10 years ago today, i was in an incredibly frustrating place. I was a few years removed from my win on the MTV emcee battle and signed to the indie label Southbeat in Miami. My management had ditched me due to disagreements with the label head. I was fighting to get a release date for my first album at the time but was being pushed back behind all the other artists on the label that had signed after me, including ¡MAYDAY! who was just Bernz & Plex at the time.
So when I was just about at my wits end, I decided to start a mix tape series to both voice my protest and to at least keep some sort of promo for myself out there while i figured out what my next move was. I gathered whatever original production I could and jumped on a few of my favorite popular beats of the time and "The Waiting Room Mix Tape" was born. It would start a trilogy that would span seven years and three installments, the last of which was the Rooftops mix tape dropped in 2013 after being signed to Strange Music.
I do feel like everything happens for a reason. My music definitely had a lot of developing to do back then and I learned so much from the people I worked with during my first record deal that If I could go back today, I wouldn't change a single thing. I truly love how it all played out.
There is nothing overnight about my career. It has been a slow burn since the beginning with extremely hard earned accolades spiking the meter over the years. The beauty of having to earn something over such a period of time is that I appreciate everything I'm able to accomplish so much more now than if it would have all blown up for me back then. ten years later, i'm in a waaaaay better situation than I was when I released "The Waiting Room" but I'm still striving to do bigger and better things and still to this day, nothing is promised.
The most important part of this story is that even at it's most frustrating moments, if you truly love what you do, ten years goes by like ten seconds and barriers no matter how massive they seem, are merely speed bumps that will slow you down but never truly stop you.
Happy 10 year anniversary to "The Waiting Room Mix Tape"!
Here's to the next 10 and everything we'll learn in between.
Wrek