Instrumental Intel - Ep 1 Mental Health & Creativity with Phire Free (5-4-24)

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Achickwitbeatz presents ⁠the Instrumental Intel podcast⁠, bringing you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news & tips, insights & interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm EST on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠.
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Instrumental Intel Podcast

Achickwitbeatz brings you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news, insights, interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm ET on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio,⁠⁠⁠ Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠, and your favorite podcast platform.

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Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:01

Yo, this is music producer Achickwitbeatz, and I want to thank you for checking out the premiere episode of my new podcast, Instrumental Intel. I'm really, really excited to be bringing this to you, so I'll be giving you information and inspiration that's instrumental to your music career. So of course, it's going to be beats or instrumentals by yours truly, Music Industry News and Trends.

00:28

I’m gonna have some artist insights and interviews for you. So, you know, thank you for taking this journey with me. And as always, I really appreciate Grander Radio, been rocking with me a long time based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And yeah, I'm going to kick this off with the beat that I released this week called Existential. And then I'll be back with some music business news or music biz briefs, whatever you want to call it.

00:57

shortly after that and some more goodies. Alright, stay tuned.

09:45

Alright, as promised here I am with your music biz brief, 

09:49

diving into the latest from the National Music Publishers Association and their potential legal action against Spotify. So in a recent Music Business Worldwide podcast, the NMPA president, David Israelite, discussed Spotify's controversial move to try to alter its mechanical royalty payment calculation in the US, which is sparking considerations for legal action against the streaming giant.

10:15

This issue reflects a longstanding debate over fair compensation for songwriters. So with the new bundles thing that Spotify has introduced, it's just another way that it's going to cut what songwriters are getting and so they're already looking at ways to try to combat it. I'll definitely do my best to make sure that I keep you posted with updates and you know what, it'd be kind of hard to imagine them not taking legal action or something like that. So once again, I'll keep you in the know as I get more info.

10:46

Now, shifting gears to the streaming platforms, well, a different one, I should say. Deezer has reported a robust revenue growth and strategic shifts amid the market challenges that they've been facing and a CEO transition. So their first quarter of 2024 results show promising signs. They've seen a 15% revenue increase and that's because of the strong focus on their business-to-business partnerships.

11:14

The interim CEO is optimistic about their trajectory, saying that they're aiming for positive cash flow this year and even positive adjusted EBITDA in 2025. So they're seeing a whole bunch of growth on the horizon. Once again, we'll just kind of have to wait and see what happens, but as I get more info, I'll make sure that you have it too. In other music industry news, industry experts are proposing a new strategy for increased revenue and fan engagement.

11:44

through early vinyl releases. So economist Will Page and attorney Fred Goldring suggest that artists could tap into the desire for exclusivity by, well, amongst their super fans by releasing vinyl editions of their albums earlier. So this approach could actually turn vinyl releases into valuable early access opportunities, kinda add into the excitement and revenue.

12:10

instead of using it as like an afterthought and something else to collect. So just imagine that being able to grab the vinyl before it even hits streaming services. I mean it sounds like a home run. Kind of surprising that this hasn't been explored prior to now. It's one of those aha moments but I totally agree with them. Reach out to me at some point. Let me know what you think about it too.

12:34

Alright, switching gears up to major acquisitions. We know it's always something going on, flip-flopping back and forth within the industry. And Blackstone's recent move to acquire Hypnosis Songs Fund for $1.57 billion definitely marks a significant shift in the music rights landscape. So this acquisition will add over 65,000 songs to Blackstone's portfolio. And you know, it's following up.

13:02

competitive process which kind of signals that there's increased benefits for investors. So again, keep an eye on that and definitely keep it posted. And lastly, in satellite radio news, SiriusXM has reported a decline in subscribers and it's eyeing innovations amidst discussions about Howard Stern's succession because you know at some point he's got to retire.

13:29

He's been their cash cow, so we gotta see what's gonna happen with that. They've gotta start repairing. They lost 359,000 self-pay subscribers in the first quarter. And so yeah, now they're exploring those strategies like potential paywalls for podcasts to try to drive growth and retain talent. They're also even thinking about adding some ad-supported tiers and whatnot.

13:56

Yeah, it's just going to be a really, really interesting process to see how they try to combat all the loss that they've actually seen. So, you know, it's always good to kind of keep an eye on things and see where different streaming services and music platforms, any place that your music could potentially be. That's always a great idea to try to make sure that you know what's going on with them.

14:19

All right, and that does it for the news for this particular episode. I'm going to take another pause for the cause, and then I'll be back with a special guest, Phire Free, as we discuss mental health and creativity. Stay tuned!

18:18

Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels. Visit achickwitbeatz.com for resources for artists and instrumentals in various genres available for songs, blogs, blogs, podcasts, themes, TV, film, commercials, and more. Once again, that's achickwitbeatz.com. That's A-C-H-I-C-K-W-I-T-B-E-A-T-Z.com Let's make something happen.

18:48

All right, up next on the Instrumental Intel podcast with Achickwitbeatz, since May is Mental Health Month, my next guest has carved a space in the mental health field, is also an artist in many different facets, so I'd like to

19:06

present to you Phire Free. If you could kind of give an introduction as to who you are, you know, we're gonna be covering a lot of ground, obviously, but if you could give a little background and let people know your connection with both, you know, mental health and as an artist. What up, everybody? This is Phire Free. I am a spoken word poet and author.

19:34

And I am also a master's level graduate in counseling psychology. I cultivate healing-centered spaces to work through trauma and to build on wellness, resilience, and presence and awareness. And thank you so much, Achickwitbeatz, for allowing me to be here today.

20:01

Yes, I'm glad you could take time from your schedule to share with us. And so, you know, many artists, they're going through challenges and they need places to put their emotions into their music or whatever it is that they do creatively. How do you think the process of creating music can help both and challenge mental health for artists? Cause we know it's kind of like a double edged sword a little bit. So what are your thoughts on that?

20:28

so much. This is a really compound question. Part of my frustration with this is the fact that being in the mental health field and being so dedicated and driven and passionate about trauma and its contribution to things like suicidality, so we've had to increase suicide awareness and self-interest behaviors and challenges just with dealing with and navigating mental

20:57

Um, there just has not, uh, there, there has not been enough effort and interest in making sure that access to creative, um, outlets have been available. Um, and so now it was just recently within the last year or so that it was released that, you know, art and writing is so helpful with trauma. Go figure, right?

21:26

So, to be able to take the time to give people artistic opportunity to kind of delve into reacting and responding to some of their most challenging and some of their most in-depth experiences offers them the opportunity to explore it in a different way. And we really do need to be more open to that culturally.

21:54

You know, because we do often hear about tortured artists and whatnot. Right. Yeah. What do you think we can do to try to promote like a healthier relationship between creativity and mental health within the industry? So within the industry, there's a few specific things. I know for me, I am currently working and creating an offering in a workshop that's called The Cope Life. It's built on reflection and building awareness. However, within the industry.

22:23

Accessibility is a huge aspect. And even though there have been so, there's been so much work to help people find and gain access, there also has to be a starting point, and when schools didn't, when it kind of stopped expanding artistic programs, that's when where we saw like a lot of major turns and that's an area where we see our youth.

22:51

our children, especially black children, having a larger impact. So areas within the industry that could be much better is leading with organizations that start with advocacy, that start with the education, that start with allowing, that allow spaces. And also stop utilizing and leaning into proximity to privilege.

23:21

Um, because there's so many male, like a lot of, uh, one of the biggest issues here is that in, in Hip Hop specifically, it's so male-dominated when we know that it's, it's the women and it's the, it's the, the growth of how we embrace throughout community and cultivate the ability to have our own personal, um, self-determination that has allowed Hip Hop to really flourish. And so.

23:50

We really should not be leaning into what is status quo. We should, Hip Hop was started off from pushing against it. We should continue that push. Oh, I think I might need to add an air horn there at some point. Uh, yeah. I mean, you know, you're so right. Could you kind of expound a little bit on, you know, those spaces, if you will, and, you know, what we can do to kind of make it safer to kind of.

24:19

push back against the system instead of what they're trying to do, especially thinking about how Hip Hop has been kind of infiltrated, um, you know, as far as content goes, could you expound on that a little more? So shout out to Tiffany Redd, who has a business called 100 Percenters, um, focusing on, you know, issues around sexual assault and things that changed the trajectory in her career. Um, she has taken up.

24:48

advocating for writers and making sure that writers get talking to writers and talking to people in charge of projects to making sure that writers are appropriately respected on their projects. There are a lot of people who are working to kind of change the game and working to create stronger spaces because let's be real like if writers and producers and artists

25:17

weren't making the product, nobody would be making any money. So, um, and with that stated, like, one of the biggest issues is the business decided to formulate Hip Hop. And I think you and I have discussed this a fair amount that Hip Hop has been so formulaic that the pushback, the innovation has, has had to change so much.

25:43

And yet at the same time, some of the very grassroots interests aren't even being supported the way that they need to be supported. I know that, you know, a solid example in my career, I will use myself, is like, I love, I love art, I love Hip Hop, I love writing. And I had to, you know, I had to structure myself.

26:09

in a way that made me marketable to capitalism as opposed to capitalism adapting to be to make what I do, you know, more valuable. And so, you know, within all that adaptation, years get lost, time gets lost. So trying to find the outlets becomes more of a challenge and to it devours time. And

26:37

You know, there's a lot of people who have had to shift, pivot, transition, take, you know, some of us are wearing multiple hats. And yeah, it's just, it's at what point in a lot of times we see ourselves giving who we are up to fit something that was never made to fit us in the first place.

27:02

And so that's one of the aspects of coming out now as I have with the ownership of the fact that I am a writer and a poet and the goal is to be able to assist and support people in processing their trauma, recognizing their own fears, understanding what they're going through and what's happening to them and what's impacting them. These are all things that if the world...

27:29

were more open to the fact of accepting people to create it, create the space as opposed to fitting, making themselves fit in a, like making their circle peg fit in a square knob, then we wouldn't lose so much time. We could move faster. It could be more innovative. There could be more room to bring in variations of beautiful things.

27:58

that create space. And with Hip Hop becoming so formulaic to fit a business and an industry, a lot of the mental health and a lot of the aspects that are mindful and beautiful for people are lost. I'm going to just say one more thing. That's one of the things that we saw with Andre 3000, right? We see him.

28:22

dominating the game, he's at the top, outcasts is everywhere and then they just drop off. Then my man comes out and shares about issues and challenges with depression and you know we're like okay where are you and the next release that he has is a you know an instrumental which everybody appreciated. However you know where was the space for that?

28:52

You know, if it wasn't so formulaic, he would have been able to do that. And probably, you know, and then some. So, you know, that's such an excellent example because I mean, for those of us who got to witness Outkast in real-time, we got to see his evolution. I mean, it was incredible, incredible. Every album, you know, and not just him, you know, Big Boi too, shout out to him.

29:19

Shout out to Big Boi. So yeah, you could literally see the growth happening in real-time. And so even though there were a lot of memes about the flute album and whatnot, but honestly, was anybody really surprised? Because if you were paying attention, you saw that he was growing and expanding. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, and think about how Hip Hop was formed. A lot of people were taking, you know,

29:45

Either disco or jazz records and like scratching them up. So it's, it's a natural evolution that is not as weird as some people try to make it out to be. So organic. So like this is, um, it's so organic and, and we really have grown, but we're still trying to stick in this little box that just, it just wasn't meant to stay in, like.

30:11

It's not a movie, you know, it's not meant to be the same thing over and over and over again. Like at some point, like we've grown, we've moved forward. Even our greatest makers have moved on to other things because they've been too restricted. Yeah. Um, Jean Grae has said recently that they're not going to be making rap music anymore, which perfectly makes sense.

30:39

Because especially if they were putting their effort into it constantly, it, I mean, the thought process that just had to go into writing their lyrics all the time. I mean, how could you not get burned out, especially when you feel like it's not being reciprocated? Like the fans aren't like, oh, thank you. This is what I needed. Because anytime you do one thing, you know, as an artist, a lot of times you kind of want to grow and do something different in order to push yourself, you know, and push past your boundaries.

31:08

It means you've got to take some chances that not everyone's going to understand. And I think even as, as fans, as listeners, which many artists are, we kind of have to offer that same grace to some of our favorite artists as well. And that's something that I don't see happening very often. How about you? Oh my goodness. Like, so to expand off of that, right? Like, and I know I kind of, to explain what I say when I'm like, this is not a movie. So essentially.

31:36

A movie is a beautiful piece of art that can expand on thoughts, right? But at some point you're watching the same thing over again when you start from the beginning and go to the end. It's the same thing. Nothing is ever going to change, right? And when we create art in living in real time, when we create our art, there is an expansion. Even when you go back to the beginning, there's something that shifts or changes or something

32:05

becomes new, new ideas, spin on new ideas, and it grows. And so in real-time, as we live, we're not going to, even with our own art, we're not gonna experience it the same. We're not going to grow the same. And we recognize, especially with this new generation, that yeah, they may like what we put out. They may love it. They may like to listen to it over and over and over again, but they're growing as we grow. And-

32:35

Yeah, that's what Hip Hop is. It's what it allows. It's what it makes room for. So to talk about Jean Grey, who is also somebody that we've watched grow and expand and learn and just journey, of course they're going to get burnt out. They can't keep doing the same things.

33:01

And they've been trying to expand and grow for a while with the series and just different projects. And so I'm excited for them. At the same time, it's disappointing. There's that whole aspect that we all know. Like, yeah, the game isn't meant like the game is created to almost stunt growth.

33:30

For us, we know how to create new rules, we know how to create new variables and engage in new things. And so we really do need to be open to that. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Well, thank you. That was fantastic. So, with that being said since there are...

33:59

I guess, lots of ways that the growth is being stifled. You know, there's a lot of temptation to kind of switch what you're doing to mirror what you're seeing happening. That's kind of raking in the big bucks. And, you know, as we kind of alluded to, there's no way that that's not going to kind of wear down on you after a while. Yeah. So since a lot of us are feeling this in different ways.

34:25

and collaboration just happens to be a really big part of the music world. How do you think artists can support each other's mental health, like within the creative circles? Especially with everything that's going on right now, I definitely encourage checking in, seeing how people are doing. And this is a beautiful time. I know we like to have, you know, structured plans and things, but also giving room to being open to what comes up.

34:55

Because I don't know if you feel like you were impacted by the eclipse or any of the things that kind of happened to create shifts in real-time. But sometimes things like that may have an impact. It might shift some things. It might change energy. Just some of the side factors.

35:22

So if we were, if we took more time to just sit in the space and ask ourselves, you know, how am I doing? And then ask your, ask who you're collaborating with. How are you doing? That opens up a conversation to kind of adjust for that. Yeah, that's excellent. Since you asked or had mentioned, you know, if the eclipse had affected me.

35:51

I think in certain ways it maybe did more indirectly in the sense that my social media, the things that were on my timeline, the energy was just so off and kind of off-putting. I actually kind of tried to steer away from just scrolling in general and kind of limiting my interactions to things that I felt were a little more positive.

36:18

So, you know, with that being said, even with the question that I asked you, that might've been a good time for me to check in with some of those people where I was seeing this kind of rough energy, like, Ooh, are you okay? But, um, you know, like, yeah, I'm glad you presented it that way. Cause I don't think that I would have thought about it like that, but that was right around that timeframe. You know, it was a lot of negativity, a lot of complaints, a lot of, um, you know, misinterpretation, um, especially.

36:48

Okay, so I didn't intend to talk about this right now, but with the whole conversation with the back and forth with Kendrick and Cole and, you know, was Drake gonna say something, that sort of thing with all that energy going on. I saw grown men get really, really sensitive and almost offended by other people's positions, depending on what they thought about one or all three of these artists.

37:15

And, you know, that's not something normally that I would see occur. And now I'm like, okay, you can blame it on the impending eclipse that was going on. But yeah, like it was a lot of, um, man, like people took it personally. It was almost as if those artists thought that somebody said, Hey, I hate your music, man. And really they're just talking about the celebrity that doesn't even know that they exist. So yeah. You know, with that being said.

37:41

When I see stuff going on like that and I'm like, okay, that's enough of this for today. I know how to pop off, you know, just kind of let it breathe, do what it does. Take the time. Yeah. But you know, I don't think, I'm not sure if a lot of artists kind of catch stuff like that. And I believe social media kind of plays a huge role in the lives of artists. So if they're constantly taking in, you know, this type of negativity, how could you recommend that they kind of maintain a positive mental state, not saying that they have to log off?

38:11

But do you have any tips for them to kind of be aware of maybe how they're feeling as they're looking at some of the stuff that's going on and if it's affecting them in their mental health or their mood? Man, so with social media, social media is a very interesting thing. And because there are so many factors, you got algorithms, you got content, you got the trending topics, it's a lot.

38:40

And so I think for one thing, specifically for artists preparing for social media, I know that a lot of times people prepare themselves for what they're for, for you know, the time they're going to spend on it, the and the energy that they're going to put into it, but also prepare for what the energy might get out of it, especially depending on what the trending topics are and being being grounded in understanding, you know, what

39:09

What is the conversation? I know that conversation around Kendrick and J. Cole and Drake. Actually, the conversation is very interesting because a lot of people like to put unique spins on that. And sometimes it might be better to also offer and open up to what different spends look like. I know, shout out to Donna Wright.

39:37

who did a really cool breakdown of it and then and coverage of it and also offers always offers a really clear and thoughtful insight into Hip Hop through from the perspective from a very like thoughtful scholarly type perspective.

40:05

And so I encourage people to change the dynamic a little bit. Open it up, see what other people are saying. Um, look at other blogs, look at other, look at content creators, look at things that are going to allow some variation to, to kind of balance the energy. Because sometimes that is part of the imbalance, right? When it's all leaning in one particular, uh, in one particular direction, it, that can, that can set anybody off.

40:34

And then also be mindful of your own thoughts on it too. Because I know a lot of people do love Drake and a lot of people do love J. Cole and a lot of people do love Kendrick. And so being mindful that if you love one of them it's okay for people who may not necessarily agree with you. It's okay for somebody to think that somebody else is great. It's okay.

41:02

So, um, you know, somebody might come in and be like, I don't mess with none of them. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate you for saying that. Because I mean, honestly, why would you be upset about that? Unless you only liked them because you thought everybody liked them. You know, like that's, I mean, you know.

41:29

Hey, if somebody out there listening, you got a different opinion, feel free to let me know, but why would it bother you? I know who I have as my favorite lyricist, MC, rapper, but I know that there are people that don't like him for the specific reasons why I do, and that's okay. I don't get upset by that because we're all different. But yeah, other than that, I can't see another reason to be that in your feelings unless-

41:56

you thought that you were kind of with the crowd and then now you're finding out that you're not. I think that that's something that could probably shake people to their cores as well. So, yeah, I don't know. It's a theory. You just touched on a huge identity piece that's that mental health-wise, right? Like identity and self-determination is really huge. So if I'm like, hey, I'm in the end crowd and everybody agrees with me and then there's this big division,

42:26

Yeah, like, where's my community at? Y'all love people by myself. Right. Not even realizing that half of us weren't there. It was just because you kept looking at the same blogs and not expanding, like you just said, you know, looking for people that just agree with your train of thought already, but not realizing that many of us haven't been on that board. We said this in the beginning, you weren't paying attention and labeled everybody haters.

42:54

The echo chamber. Yes. The pop echo chambers. Absolutely. I read. Whoa. Yo. It's hard to believe that, yeah, like that goes back into the frame, right? Like, it's hard to believe that it is just that formulaic, yes, people, your gossip blogs get bought. Yes. The labels own a chunk of the blogs that you're reading.

43:22

This is common knowledge, like, unless you're literally covering your eyes when these deals happen. I mean, you've got to consider the source. You really got to consider the source. Do you think that people are going that deep? Like, we, I mean, I agree, we should be going that deep, but. No, you're absolutely not going that deep. Um, and again, this is something else I didn't intend to bring up, but when Ja Rule was talking about going on tour,

43:52

I get press releases, you know, since I'm a blogger as well, I try to put the information out there and the press release was like, legendary icon Ja Rule has announced his tour. And I'm like, wait, I liked Ja Rule's music at a point in time, you know, some stuff I still don't mind going back to when it comes on, whatever. But never in my life have I ever thought, ‘oh, he's legendary.’

44:19

So as soon as I saw that headline, I'm like, hang on. My eyes immediately dropped down to the source, which was Ja Rule. So basically, that's the same thing that's happened with these blogs, you know, when Warner owns a piece of one, Universal owns a piece of another, what I think, Uproxx. So I mean, you know, you gotta pay attention to where it's coming from, especially if, I think a lot of times people don't know to trust their own gut.

44:47

And so they look at these things and then try to develop it and see what the blogger is saying or a podcast or whatever the case may be. But you got to trust your gut. This man said legendary icon. Like you are not Janet Jackson. That's what he said. I mean, come on. I'm not going to take away from what he did. You know, right. You got some bangers, but in my mind, what I have ever said legendary. I know I'm like icon.

45:17

Like what has been modeled after you? Stop it. Yeah. And I love the innovation. I love his innovation. I love his energy. I'm not hating on Ja Rule. Ja Rule is amazing. But at the end of the day, dude, like, ah. You gotta recognize your actual place in what you brought. Absolutely.

45:45

You know, a lot of us artists have done great things, but we know exactly where, where we stand, you know, like in the stratosphere things. I, yeah. But yeah, I say that to say you gotta pay attention to where the news that you're getting is coming from. And if it doesn't align with your thoughts, it doesn't mean that your thoughts are wrong. You know, just because you read something doesn't mean that you have to change your mindset. And, uh, yeah, that's kind of, once again, adapting, just like you had mentioned earlier.

46:14

to be profitable. So people are doing the same thing to just be popular and fit in with certain crowds. And yeah, it's. And if we're going to go there, I did a response not long ago. And it was basically on the fact that people are just overwhelmed and they're tired.

46:36

And it's a result of the powers that be not allowing us to have the autonomy and the empowerment that we need. You know, we can empower ourselves all day, but at the end of the day, if you're not going to allow us to use that empowerment to change things, then we're not going to respond well, you know? Like, and so when we're talking about how beautiful Hip Hop is, how amazing and how versatile.

47:03

the music industry is and how wonderful it is to be able to have this connection with art. We also need to be able to see the art grow and not just sit in some fixed gift that just keeps doing the same thing over and over again. Let the people have a say! Yes. Oh, man. Yeah. So, you know, even with that.

47:32

in order to let the people have a say. Okay. This is kind of like a two-part question, if you will, or comment. So a lot of times as artists, we do need the feedback to listen to what people say and let the people have their say. First part is, do you have a way for people to kind of weed through?

48:00

how they let those comments affect them. So, you know, whether it's constructive criticism or somebody just, you know, being cruel or whatever, how can artists kind of skirt around that while still encouraging people to, I guess, not be labeled as haters if they don't like something? As artists, we're sensitive.

48:20

We're, and we should be, like we're vulnerable. What we put out into the world is not, is our most innermost underbelly. You know, there's no getting around that when we want to create something, when we want to do something. And then the world gets to tell us whether it's great or trash. And, you know, and truth be told,

48:43

as somebody who has had to deal with, you know, the fact that sometimes people have to catch up to me. Sometimes I say or feel things or know things and people are like, what the heck are you talking about? And then, and then like, you know, five years later, they're like, man, this is so. So where I kind of stay with that is, is for some of us we artistry is a site. It's not, it's not just something we do. It's an insight. It's an intuition. It's a

49:12

It's a very, very unique and beautiful place. And so for some people who connect with it, they might connect with it and see something else and take it in a different direction. And if you can look at everything from a perspective of somebody's taking it in a different direction, you can always recognize a valuable comment versus a trash comment.

49:38

Because a trash comment is literally that it's just garbage. Somebody is just saying something to just say something. But a valuable, meaningful comment or response to your work may be a critique. It may be, this is how you can be better or this is how I feel this would fit me better. And if that's what people are doing, that means they're connecting with you. Like, go, go with it. Let it be like...

50:07

It's after you put your work out there, it's no longer yours. Let people take it. Another air horn right there. Bomb drop. Yeah. You, you said something about people needing the ketchup and it reminded me of a quote that I came across recently. Uh, Edgard Varese, I believe it is.

50:36

but “contrary to general belief, an artist is never ahead of his time, but most people are far behind theirs.” And I thought that that was an interesting way—so it's like, we get the notion, we do what we do, and it's actually on time. It's just maybe the listener needs some time to catch up. And I'm like, you know what? I really kind of appreciated that. And I'm surprised I hadn't come across it before recently. But I'm like, man.

51:04

And so that actually kind of leads me into the second part of that question about letting the people have their say in, especially what you had just said about, you know, once you put it out there, it's theirs. So how can artists kind of use that mentality to recognize that even though there may be some naysayers, there may be people who don't quite get it right away. They'll probably get it eventually. What advice do you have to offer? Let the artists go ahead.

51:33

do their thing and just, you know, let people either take it or leave it and be okay with that. That's, that's what, that within itself is the, is a solid answer. Take it or leave it. But actually something that you said really, really resonated and it made me think about the fact that, like, if, I love the fact that, that quote, that people actually have to catch up. Cause if you really think about the role of artists,

52:02

then it changes it, right? It's no longer artist. It's not just this area of expression and learning and building something. It's mentoring and coaching, right? Like if we're really creating things that people have to, that make us catch up, that make the mass catch up to where we are, to recognize the signs of their times, then...

52:31

we're actually taking time to mentor people. And what happens sometimes when you have a message, sometimes people are mad that you're telling them something you don't know. Sometimes people are hurt that they don't even realize it. You know? And so those very, very primal and automatic responses, those emotional responses are a sign that you're doing the work. So if every single time

52:59

you see something, whether it makes you feel somewhere or not, you understand, I'm doing my job. It changes it. It changes things, doesn't it? It does. It does. I'm doing my job. Yo. I love that. Man, what an incredible response. So, okay, we talked about having these spaces.

53:26

and a little bit of the pressures that are upon the artists. Is there anything that you'd like to add? I guess as far as creatives dealing with having to be under the scrutinization of others, and this is just, you know, not just in the artistic space, but, you know, I know you've got a lot of university experience and things like that. Academia, is there anything that you want to add, like within that space?

53:55

Um, so the reality is that if artistry was given the respect that it deserves, we wouldn't be in so many different spaces, right? Like we would, there would be like an artist university and we would all be in this state, like we would all have this, this.

54:17

big conglomeration where we could just sit and create and do what we needed to do all day and nobody would be sitting up there yelling at us about, you know, getting a job. Are you describing utopia? Yeah. Right. Like, like this. Oh, wouldn't it be great though? But, um.

54:40

But we we are in this in this extremely structured frame where everybody wants us to look a certain way and to live a certain way because That's how people get control So if you do something for yourself every day where you feel like you can take back your power Where you can feel more in control where you can hold your own just hold your own space Just give yourself that it

55:09

creates an opportunity for you to understand and stabilize who you are. So when you get hit with something hard, when you're dealing with something difficult, when somebody comes at you on some bizarre, out-of-this-world type stuff, you can always hold that space. You can always take that time for yourself. And so that's what I will encourage. I hope I answered your question.

55:38

Yes, absolutely. This has been an ever-evolving conversation and I really appreciate the dialogue. I appreciate your insight and I know you mentioned earlier about The Cope Life and I don't think artists can ever have enough resources to kind of make sure that they keep their mental health in tip-top shape. So if you could.

56:05

know, maybe talk about that a little bit more and where people might be able to grab it. Absolutely. So The Cope Life is my workshop that I have going on right now. I started it. It's five steps. I'm doing it bi-weekly, so it's over 10 weeks. And we're working through the third, through the end of May. And

56:29

What we're basically doing, what I'm doing right now is I'm offering and opening it up to people. It's $45 to come in and to join us and you're doing it's a grounding space to be able to increase awareness and mindfulness. You can find me on Instagram. I'm at Free Phire. That's F R E E P H I R E.

56:54

You can also find my business page on LinkedIn, Free Your Phire and then you can also find me or email me at FreePhire.com. We're basically creating...

57:20

we're cultivating that space to be able to hold and build presence and awareness and to kind of work through the different challenges and kind of, if you will, like stabilize through trauma and different issues or challenges in the world. Yeah. Oh, great. That's awesome. Unless you have...

57:46

something else to share that you want people to know that you've got going on. I just want to thank you again for taking the time out for this Mental Health Month to share some of the things that creatives can do to stay sane through it all. So definitely appreciate you. Yeah, if you have anything else you want to plug or let us know about, feel free to do that. Thank you. Yes. Also, the cult life, I will, so I'll be handing out the steps as we go through them.

58:15

Oh, the next time that we're meeting is on the 17th. You can join us at Central Time from 4 to 5.30 p.m. And it's an hour and a half, but that's an hour and a half of time that you're able to give yourself to kind of work through. If you want to contact me, I've already done, we did the first steps and the feedback was amazing. People definitely appreciated the time to be able to come in.

58:44

to center and what we do is we take time to center, we take time to kind of unroll, breathe, decompress and then have this walk back and open it. It is a no-judgment zone. Let me see. And also if you're interested check out Commit to Healing Volume 1 that is my book of poetry that is available now on Amazon. Phire Free.

59:13

And thank you so much for allowing me to be here. I really appreciate this time Achickwitbeatz. Thank you. I appreciate you. Phire Free. All right, and that does it for this week's edition of Instrumental Intel with Achickwitbeatz. I hope that you found the information that was presented to you, the conversation and dialogue that was had, I hope that you find it helpful and beneficial to your career. I'd like to thank Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan once again.

59:42

for airing my podcast on your station. Definitely appreciate you. And to you listener, till next time, I hope you come back, got another great episode lined up for you next week. So until then, you know where to find me, tune in, tell a friend, and I'll see you then, peace.