How to turn Harsh Criticism into Fuel
I catch myself staring out a window as !llmind was talking to a classroom full of producers. I had only lived in New York for two months and I was still grasping with the fact that I was in my dream city. I catch myself and direct my attention back to the guest speaker. He’s giving us an overview on how to use transient plugins to make our drums hit harder instead of adding a compressor. A few debate on whether they agree with that method and then J Hatch announces we’ll be moving onto to our next panels. I grab my backpack and overhear there’s a studio room where pro engineers and producers are critiquing people’s music. I think about it and then decided that I would not be doing that. I wouldn’t say it but I already knew that my production game was nowhere near ready to have the likes of Irko telling me how much I suck. However, looking back at it I wish I had gone because what I was avoiding was what I needed to hear. I’ve always wanted to get better and sometimes having an experienced vet in the room telling you what didn’t know you didn’t know helps conquer the learning curve pretty fast. The lesson here isn’t about having tough skin, it’s the fact that the reason most producers and artists don’t grow is because they are avoiding hearing those two dreadful words. You Suck…
Growing up I was always told that I wasn’t good enough. When I started running cross country, I wasn’t good enough to keep up with my teammates in practice let alone come in a top 5 place. When I got into baseball, I wasn’t good enough to be anything more than a designated runner. Even in skateboarding, I was cool and easy to get along with but I wasn’t good enough to be in anyone’s skate vid. Now you’d think this would be absolutely soul crushing for any sixteen year old to constantly hear but it actually started doing the opposite. After cross country practice I would push myself to run another two miles everyday. I started going to the batting cages and having my dad coach me. I even took my weekly chore money and invested in the 411 VM skate videos to study how to do more tricks. What I was doing was taking the emotions of hearing how much I suck and putting into getting better. This is a mind set that has carried me over many thresholds in music production and songwriting. The first time an artist said they would rather not listen to another one of my beats sparked the drive to get better. I eventually got so good that his friend asked me for a beat pack. Sweet revenge.
Call it ego but I believe if you can learn how to turn that anger and resentment into fuel to push yourself then you’ll succeed in your craft. Look, we all know the difference between us and a Charlie Puth is hours of hard work, talent, and skill. There will be long hours in the studio and a constant feeling of uncertainty. So why not tap into those negative emotions to write one more song, cut another vocal, or make another track? Creating music is a craft but it can also be a release. For example, I sent a bunch of tracks to a local television station in Harlem hoping that at least one would get chosen for sync. After having two meetings with the station was I told no. In fact, during the after the last meeting one of the directors smirked at me as she shoo’ed me away as to say I was bothering her. Pissed off, I headed back to the train and cranked out 15 beats. Till this day, I have never made that many in a single day. (Mostly because of my schedule of running a production company, but you get the point.)
Music is supposed to emotional anyway. So tapping into those feelings of frustration or even doubt can propel you to a new level. You get a bad review on your music video on YouTube? Work harder on making a better one. You were told that your beats were subpar at a beat battle? Go back and lock yourself in your room and make more until you pass out. Not only will it be an emotional release but you will come out a lot better than you were before.
Find different ways to push yourself. It’s a skill
