Coming off a great 2022 year which included 4 project releases, recording artist Cystic is paving the way with his unique sound. Check out his interview with TGWEWON's Du'Lanci Vallie below.
How do you overcome challenges and recover from setbacks?
The way I see it bro, life works for us, not against us. That is something I had to learn and come to terms with in my journey. Everything that has happened to me, I wouldn’t change it for nothing. It’s the reason I’m here and it’s enabled me to become the person I’m meant to become. My energy and thoughts can manifest my reality. So anytime I’m going through something, it don’t bother me the same as others cause I see it as a opportunity for growth and change in my self to become closer to the person I’m destined to become.
Furthermore, how can I help all these hurting people with my music, if I don’t feel their pain first and foremost?
If you wasn't in the music business or industry, what do you think you would be doing with your life instead?
Honestly that’s hard to answer cause I don’t see myself being anything else. This is my passion and livelihood in this on everything. This music thing is my heart, soul, and mind, and I’m a creative minded person, so I guess it would have to be something I can pour my energy into as a creative outlet somehow, but I honestly don’t see anything else I’d rather do.
What would you consider your most successful or proudest moment in your music career, so far?
At this point really two things. One was meeting Westside Boogie and Grip last year, was really phenomenal to speak with them even if it was brief. Two would be simply building the small community of people that support me, I don’t like calling them fans cause to me they’re just family. I like to connect and bond with everyone individually.
Out of all the songs you've released, what do you think is your Best song and why?
I have a lot I could say for that but I think a good one to go with at the moment is my latest release “NEVER THE SAME”. I produced it, I wrote and recorded it, mixed and mastered. Everything. It caught my audience off guard and it’s very personal. Some people have told me it’s their favorite of mine as well.
Are you able to make a living with your music? If so, how were you able to attain a career doing what you love? If not, what do you do in order to fund your music career? What advice would give to someone who's interested in pursuing a career in music?
At the moment no, I’m living off SSI currently, due to my Cystic Fibrosis. One thing that has saved me a lot of money is learning each stage of creating music myself such as producing and mixing/mastering. I never have to pay for beats or engineering.
My advice for anyone doing this is prepare to put in 5-10 years and keep your mind focused on the things you desire. The law of attraction and all those things are very real I put my life on it, but you have to be disciplined. That’s the main thing.
Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
I haven’t done a lot of performance’s yet due to the lack of venue’s in my area, I have performed for a group of college kids before though for my first performance this year. Turned out well, my beat got messed up in the speaker and I told them to cut it and I just did it a cappella, but everyone told me afterwards that it was real professional how I handled it and it turned out more raw that way. So no complaints.
What is the story behind your band name/stage name?
The meaning behind Cystic is based off the rare disease I was born with known as Cystic Fibrosis. It’s my way of flipping the cards handed to me, turning my negative to positive, weakness to strength.
What is your latest release and where fans can find it?
NEVER THE SAME, it’s available now on all streaming platforms
What is on your agenda or what can fans expect to see from you in 2023?
2022 was a lot of experimenting and different styles from me. I dropped 4 mixtapes with completely different styles and sub-genre’s. Now that I have a good handle on my sound, I plan on expanding more and dropping more singles, plus an EP with Dope Sean, as well as a debut mixtape for my collective I’m forming called “The Degenerate’s”. My plan is to drop something every month, with a goal of hitting 10K listeners by the end of the year.
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