“My wife and I were both on the six figure plan. I was thinking that if I could get to $100,000 a year, I’d be all right. I studied information systems and economics in college. I had a decent paying job at the 311 call center. Every morning I’d wake up early then fall back asleep on the subway. It was like that Groundhog’s Day movie. The ‘deferred life plan’ wasn’t working for me. Everyone kept telling me that all I needed was another master’s degree, or another certification, but I was done with it. So I quit my job and decided to be a musician. I turned off the TV. I turned off the radio. I devoted myself full time to music. I’d never played an instrument before, so I found some YouTube videos that taught me basic chord progressions on guitar and keyboard. I was really bad for a long time. I wondered if I’d made a mistake. But when I listened to the early work of famous musicians like Dr. Dre, they weren’t that good either. I thought: ‘I’m just as smart as them. And they were like me once. So if they got there, so can I.’ I started driving a cab so I could control my own hours. I’d get off at 2 AM and make music until 5 AM, but I’d still wake up happy because life had a purpose now. I called my first album ‘Better Than Fantastic,’ because that’s how it felt. I’ve handed out 10,000 of them. I give one to everyone who rides in the cab.”
