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Meet CraigThe2nd

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Today we’d like to introduce you to CraigThe2nd.

CraigThe2nd, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, it is hard to pen point exactly when I first started, this do to the fact that I was exposed, and had always been inspired by art and music, from a very early age. Some of my earliest memories I can still remember (around 6-7yrs old) is stealing my father’s CD cases and playing old hip-hop CD’s such as DMX, Tupac, 50 cents, and the game. I would learn the words and couldn’t wait for my favorite songs off of their albums to play on the radio. Along with that my father loved to play his music really loud in the car whenever we would go anywhere. He was a very popular man who always had errands to run on his off days. His music ranged from R&B to Funk, but he loved hip-hop and I believe these memories helped lay the platform for me to build into musical artist I am today.

As far as art goes, around that same age, I use to draw a lot of me and my brother’s favorite cartoon shows such as Dragon Ball z, Bey Blades, and Gundams. My mom first introduced me to draw, when I complained about being lonely. Sounds strange, but growing up among many older siblings I would often get ignored and treated like a nuisance. So my mother gave me art as something that would entertain me other than trying to hang with my siblings and told me “When no wants to play with you, you gotta learn how to play/entertain yourself”, that went on to change my life forever! Like any other story goes, as I grew my passion grew too. Art-wise, I started to dive more into creating my own style I dabbled in comics then switched to life drawing, all over the damn place! I was so inspired, and explored many different ways of making art from painting all the way to sketching and crafts: I attended AP art classes in high-school while self-teaching myself by studying on YouTube, eventually went to the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design where I graduated with a bachelors degree in animation.

Now I make animations, graphic designs, and do illustrations that hang in a gallery for The Denver arts society a gallery on Sante Fe. Music-wise, at the same time as drawing, I would put the pencil down to hang with homies I knew and we always would end up getting into freestyle sessions. Literally all the time, I always loved to rap, but I started taking it extra serious around ten. Me and my cousin Monyae would sit around all summer making raps for SoundCloud just for fun. I went on to keep developing my craft by reading books and studying my favorites artists at the time like Mac miller, Nas, or Kendrick Lamar. I bought my first microphone around junior year of High-school, I got it from mowing lawns and doing all that young kid hustle stuff; it was that moment when I started to really transform becoming entangled within the limitless depths of creating sounds.

I went on to, along with two other dudes, create a rap group called BlackGold and as a unit we expanded our horizons practicing everyday by freestyling and learning promotion, marketing, and all the other things that are about the music business all throughout the end of high school. I balanced art with music and released my debut album Poetry in the Field sophomore year of college and played shows all over Denver. Today all though, I am not apart of the group anymore, I am utilizing my art side and music side to form my own business of entertainment from all I learned and now create my own logos, cover art, and animated promotions, videos, etc. and it is under CraigThe2nd my new plateau for the coming years!

I never lost the fire to create through all the hard times and good times and it only became more clear in dynamic and direction the further I went on until now!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh man, this path has been one of the hardest challenges of my life! I could share a whole plethora of stories, but I’ll just try to encapsulate a few to give a general idea of struggles I have had and, believe it or not, continue to face everyday. I say one of the hardest struggles I have had and continue to face is money! This road is not cheap, now and days quality is a standard, we are all familiar with the quote “fake it until you make it”. The more official you can make your brand the more people will take you seriously and fall in love with what you’re representing; quality involves the right materials, good paints, clear microphones, music videos, paying for event spaces to show at, maintaining image, promotion and advertisements, etc.

Growing up with not just one but two passions mad my path extremely difficult to manage. I had very little money to support all these necessities. I remember struggling to balance paying off a specific bill while trying to book studio time at a point, and this is something that I run into a lot even till this day with all types of things. It is hard to balance adulthood responsibility, with a self-owned business. Leading me to time, I battle with the clock everyday! Growing up time was my biggest foe, I needed to become amazing at finding time to do everything that needed to be done in 24 hours.

This means, knowing when to work when to create my arts, when to go here and when to go there which goes hand and hand with another struggle I faced and still do, discipline. You got to have a strong work ethic in order to be the best you can be, simple as that. I have had many things I have had to sacrifice in order to keep focus on my visions. This is highly difficult to keep on top of, distractions are everywhere and it is very easy to steer off your course, I struggled staying diligent and still do today. These are just a couple things I face today, and ran into over the years; I could go on and on about the struggle though, but I’ll end it there!

We’d love to hear more about your work.
CraigThe2nd, which is me, would be represented as an entertainment entity that finds the nexus between two aesthetic disciplines. What I do is create graphic illustrations along with conceptual music and find new and interesting ways to merge or highlight one with the other. CraigThe2nd specializes in: The study of figure, color, mixed media, hip-hop, music, draftsmanship, spiritual study, knowledge and understanding. I would say I am known for being a highly introspective, consciously aware, outspoken poet who explores hip-hop as a way to spread a spiritual message while at the same time being the pillar of balancing passions and creating funky musically inspired artwork with stretched perspectives, and high-level draftsmanship.

I am most proud of being a being of pure creativity, staying true to doing both talents as one uniformed instrument to inspire kids and adults alike. I have been set apart from others in a similar field by default, I Exist because this simply doesn’t exist. A lot of people have been taught that we should only live in pursuit of one discipline. Be a Doctor. Be a teacher. Be an astronaut etc. These are all titles with set outlines to get there. What I offer to the world is the proof that whatever you want to do you can do it! We are the gods of our own destiny. So here I am utilizing my artistic skills and musical skills and combining them to carve a new road to success, along with me are my own spiritual & societal values that I will use to make my print and change the world one divine spark at a time!

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Good question! I personally think success comes in a multitude of different volumes and is weighed by people’s personal markers and indicators, it is such a nebulous construct though. For me, one huge marker of success would be the day I am in a position to sustain a life of abundance and live decently off of my passions. Some other markers of success for me personally would be to create solid communities of inspired individuals who support and follow my mission, showcasing my art while performing at bigger venues, and giving Denver a spotlight that would encourage other young path makers to follow their dreams.

The moment I feel like I am inspiring and opening minds to new perspectives, and perpetuating a positive wave throughout the globe, is the day I would really say ” I made it”, but like I said, success is a nebulous construct, so after I felt that moment of gratitude my ambition would force me to set a new standard for myself to reach to make me fill successfully all over again. I guess a dreamer never stays content for too long!

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Image Credit:
Stevie Selby and Nina Stewart

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