1. What does success mean to you?
Success to me is getting closer to your goals every day. I deh pon my music so success is getting closer to having the album complete or closer to being on tour. I don’t really wait for something to happen to say I’m successful. I try to make something successful happen everyday.
2. What do you want to achieve in your field?
I want to be able to travel the world and perform music. That’s been my goal ever since- to be on stage performing and interacting with people.
3. What is the greatest sacrifice you have made so far in your career?
That’s a good question. Umm, the greatest sacrifice I’ve made in my career has been a huge personal sacrifice. I had to give up A LOT to stay in Jamaica and do my music. To do something you really want to chances are you have to make a sacrifice. I’ve always had to give up opportunities for music, although fortunately I had the chance to do other things it wasn’t like a music or bust type a ting. Music is the only ting that make me feel alive that way.
4. Though you already have a loyal following, do you ever fear that you won’t make it big?
No, not at all because as I say, it just depends on what you call making it. So, even me saying I want to travel and do music, I travel from Kingston to Negril to go do a show or whatever it is. I don’t really fear not making it at the end of the day I’m living my dream of making my music, it’s just how people react.
5. What makes you stand out in your field?
Just being me, naturally. I try to really focus on just speaking my mind and what my truth is and how I feel about stuff. That has to make it authentic because no one is me. My music is consistent with me as an individual; so naturally it’s going to have some originality. I try not to focus on what other people are doing and just stay true to my roots. I am from St. Elizabeth, Santa Cruz Jamaica my experiences are going to be different from people from other places, but I stay true to who I am and I guess the difference just comes out in the music.
6. What is the best piece of advice you have been given and who was it from?
I really can’t tell you who it’s from, I cyan remember. It’s just one of dem tings I just remember picking up a piece of information but it’s something I always go by and that is always working on my craft and not concentrating on end results. The music is the only true ting you have so when you focus on things like making it and stuff like that, that’s not where the focus should be it should be on the craft and doing what you can do for the music because it is all about the music.
7. What advice do you have for anyone trying to make it in your field?
Work on your craft. Get better everyday at what it is you do. If you get better everyday that’s 365 times. Can you imagine improving over three hundred times in one year??? Just work on your discipline and you will see the dividends right away. After one week you’ll be like woaw!!
Read more about Protoje HERE and see his answers to our 20 Questions.
