Blog Advice: ‘I need to separate myself to stand out.’ - Kendrick Lamar (Heart Part 3)
How to stand out in the early stages
Want some advice on how to breakthrough? Particularly but not exclusive to those wanting to make a name in the SpokenWord scene. Here it is, it’s easy and pretty straightforward, but for the procrastinators (I’ve been one too), we can choose to make it hard on ourselves. But here goes... in order of importance.
1. Study (critically analyse) and surround yourself with the calibre of creativity you aspire to be.
For me, that meant finding Spoken Word Artists on YouTube who had undeniable punchlines, jaw dropping schemes/structures, an iconic delivery and confidence which I wouldn’t have thought of. I knew, that if their talent brewed my competitive nature, then they were exceptional (I’m hard to please/impress) and I loved that. So I would save their YouTube videos directly to my phone (early 2010-11) and watch them on commutes religiously, over and over again. Daily.
‘I study the greats until they’re great to me no more’ – Tupac Shakur
2. Every week there’s an opportunity to display and sharpen your talent / growth.
After a while, without fail, I would go out and find events to perform at, or a good friend of mine (Kemi Taiwo) would suggest all the ones to hit up. Whether open mics or dedicated poetry nights, I’d rehearse, perform and brush up on my stage presence and confidence weekly. Back then I noticed that the shows with the fewest audience members, strengthened me the most. It was tough, but I’d still perform like it was 5x as much. I still find huge audiences of 1000 or so easier than 10 people lol. Turn shows/stages into YOUR stomping ground.
‘The human brain probably finds excuses quicker than any google search,
go find yourself a solution for once.’ – LionHeart
3. Nurture a healthy obsession for the field you’re in.
Whether that’s getting excited to hear the applause, gassing (rating) yourself when you create something new that you admire, or rewarding yourself with a milkshake (and whipped cream!). Do it, encourage yourself to see the benefits in not only pursuing, but devoting your days and weeks to this. It undoubtedly helped me edge myself over the rest in the early days. As it got me addicted to wanting to do more, be better and learn how far I could go with this. Also, it doesn’t feel draining when it becomes habitual. Just make sure it’s healthy ok? Good.
In brief: Recap
-Study your favourite artists / art form.
-Immerse yourself in the quality you admire.
-Incorporate performing / creating in your day to day.
-Obligate yourself to share your talent / growth to an audience. (on or offline)
-Nurture your obsession for this! It’ll be your sweet-tooth for creating.
LionCares: On asking for feedback/advice from your peers
Now, although initially this may seem like the best thing to do, and it CAN be! However, if you’re someone like me who gets consumed by emails and DMs all the time, it becomes very time consuming to reply. So…
Take a leaf out of a book by Neil Strauss, where he says ‘The Game is played on the field. Get out there. Time in the field will calibrate your game’.
In other words, being in your field’s environment, in front of audiences/fellow creative people, will calibrate what you are adding to the world. Bit by bit.
Poets I studied when I was coming up in 2011: Worth a YouTube visit
The Strivers Row (All of them!)