Things I Did In 2021
The most important thing I’ve done this year is to survive.
It can’t be understated how incredibly difficult it has been to simply exist with a body healthy enough to carry me through 12 months of this thing called life. Any personal or professional accomplishments that I’ve made are icing on the cake. But if we are being completely honest I have done a lot of cool shit this year that I never publicly pat myself on the back for. So here is a list of things that I’m pretty proud of myself for doing this year.
Finally dropped Don & Von
The album that was pushed back due to a global pandemic and vinyl pressing plant delays finally dropped. We had so many plans for this album that included an alternate cover/packaging, photo shoots, videos and a tour but if I’ve learned anything over the last 2 years it’s that sometimes you gotta call an audible. The music stands and I’m very proud of this release and everything that went into it. I paused all solo material for the year to make space for this one (also to just kinda live some life) but we gettin back to some solo work in 22!
Dropped my first NFT
Okay well I didn’t cease all solo releases… I dropped an NFT! I haven’t really spoken too much about it because well to be completely honest I don’t fully know how to talk about it. It’s a whole new space with a whole new language and I’m still finding my footing but I’ll be writing about my journey on my journal here on web2 so stay tuned for updates. It still hasn’t sold so if you’ve got 1 ETH you can own my first NFT!
Music For Slate Slow Burn Season 6
This was honestly pretty challenging but that’s what getting you 10K hours in is for right? Matching the tone of the story and delivering assets that were optimized for easy use took a few tries but it got done! This is one of my favorite projects to work on and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I also got to walk away with a stash of new slaps to be used however I choose. They will see the light of day in some form. 👿
Produced ‘Black Friends’ for Ziwe
This was challenging as well but apparently I love a challenge? (Sure I do… haha) I’ve been working with Ziwe in some form or another for a few years and she’s one of my favorite ppl to collaborate with. The challenging part of this one however was Covid restrictions keeping us out of the same room. I have never done a remote recording session for a song and it presented a special set of difficulties but once again we got it done! Big shout out to my guy 6th Sense for all the help in doing so and man oh man I can’t wait for see season 2 👿
Voice Over Work, Ad Agency Work
There wasn’t a lot o this for me this year but I was a part of two pretty cool projects that lived and died behind some sort of firewall or intranet which is why there is no hyperlink. Both projects definitely stretched my limits tho and I learned a bit more about my voice in the process.
Weekly Twitch DJ Sets
For the better part of the year I kept a steady streaming schedule and I don’t plan to stop in the coming year. There were a few weeks where I didn’t stream and sometimes life changed my schedule for me (remember what I said about calling an audible?) but it’s honestly one of my favorite things to do at this point. I’ve built some really dope community on Twitch and I truly miss the chat when I go too long without doing it. I’ll be doing a better job of archiving the mixes in the new year!
DJ’ed Comedy Shows with Marcella Arguello, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Michelle Buteau, Petey DeAbreau, Ziwe & Butterboy
I think that I do a bad job of talking bout these big shows and TV tapings because I consider these people friends but I’ve been present for some pretty big moments in their careers! Marcella & Joyelle filmed hours, Michelle touring new material, Petey running his own dope shows, Ziwe killing it with her pop show, Butterboy celebrating a four year anniversary and me being able to DJ them all! It’s truly been a blessing to be able to share the stage with so many talented people and something that I don’t take for granted or talk about enough.
DJ’ed Pamela Council’s Fountain For Survivors at Times Square
The fact that a person I met via looking for a roommate on Craigslist years ago just so happens to be a friend and collaborator now is probably one of my most random relationships to date. The fact that she’s the reason I got to DJ in Times Square (a place I typically avoid going at all costs) is pretty wild. I spent a lot of that gig visualizing having a billboard there…
Curated a Jukebox
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have a vinyl collection that included enough 45s to loan out and stock a jukebox. It’s still wild to me that I even get paid to DJ so being paid to lend a portion of my collection is crazy! I’ve also come around to playing more vinyl gigs in general which means that I have a vinyl set ready to go whenever and that is a feat in itself for a myriad of reasons. I’m very proud of myself for that.
I was going to write about some near misses as failures can be seen as learning experiences but I’ll just take the lesson and implement the knowledge instead of giving the missed opportunity more power than it deserves. I was also going to share some personal accomplishments (including but not limited to: keeping my plants alive, actually liking my apt, loving a new partner, receiving help, paying my bills, taking care of myself/getting rest) but I’m tired of typing for now so maybe next time!
See you next year!