Meet Syke | Artist & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Syke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Syke, why did you pursue a creative career?
People always tell you to do what makes you happy, then find a way to make money out of it. I can’t see myself living my whole life working a job I can’t enjoy, even if it comes with a fat paycheck. My mental well being means the most to me, and creating things makes me happy. Not just with the music. Honestly anything that allows me to express myself and share it with others makes me pretty happy so, i figured i should probably dedicate my life to this.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I consider my art and my music to be an extension of myself. That sounds pretty pretentious i know, but unfortunately there’s a lot of people trying to make music right now with only fame/money in mind, and i feel like that gets in the way of the creativity. A lot of their music ends up sounding like more of the same, and i really try to avoid sounding like other people and creating my own sound. Because my music stems from my own personality and mood, i know it’ll always grow and evolve over time. Honestly I’m a pretty lazy person to begin with, but music is one of the few things I tend to put my 100% into, which makes me the most proud. Knowing that people listen to my music reminds me that I wrote a song, recorded it, mixed it, put together cover art (all with the help of some amazing people of course) and released it, which shows me I’ve found something that makes me happy enough to put more than my 50% into, so that’s pretty dope. I’d be lying if i said it was easy getting to this point, but not completely in regards to the work involved. Making music doesn’t have to be the most complicated process, but putting yourself in the right mentality can be. For example, it can take a lot of confidence for someone to show their art to others, most people make things and then keep it to themselves cause they don’t want to get judged. What if you’re sitting on a masterpiece that would absolutely blow the minds of the masses to point where people just start handing you money just for existing long enough to create such a beautiful piece of art? I guess you’ll never know unless it’s out there. So yea overcoming that fear can take a bit of work, but once that’s settled everything else kind of just falls into place. A pretty harsh lesson I’ve learned over time is not be afraid of failure, Not everything you try is gonna work, but you gotta keep trying cause that’s the only way something IS gonna work. But wait there’s more! A better lesson I’ve learned is that not everyone is gonna like your art. Which is fine, they’re probably not important anyway. I learned not to pay too much attention to those kinds of people if they aren’t contributing to the success. Overall though i would just want people to know that the music i make is only influenced by my own life, mood, and experiences and i plan on staying true to that. And hopefully the success i have with my art can inspire other people to take the risk with their own art as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh definitely gotta hit up Wynwood and everything around there. That’s pretty much an outdoor art museum. On top of that, you got places like House of Mac: one of the very few restaurants where the left overs slap just as hard as when you had the food fresh the first time. And if you don’t have left overs, you didn’t get enough food. If 80s Miami is more your vibe, South Beach is definitely the play, and on that same strip you gotta hit up Artechouse. To be completely honest I’m more of a homebody so I don’t know too many spots but i guarantee there’s something interesting on almost every corner around here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh man It’s gotta be my family. Like my parents, my brother, my cousins, and extends to my closest friends who i consider family too. It’s not easy telling people your pursuing a career in anything art related, one of the first questions they ask is “Where is the money in that?” Which is exactly what my parents asked me… actually. But they’ll always get a shoutout for supporting me regardless of the risks involved, and knowing that they believe in me and my success pushes me to keep moving forward.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisyke/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Thisyke

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisyke

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-5qxb7xWTyAsVhcpIilmyA

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OU6wN5FEtCJRUU3gkksl?si=QNvsgLFfQCO3PpKAzHdxaQ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-176182461

Image Credits
Brandon Ramos