Meet Ceddyjay | Artist/Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ceddyjay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ceddyjay, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
• truthfully, it’s taken me quite a while to really come up wit’ a real answer for dat’. however, as i get older & went thru da’ experiences i went thru thus far i’ve realized dat’ my main goal/purpose wit’ pursuin’ an artistic or creative career is to impact culture.

think about it, once it’s considered ‘cool’ in culture then it’s deem’d as socially acceptable. bein’ dat’ hip hop is da’ biggest genre of music in da’ world currently, as a rapper i hold a lot of influence over those who support/follow me. if i can make bein’ kind, compassionate & thoughtful towards one another ‘cool’ then imagine how many other people/kids will follow suit simply because dat’s da’ ‘new wave’ when really these are traits we should all carry & have within us in da’ first place.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
it all starts at da’ age of four for me, dat’s as early as i can remember as far as when i began rapping. around da’ age of eight or nine is when i decided to pursue music as a profession. da’ transition from just rapping for fun to treatin’ it as a career was & still isn’t easy till’ dis’ very day, a very difficult transition dat’ i feel like i’m now really gettin’ a grip on truth be told.

my love for da’ craft is always what kept me at it. only those who really know me & have really seen me come up know how long i’ve truly been pursuin’ music. there’s still many out there who know me who still aren’t aware of how young i actually am as well as how long i’ve actually been out here doin’ what it is i’m doin’. true definition of a ‘rookie-vet’.

most important thing i’ve learn’d along da’ way after all of these years are two things, 1) take what you want & leave what you don’t. it’s your career & you have to rely on your own choices regardless of what other people may feel. be very wary of advice bein’ told from others about how you can do somethin’ when they haven’t even done it themselves. 2) not everyone is goin’ to make it. those you consider peers & are side by side wit’ you on da’ come-up , not all of you will be side by side when it comes time to ascend & reach dat’ next level. not everyone is as cut out for dis’ profession da’ way they think they are. it’s a hard pill to swallow.

i’d like for da’ world to know dat’ i am far from a gimmick & really cut from a different cloth. i really got my stripes & success out of da’ mud. had to put in over 10,000 hours just to get to where it is i am today & still puttin’ in countless hours even now. words can’t even quantify my efforts , luckily i have most of my journey documented thru footage both online & offline. it’ll all come to light someday.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
off rip, if you lookin’ for a good time then it’s only right i take you to any AFROPUNK festival in Brooklyn, NY prior to 2016. in other words, we gon’ have to hop in a time machine & go back for da’ one time. you’d make sure you got your fit together, nothin’ to nice tho cause you gotta make sure you equip’d to run around & moshpit if it comes down to it. then you’d link up wit’ ya’ people’s on da’ block as ya’ll head to da’ train towards downtown Brooklyn then walk over to Commodore Barry Park.

here for a week? not bein’ biased but if you
lookin’ for some good eats then it’s all between Brooklyn & Harlem dependin’ on what you lookin’ for exactly. far as da’ rest, it’s fuckin’ New York City baby, da’ city is literally your oyster. just make sure i’m your tour guide so i tell you where & where not to go, feel me?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
man, so many people worthy of such a shoutout. but off rip, i’d have to dedicate my shoutout to a small neighborhood in Brooklyn by da’ name of East Flatbush. dis’ place is da’ epitome of who i am & is forever apart of da’ fabric of my identity. shoutin’ out such a place also covers all da’ people, places & moments dat’ i’ve experienced over da’ course of my years on dis’ very planet.

Website: https://linktr.ee/Ceddyjay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceddyjay_/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ceddyjay_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ceddyjay1

Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/CeddyjayRAAA

Image Credits
@hypedidit @jaycharliiishotme @ce777estial @jelani.rice