Welcome

Hello, world!

I certainly appreciate you visiting my site and my blog, whether it be out of support or just curiosity.  I'd like for the blog to serve two principal purposes: 1. To learn about me as an artist 2. To learn about me as a person. I hope to accomplish these objectives by writing about anything from the meaning behind my songs and lyrics to happenings in the world and my perspective.

I've always made an effort to understand my favorite artists as people, beyond musicians.  Reason being, I've found that by doing so, I'm able to more thoroughly understand the "why" of the decisions they make in subject matter, lyrics, cadence, presentation, etc. I also think that what, many times, gets lost in the minds of listeners is that the artist and the person are two different people.  This is especially the case in hip-hop and with many of the strong pop personalities as well.  I've gained an increased understanding of this through studying other artists and experiencing life as an artist myself. In fact, Jay-Z describes the distinction exceptionally well in his new book Decoded.

For those who know Jay-Z from afar, I think so many view his talent, even after acknowledging him as one of the very best rappers of all time, as marginal.  To me, that's just a product of personal preference and preconceptions about rapping. Many view it as being a less-skilled art than, say, the song writing that a Taylor Swift might do.  Those people haven't attempted to write a hip-hop song or rap, I assure you.  But my point in all this is to say that by solely knowing the artist, Jay-Z, and not the person, Sean Carter, I can understand from a certain perspective why non-hip-hop fans might think that it doesn't take much to succeed in.

However, if you know anything about Sean Carter, the man behind the artist, you know just how well-rounded and skilled he is.  He is truly a world-class mind, not just in comparison to other rappers or musicians.  For example, he was reading at something like a 12th grade level in the 5th grade.  And it's no coincidence that he's developed into an extremely astute businessman.  He has superb decision-making skills, instincts, and charisma.  He's calculating and sharp and the CEO of any company in the world would be thrilled to have his ability to communicate.  But only by knowing that side of the man do I believe that one can truly appreciate the character he's developed in Jay-Z.  To me, there's no other way to describe it than sheer brilliance.

With that, my only hope with this blog is that I'm able to establish the link between Drew, the man, and Drew William, the artist.  Once you have that understanding, you'll understand what the creative content on this page means and why I do what I do.


Cheers!
Drew