 What's up? What's up? I'm Bram Ashon and I'm Corey and we are here with Leia the Leo Kimmy 232 Prez, Pee Robbins and Cedric Brazel. Tell me this then, your first thousand monthly listeners. Right. I wish I'm a ground zero to get to that point. How did you get from zero to that? Marketing, a team, content, being innovative, doing things that are true to me, but still that I don't see other people doing. I know for me, for example, when I released my first EP a few years ago, that was the first part to my EP that I just released. We would do something, I have something called Soul Sessions, which is like we would do performances all my songs, but we're doing them in weird spaces. So one of my performances was in a lake. So I was in a boat singing with the violinist singing one of my songs. I was like, nobody's going to do this. Nobody's ever done this. I'm going to do that. And then I was like, oh, I'm going to get a roof and I'm going to sing a song on a roof. Because I don't think nobody's doing this. You know, like just doing different things that I see nobody else doing in different spaces because everybody can do covers and everybody can sing songs. But I want to do something that has heart in it, has creativity in it and shows that like I have some kind of spark to me, you know, and some innovation. Because that's what inspires me personally, like innovative artists. A couple of years ago, you would have been, that'd correct me if I longed, but a lot of it from the Florida rappers that were coming up, right? So the Kodak Blacks and those and like Florida rappers are known for being like... Very over the top. Definitely, definitely. Being a real character. So would you be an R&B artist in the scene? Would you say that there was that influence? Oh, definitely, definitely. I think I'm the type of person that I like to take inspiration from all of it, no matter what genre it is, especially from my home state. Any artist that comes from there, I respect them a hundred percent because Florida is just not a place that people look to, like people don't even tour really, really unless you're a megastar in Florida. So any artist that can break through or cut the mold or cut through the noise, I respect that and I try to take a little inspiration from it or what I came from it that I can include in my own brand or my own music or my own journey. My number one tip is you don't have to be a struggling artist. You know, you can do other things to fund your passions, to fund your dreams until it all makes sense. I was a monthly listener. A lot of it was, well, first, I mean, obviously you got to start with the music, right? And I think that's important to note just because there's so much going on in the industry that sometimes as artists you can forget the music is the center of it. So I focus heavily on the music. That's what's most important to me. That's the purpose. That's the impact that I have on the people. So I said, how do I make the most quality music and music that represents me? So that's what I started with. And then how do we market to those people that I feel like it resonates most with? And I think that's an ongoing journey. It's trying to figure out who exactly resonates with the music. Who is this music really for? But doing a lot of trying to get on playlists, you know, that match the genre, that match the location, you know, Chicago playlists, you know, connections that I've built being able to get on their playlists, sending it to friends, sending it to family, posting it on social media. So it was a lot of just like, grime, you know, trying to get... Have you done that to the industry with connections? I did not. So how did you get yourself to this point? Just trying to be at as many events like this as possible. Trying to, whenever I was in a space, shaking hands, just meeting people, sharing with people what I'm doing. And that led me to meet somebody who could put me in touch with somebody. And I think, honestly, people just, you know, kind of rock with me as a person, you know, even just music aside, like I try to just be a genuine dude and really just, you know, be myself. And I think through that being able to connect with people, it's allowed me to get more connections. But building the listeners, I have a great team. My manager has been really helpful and I'm a very introverted person. I'm not... I'm working on it, but I'm not the best at connecting with people. In social settings. So that's a big help, is to have somebody who can guide you through that. And then as far as the social media and everything is just trying to be myself on social media as well and give people somebody to relate to in that way. Yeah, just talking to people. As cliche as it sounds, like my entire musical career, I've just been myself, bro. You know what I'm saying? Like, I never really tried to fit any molds or like trends or anything like that. Like there's things that you do, you know what I'm saying? What you happen on the bandwagon is to like try your hand at it for content and shit like that. But I've just always been true to myself and like showcase my personality. And that's what's been working for me because people find me personable. You know what I'm saying? People find me like someone that they can talk to and shit like that. So that's helped me a lot just with engaging with my friends, you know what I'm saying? And actually treating them like people who support me. And like I appreciate them. You're like one-to-one type person. Yeah, like I be answering DMs and shit. Like people DM me all the time. I'm talking to people. I hop on live. I'm talking to people, you know what I'm saying? I answer my comments and shit like that. If you see me outside, like I'm cool. I'm not stuck up and shit. So I feel like that definitely adds to my appeal because it's like, I'm showing people I'm a real person. Studying as a classically trained soprano, I was encouraged to fit the mold of a classically trained soprano. And I saw a bigger picture. I'm like, if I want to be on Broadway, I have to know pop. I have to know hip hop, R&B. There's so much that stems and tells a story within musical theater and even opera. So like I guess I just went against the grain and I was like, I want to sing this. No, I want to sing this. I don't want to sing these arias that all the other girls are singing like, why can't you understand the bigger picture here? It was discur- like it really was not. I shouldn't say it was discouraged, but like, no one really wanted to hear what I had to sing half the time. I'm talented, you know, like let me help navigate or pave the way to navigate what this industry really is. You have to be able to do crossover and musical theater now. You know, like you have to be able to sing pop, but I think because people stick to a curriculum per se, they don't want somebody to go over here. And then all the attention, all the scholarships, every competition I swear, like I never got in. I never did, but I'm one of the only people from my undergraduate degree who's doing what I'm doing. But it was that like, keep your head down, keep doing what you're doing, keep making noise. You'll figure it out. It'll all come back. It'll all come back. And that's a humble, I'm saying that humbly. I do it. No, but it's the reality, right? Yeah. And that's the natural fight of, especially an artist, right? Where there is no true one path. So I can see how some people following the specific path, right in school, might not be, you know, up to the battle of curving out your own path in the real world. Right? There's a lot of fear there. Like no one wants me to, I just got to stay, how to do what everybody else is doing. Like, and it could be, it could feel very defeating at the end of the day to go, but why don't they understand that there's more to this than what the curriculum says on paper? See, I think I might know your answer to this question, but it's something we've asked most people today. In terms of opinions, whose opinion do you think matters most? Fans' opinion, artists' opinion, or the professionals' opinion? I'm going to define a professional. That's the first thing that I... The music executives, the marketers, the managers. I'm going to lean more into fan slash professional, but it really depends on my relationship with the professional. Do you have my, I mean, if I'm creating for my fans and I'm listening to their feedback, that's what I feel like feedback and opinions, like are those in the same category? You know, if something isn't sticking or landing, don't I have to listen to that versus somebody else's perception of what they think will be successful? I'm still not... I don't even know if I have a true answer to that because I'm so new in this lane. But if we've had a relationship, a working relationship for the last 15 years and you have my back and you have my best interest, your opinion matters. We're a team, but that even that can get controversial. We hear about people using one another and for their own gain, like, you know, I don't know. See, I'll tell you, most of the artists we spoke to today, most people said, well, the artist's opinion matters the most. Sure, yes, yes. But then they'll say the fans matter and they just leave professionals out. Sure. So I'm curious, even hearing that, does that change how you, what you think of it? Sure, I mean, it's the artist, at the end of the day, like, you're telling your story what you want matters. I think you have to be confident and listen to yourself. But again, it's not, I can speak on the whole angle of a musical theater, right? It's not, the singer is not making the show. There's a whole team making a production and painting a picture. And as a singer, if the audience is giving me feedback, you're receiving that, whether it's through applause or I made you laugh, you know? That's interesting. I bring out emotions, like, I just think it's so much more of a collaborative experience because I think the feedback of an audience can really gauge where you take your, are you tired? Like, you can't, maybe you can't be tired. You're telling a story at the end of the day. I really care. I don't care about other people's opinions but my fans, if I'm getting and receiving either positive or negative feedback, that's their experience. I have to value it to an extent and I can bring that back to a professional and say, listen, this is valuable to me. What are your thoughts?