been a musician? Tell us about your love of music and the type of music that
inspires you to create your style of music?
Ty Bless - I've been making my
own songs and music for about 16 years, going back to childhood.
I love music of all kinds, and genre's, it's all in the melody,
and the movement of the track or the song. Party music, music that allows
people to escape their everyday trials, and stresses is what inspires me to
create. However, I adore mood music too, so if I'm feeling sad or romantic, I
can play ballads or day. Like Anita Baker, or Luther Vandross. Or if I
feel like singing along, I love R&B mid tempo music such as Mary J. Blige,
R. Kelly, etc...
WMIFF MAG - Who are artists that
inspire you and why?
Ty Bless - I'm inspired by artists
who understand the theory of writing a great song. Musically, I would say Dr. Dre, and his many protégé’s
or OutKast because of how creative they are;
T.I. as a Hip Hop artist for his structure in music and Jay Z because his
music is conversational, and so often time one can relate to it.
WMIFF MAG - Tell us about your
award winning music video "Freakin It". Who are the people responsible for helping to
make this music video happen?
Ty Bless - Carlos Berrios is
both the producer, and the director of the video. He wanted to make sure it had the proper
promotional tool to go along with what we thought was a really great song and
my guess is that we captured it.
WMIFF MAG - How long did it take
to create "Freakin It"? Is there anything that you would change about
the music video?
Ty Bless - It took two days. If I had an opportunity, I would do a few more
scenes, and I would be a part of the silhouette scene doing my dance. I know that by the time if we got to that part
of the shoot, I would have had a terrible headache, and couldn't move. LOL
WMIFF MAG - Do you have any new
projects in the works right now as far as music or music videos?
Ty Bless - Currently I'm
finalizing a mix tape project, called, "Anything Is Possible". It's a straight hip-hop album that I'll be
throwing out there hopefully by Halloween or so. I'm also working up on a follow up
"CLUBHOP" album for my current album "Rock Da Party". I’m not sure if I'll call it “Rock Da Party
II”, or “The After Party”. I'm also planning
to work on more music videos for the songs that are on my current album as
well.
WMIFF MAG - What is your ideal
goal or dream as a musician and where do you see yourself in five years?
Ty Bless - I want to be a multi
media GIANT by 5 years. I'm currently embarking on a mission to create my own
Sports variety show that will be on nitelineradio.com. I'm a sports junkie, and I feel all too often
that athletes are demonized by the media just for the story of the day, and I'd
like to be there to rebuttal all of that. Also, I’d like to make it very sexy and fun
for all my listeners, and followers.
WMIFF MAG - How did it make your
feel when you won Best Hip Hop music video for "Freakin It" at WMIFF?
Ty Bless - I was absolutely floored.
I had no idea that out of nine nominated
music videos, mine being one of the last entries, that I would even have a
chance. When they announced my name I
just floated up to the podium. It was my
first time ever receiving an award for my work, outside of a plaque for sales.
WMIFF MAG - If someone wants to
follow in your shoes, what is the best advice that you can give to them?
Ty Bless - I would first advise
them to be resilient. Then I would tell
them that if they can’t take criticism, don't do it. If they can't take the word “NO” or any type
of rejection, don't do it. If they are
not willing to put as much energy into their stage show, as they do into
recording, don’t do it. Someone shooting
for their dream needs to go all out and not give up. They need to make sure to be prepared to make
significant sacrifices; otherwise they may not reach their goal. Also, I would say to keep expectations low
and make sure that the initial goals are somewhat realistic or modest, so they
can actually reach them. Then
afterwards, set higher ones. Once they
put their noses to the grindstone, and they start to look back after a while,
they will be so surprised and proud of themselves for what they have done.
WMIFF MAG -What is your best trait as a musician? Do you have any unique qualities that many or
few artists share? If so, what are they? In other word what would make you
stand out in the crowd with other artists?
Ty Bless -I believe that my love and passion for writing songs is my best
trait. As well, my ability to capture
and motivate just about any audience is enlightening. When I
perform, I see everyone wanting to party even if they don't like hip-hop music.
To me, I find this unique. Sometimes I
think that God has given me a hotline into the world’s collective thoughts that
keeps me saying things that many people can relate to.
WMIFF MAG -Where can people find out more information about you?
Ty Bless – You can find me at the following URL's:
http://reverbnation.com/tybless
http://youtube.com/user/blessflix
I welcome all to come and join my personal website at http://www.tybless.com where you can set up your
own profile account and stay in touch.
Also, if you Google Ty Bless, you'll get about 50 pages of
information. I’m getting out there in
this place they call the “world wide web” and my goal is for all of you to see
much, much more. Lastly and of course,
you’ll find me at any WMIFF event, because we're family!! <3
WMIFF MAG - Do you have any last
words to say to the audience?
Ty Bless – I'd like to say that
in life you have to believe in yourself.
Sometimes even parents won't
understand or see your vision and you might have to take yourself out of many
comfort zones to make your vision a possibility. Don’t be afraid to break that mode and try
every avenue available to your dream. Make sure to work hard, stay focused and dedicated,
and always put God first.
Check out Ty's music video with Ft K7 from TKA. Once you watch, it you'll be "Freakin It" on the dancefloor too!
