We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbara Rodriguez a.k.a Babi and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Barbara Rodriguez, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
For some reason, I always knew I was going to start something of my own, not sure what, but since I was kid, I’ve always wonder what was going to be my mark for the world. Maybe that sounds more ambitious than what I intend it to be, but I believe God gives us specific talents that we should use to create, and every little thing counts, so I wanted to create my own little thing to the biggest masterpiece. However, it took me my first 28 years of my life to actually start my own business. First of all, I needed to know who I was as a person and honestly, I needed to accept and embrace that specific talent God had gave me. Once you know your purpose, it’s about figuring out how to live through it.
Now, the music industry requires more skills if you really want to make music for a living; the artist becomes the business, so I got into school for audio technology, while also studying the music business and marketing. When you don’t know where to start you just start and things will fall in place while you go through it. So I started with an instagram account and doing internships as an assisting engineer at different recording studios. All this eventually transformed into a platform by and for independent artists; even though I had an idea of what I wanted, I didn’t know what I was doing but it was the whole process that led me to the big picture.
Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My journey as an artist starts from the most human thing which is acknowledging who I am, this is something I’ve been discovering as I get more into the music industry. It’s funny because I actually started as a recording engineer, since I didn’t know nobody when I got to the US and I just wanted to be in the studio. However, I must say engineering have help me find my sound because not only I got to be involved in other artists creative process, but to also shaping their sound, which expanded my ears to many styles.
After a while I got into production and songwriting, one way or another the world always push me to creating so now I embrace myself as an artist; actually, I believe even engineers are artists as well, or maybe I’m just an artist who can produce and engineer lol.
Still, no matter what role I’m playing in the project, I always look to bring love and light to the world through the record. Either I’m producing the vocals and instrumentation, writing the lyrics or working on the console, as an artist I just want to create a safe space for other people’s feelings.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t think I’m the best person for this job lol But since you put me in charge of this I would keep it simple; enjoying the beach in the morning and then go eat something nice sounds perfect for me, I like Hallandale beach because there’s a boulevard to walk and I love walking. I like spontaneous moments though, and Wynwood got a lot of places for that, it’s a wide expression of Miami cultural pot.
I do like hiking and that’s something I miss since living in Miami, so I guess I would take a week trip to a state with mountains like Nevada or California.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first one I need to thank is God, for leading through every situation, I didn’t get it before but now I understand it all has a purpose. Now on this earth I wouldn’t be here without the unconditional support of my mom, family and friends, I don’t really need that many people in my life, but the ones I count with my hand are the ones that kept me going when I was ready to give up.
On the other hand, this is all a team effort, I’m glad to be able to work with amazing music professionals like Slash, Gka, Frank Socorro, Elsten Torres, Mr. G, KNG, Jay, Fresh and last but not least, Dox and everybody from Good Tone Studios.
Website: www.BabiMusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babimusiclife/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/babi-music-b11b031aa/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BabiMusicLife/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@babimusiclife
Image Credits
Damion Thorn NRGSHOTZ