What I have realized a long time ago is that in order to be successful, you must own your sound, believe in your vision, and understand your pocket.  Industry people don't have all the answers, but they may express some unwritten rules and how many times have we seen some of the greats break all the rules.  Breaking the rules and creating their own lane is what made them great.  Time and time again we witness greatness in people who defied all odds and yet we still put these boundaries on ourselves and our music.  It's clear NOBODY knows who is or who isn't going to be the next big thing these days because as long as the young demographic is controlling the market then anything is possible.  A song about top ramen can be a smash!  

My vision is to produce for sophisticated lyricists on a sophisticated beat that will challenge the artist, but the result will be great.  Often we want to make it as simple as possible for the artist to write to.  I understand that.  But what if you gave a great artist a challenge to write to a sophisticated beat?  Can you imagine the outcome of the artistry?  It would be epic!

I'm starting to think I need to become the artist in order to convey my message to those that can't imagine it.