Today we’d like to introduce you to Trae Perry.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Sure thing. So I am a hip hop recording artist, and graphic designer, born and raised in Houston, TX. Throughout my entire life, I was involved in the arts one way or another. I started drawing at a very young age; I built my very own drum set out of Lego boxes and cardboard. Long story short, I was always creating. However, I didn’t get into rapping and making music until middle school. At first, I was just freestyling for fun, and especially growing up where I’m from, it was apart of the southern rap culture. But over time it evolved from a hobby to a career path. I first started recording with one of my childhood friends and got the opportunity to perform at my eighth-grade dance. The following year I attended the High School for Performing and Visual Arts, to study visual art and graphic design. One of my art teachers introduced to Adobe Photoshop and I fell in love with graphic design ever since. As far as the music was concerned, I was always writing raps in composition books in my spare time. My father introduced me to this upcoming music duo in the city called Beat Boy Entertainment. They had a home studio in their mother’s beauty shop, which is where I recorded my first official single entitled “I Blaze”. That summer I released it online and my entire community of friends and family took notice. From that moment forward I knew what I wanted to make of my career.
Please tell us about your art.
So I make hip hop music, more or less positive, inspirational rap if you want to label it, and I create graphics such as album covers, flyers, logos, business cards, etc. I love making music because it’s therapeutic for the soul. It’s another avenue that I can communicate and tell my story with the world. I create art because I feel like it’s second-nature. On top of the fact that I have such a passion for making creative and interesting things. There’s a quote that says “Earth without ‘art’ is just ‘eh'” and nobody wants to live in a world without creativity, including me. The purpose for both music and art is to provoke emotion, so I’m extremely blessed to be in a position where I can serve through both fields and ultimately add some sort of value to the people. Whether I save somebody’s life through one of my songs, or I enhance a client’s business or organization. My artwork is very aesthetic and detail-oriented, though I’ve been mainly influenced by hip hop, I’ve learned to versatile myself in such a way in order to avoid being placed in a box. In order to become a successful artist, you must be able to take risks and be able to step out of your comfort zone.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Honestly, my best advice would be to work with what you have, while saving up to get what you really want. Some people have side hustles to help finance their main hustle, so don’t be scared to take that risk. I know a lot of folks complain about not being able to work on their art, but are too lazy to work to have an extra stream of income, or too scared that if they put all their focus on the side hustle they won’t have time or motivation to work on their main hustle. Also, with that being said, it’s also important to know how to manage your time. Sometimes we get so caught up in the work life that we forget about our art. We have this notion that we’ll be working forever and not be able to enjoy the money we make, because we’re too busy trying to make it. There’s a quote from one of my favorite rappers, Futuristic, that says “we need to work to live, and not live to work”. I believe that’s a principle we as creatives should all be striving to live by.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
For my music you can find me on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, Pandora, Audiomack, etc. For my artwork, you can see my work online via social media, preferably Instagram. A lot of people I work with are musicians and entrepreneurs like myself, so they repost my work on their platforms which in return helps people to find me. Also I have an online portfolio through Behance.com, I’ve uploaded a few of my favorite designs on it. So if people need artwork of some short, they can shoot me a DM on Instagram or message me on any other platform.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://traeperry.myportfolio.com
- Phone: 832-493-3768
- Email: iamtraeperry@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/traeperry/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingtraeperry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtraeperry/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/traeperry/
Image Credit:
Photography by Raymond Mocho, Charlie Tre and Brody Urquhart.
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
