Editorial

I find that many musicians, no matter how successful they get, at some point in their career fall into the trap of comparing themselves to more successful musicians. It’s true that all artists should aim to improve their music, but when it comes to comparing themselves to others.

It can do more harm than good.

I was talking to my friend the other day after he posted about feeling really overwhelmed and depressed because of the unknowns of the future of his music career. As a blogger, I’ve almost fallen into both of these traps.

I have almost compared myself to the more successful music blogs, and I have dreaded the idea of the unknown future for the blog at times. But I know if I choose to think that way then I’d be too anxious to go on with this amazing hobby.

The competition would be way too much, and I would just see no point in posting anything… Just because I didn’t get any comments on any of my posts, but my competition always did.

I gave some advice to my friend that I’d recommend anyone in a similar position try out. I have a list on my computer that acts like a journal for me, and every time I get a positive comment about my content I take a small piece of that statement and add it on to the list.

Every time someone says that to me, I put a check mark next to it to add on to its credibility, and every time someone says something more specific than I add that piece onto my list too. The list can be however long and/or short, because it is my list after all.

This list is a way to show myself in a concrete way what kind of impact I am making. That list has grown so much, that it’s not that hard to see how much of an impact I’ve made on individual peoples lives in so many ways.

It reminds me every day to be grateful for that impact that I am making, and that helps me grow and continue to write for Unedited.

Living in a Dream by Tafari Anthony was written in January 2018. At that time he took sometime to step away from releasing music and focus on writing and exploring new sounds.

Tafari says, “I was in a very reflective space at the time and thinking a lot about how much I was obsessing about other’s successes compared to mine. To the point where I really was feeling like I was working so hard and no matter what good would come my way it wasn’t good enough”.

Musicians at some point in their careers usually struggle to see the point in moving on with their work. Sometimes they get past these moments, but unfortunately sometimes they don’t. That’s what makes them human. But for the ones that decide to keep on going, they always find their own ways to progress.

Table of Contents

1. Editorial
2. Who is Tafari Anthony?
3. Inspiration Behind Tafari Anthony’s Music
4. What’s Next for Tafari Anthony?
5. Thank You Notes
6. Links
7. Conclusion

Who is Tafari Anthony?

Tafari grew up in a creative family, and both of his parents were involved with music. It all came so naturally for him. “It was also a way for me to process my feelings growing up, and it’s an outlet I’m so grateful to have to this day,” he says.

Today Tafari has grown into a successful musician with an eclectic fan base, which reflects the vast styles of music that he is inspired by. He says that his music is quite different than what most people would listen to, “and it seems to me most of my fan base is the same. We don’t quite fit into one thing, we’re curious and like to discover and learn”.

Inspiration Behind Tafari Anthony’s Music

What I love about music too is that the meaning of a song changes based on current circumstances. With what we are going through right now with the Black Lives Matter movement the (Live in a Dream) lyrics are all of a sudden hitting me quite different.

Tafari Anthony (8/11/2020)

There are a lot of emotions that so many of Tafari’s music touches, but I find him to be an overall confident musician. I always admire musicians who are confident about their music, because it’s a special quality that can push anyone a long way.

I would have to say Maybe When We Get Older and Know Better to be two really good tracks of his from 2016, and Living in a Dream as well from his recent releases.

Like I mentioned before, he is proud to have a vast variety of songs. And coincidentally, there are some tracks that I don’t prefer. Interestingly enough, most of the songs I don’t prefer are explicit songs… Still don’t know why that is, but I guess it is what it is.

Either way, the songs that I do enjoy listening to are quite unique in their own ways.

I really love Country music. I’m sure that’ll come as a surprise to a lot! But yeah, just the super tight intimate harmonies, the storytelling and emoting… it just gets me. Especially when you look at new Country as well, I feel like it borrows a lot of influence from R&B which just makes it that much more special.

Tafari

What’s Next for Tafari Anthony?

“I want to always be free. Free to explore different sounds and not feel tied down to just doing one thing. I feel like that can really stifle creativity,” says Tafari. This is a feeling he doesn’t want to lose with his music, and he is not planning to loss sight of this any time soon.

Right now, he is currently working on a few singles, and his fans might probably see an EP before 2021. “I’ve been collaborating with a few other artists this year as well which has been really nice. Can’t wait to share all that I’ve been working on,” he says.

Keep a close eye on most or all the links provided below, because that’s the best way to find out when Tafari releases these new tracks!

Thank You Notes

I would like to thank Tafari Anthony for waiting for this article, and I would also like to thank Lydia Reed (LPR Agency) for connecting me with Tafari all the way back in early-May.

Tafari Anthony links:

• Website
• Apple Music

LPR Agency links:

• Website

Unedited Music Blog links:

Conclusion

Have a wonderful rest of the week, and remember to respect other people and stay safe. If you feel sick then stay home, and if you go into public please remember to wear a mask.

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