Stephen Jailon Gilbert, known by his stage name, Stephen Jailon, is an upcoming artist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Below he answers a list of pre-sent questions that summarize a glimpse of who he is as an artist and as an individual.
Q:
What, and/or, who influenced you to pursue a career in music? For example, was there a specific person or experience?
A:
Yo, to the point, Kanye and my friends.
Q:
How did they?
A:
He told me to believe in myself when he said if you’re a fan of me you are a fan of yourself, I believe, but yeah I was definitely one of those kids he was talking about.
And the homies always said, “Bro, you should rap.”
Q:
With these influences at your back, how do you think your sound differs from every other artist in this generation? what about you do you think sets you apart from the rest?
152 Likes, 5 Comments - @stephenjailon on Instagram
A:
Nothing major, I’m just into the art.
Like really, the whole depth of being an artist. I’m also into monetizing everything in this streaming era, but I still like to pursue music for art sake everything isn’t about a check, and I’m understanding everyday what comes with this...
You have to be a voice for something.
I’m not afraid to work in new spaces, and lastly I wanna build a world.
I’ll leave that to interpretation
Q:
What is your personal process in creating music?
A:
I usually record myself.
I’m not a big studio guy. Although, I have no fear of the yo at all.
But yeah, I like being in my own space or just record wherever I’m at if i cant find a studio.
Q:
What do you think are the most important aspects of music?
A:
(Stephen listed these)
STORYTELLING
CREATIVITY
AESTHETIC
Q:
How do these aspects reflect you as an artist and do you use them in all of your engineering and recording processes?
A:
Completely.
I try to make all of my music relate back to my city or a situation/memory good and bad.
Ironically, I like my bad memories.
They fuel me completely now.
Q:
What is a day in the life of Stephen Jailon look like? Take us through your day-to-day.
A:
Usually a rushed morning.
Networking, meeting people, communication you stuff like that (love life is out of order but we working on that).
Then that’s usually followed by some creative time at Ali Road Studios, either designing, editing, or working on music.
I try to get a song or two done or produced at least everyday.
Q:
Lastly, what advice would you give for other aspiring artists in your field? any anecdotes are experiences to share?
A:
The upload button is your friend.
It’s so many people out here with fire in there notes, like bro put that piece of art out. And secondly, keep going.
Nothing is built in one or two releases even if one is a hit.
Foundation is what you should chase, and for that, you need bodies of work, and for that, you need a combination of things. But that’s another conversation for another day.
Cliche at most, but its definitely worth it to follow your ideas.
I’ve met some of my favorite artist and creators just being me never forcing energies or acting out of character when something major comes around.
P.S. - “Thanks for the opportunity and reaching out as well. MUCH LOVE FROM Ali Road studios!”
~ Stephen Jailon
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