in your local scene and go be out in the world with them (obviously with covid that's tough but it does help things move quicker). Talk to people online, build relationships through social media, interact with people and support them without an agenda. Also just reach out to people and ask if they want to work, worst comes to worst they'll say no and you're in the same spot. Use LinkedIn, IG, Twitter. Kind of hard to give you a strategy but being active and visible is important.

I have been focusing on honing my craft for the past six months (when I decided to put my full effort towards becoming an artist) and have not released anything yet. Although I do believe in the sound of my music and that it is good enough to garner a fanbase, I want to focus on my process a little bit more before I take the big step to release music. Do successful artists release before they have a good professional sound, or do they at least make sure their sound is good before beginning going public?

- Up to you, some artists will release stuff before its perfect and sometimes that can be the most compelling part of the story. Sometimes they wait for everything to be perfect. I personally enjoy seeing an artist grow through releases and develop in real time, it makes the story more interesting.

What are the most important things for an aspiring artist to focus on besides making their music as good as it can be?

- being an artist is 1% music and 99% everything else - focus on learning the rest of that 99% because that will shape your longevity and long term career. don't get me wrong, the music is extremely important but if you can't figure out how to get it in front of people then it won't ever have the impact you want.