We recently had the chance to connect with FRANK80 and have shared our conversation below.
FRANK80, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What battle are you avoiding?
Lately I’ve been battling depression. It sounds cliché; but I have recently discovered I suffer from dysthymia, and it has somewhat been affecting my creative space, personal space and relationships, etcetera.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have always loved music, even before starting making it into a passion. I can’t exactly say I’d set it as a career, because it’d then feel obligatory. For 10 years I have developed and honed in on a bunch of skills, aside from songwriting. I started making my own beats now since the last interview we had. I’m in the midst right now to developing my new project, it doesn’t have a name yet; but it’s basically finished. I honestly just need videos done.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I feel like providing for others’, especially in certain spaces where I know some people don’t need to be provided for, was my purpose. This whole time evolving musically and personally, I have yet experienced one artist, producer, morsel, who has given me the same energy in return when it comes to our craft. Everyone is just doing this because their friends either influenced them to, or people work for incentives and not genuine connections and for the love of the sport. I understood that music is a competition; but moreso of competing where it matters the most: IN THE MUSIC. I feel like I’ve released my intentions to work with others until I see the time fit. Until then, I am in my own bubble, working on my own stuff until I feel like I am needed or paid properly. Egotism keeps creators stagnant and gatekeeping is the worst thing a local nobody can possibly do.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“You are extremely talented, and you are going to encounter a bunch of people who are say they’re for you, but will envy you the most when your work outshines them. Stay in clarity and suppress your clairvoyance. The vision you have for yourself will attract what you want around you, and vice versa. Don’t ever let anyone dictate where you can go with your ideas, because no one is as capable as you are. You are a threat to your own kind, set your intentions, and move around.”
I wish I could’ve told myself this at 17, then I’d possibly be in a better position and headspace.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
No matter how much this man is controversial, or his opinions on the world are wild, I still admire Kanye West. Since I was seven, he’s played a big role in how I perceive the world and he’s gotten me to enjoy music even more. No matter how many blogs or people neglect, ear him down, he always comes back in an extravagant way, proving to people his statements were spot on, and there’s a reason for the madness. Could you imagine making a bunch of peoples’ careers BTS, providing whatever you can, even if it’s a car ride, producing and making other people’s music, while the industry wants to condemn you or judge you based off of your beliefs, statements, or your quality as a person, not knowing the REAL situations happening at hand? Being a celebrity plays a big role––they’re like physical gods we consume, buy into and purchase; but they aren’t actually god, they have their problems too. We just buy into negativity 24/7.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
That I tried to tell you. I tried warning others. I have the power to put others’ into a higher position. If it’s not connections and resources, then it’s the quality I bring to the table. They say slow and steady wins the race, but with the times of the internet, I can easily say things have been crashing and burning faster than building something up like I have been doing for the past 10 years, and I have seen a lot of artists from my city of Houston, Texas fall off, stay stagnant, or just all around giving up, because this isn’t what they really wanted to do. It’s a fad to them, and I cannot associate with people who treat my culture like a fashion trend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/frankeighty
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/frankeighty
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankeighty
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@francisthomas287
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/francisthomas-08
