Today we’d like to introduce you to William Cruz.
Hi William, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a kid I grew up listening to classic trance with my mom. Every Thursday she’d put on 104.1 KRBE The Beat with DJ Mark D and we’d listen to it. Then eventually I stumbled onto deadmau5 and that was really when I fell in love with EDM. I had every deadmau5 track on my iPod touch. Fast forward to about 2016 and I went to my first ever rave and instantly got hooked. I started producing music on FL Studio for years but never really put anything out. Right around 2023 I developed the first iteration of the BLCKLGHT project. I knew i needed to have a backlog of music to release, so I worked for about a year and a half just building up music. Then right around Q3-Q4 I started posting content online and releasing music consistently. I did that for about 5 months and then I had my break out track “Away From You” which went viral online and is what got me noticed by some industry eyes and I ended up signing the track to a label and shortly after signed with my now management The Shalizi Group. I would say at the foundation of everything was the love of what I did. I love music more than anything and it is the thing that has had the most profound impact on my life. Do what you love and the rest will fall into place.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. Lot’s of life stuff like trying to manage a full time job, personal life, social life, physical and mental health. It’s definitely a lot of work. I think a lot of sacrifices have to be made when you’re on the path to greatness. My social life and personal life and mental/physical health all took a toll. I thought that those sacrifices were necessary, and now I’m learning that taking care of those things fills your life meaningfully and even helps you as a creative. So the biggest struggles have really been just finding balance between chasing my dreams and still doing fulfilling things in my personal life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a DJ/Producer originally from Houston, TX. I make house/techno/trance music. I’m most proud of the work I’ve put into my music project. I wasn’t born with any connections into the industry, didn’t have a ton of money to invest. Just a dream and an idea and a will to execute. I would say I’m proud of the work I’ve put in and where I’ve been able to get to today. What sets me apart from others is probably my delusional belief of self combined with real world execution. I genuinely believe I’m made for the biggest headlining shows/festivals, will sell out arenas, etc. I know I can take this project all the way to the top and I don’t let a single thing come between me and that belief. But beyond that belief is relentless execution. I spend pretty much all of my free time on my music project in some capacity. I see every single decision that I make as just a way to further my agenda with my music project. It sounds a bit psychotic but I think that’s the mindset I need to be in to achieve this goal. For example, I go to the gym because I know that living a healthy life and being in shape will allow me to be more creative and execute my dreams as an artist more efficiently. I work on my personal and social life because I know that will balance me out and allow me to pursue my dreams even more.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I may have mentioned it in the previous question but probably the love for it all. I don’t love anything else more than I love music/being an artist. If you genuinely love something I think that you will inevitably do everything in your power to see those things succeed on a meaningful level.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blcklght
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BLCKLGHT1222
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/blcklght
