Indie Artist Music Hustle
Indie Artist Music Hustle Podcast with Blonde Intelligence is where you will experience exquisite cranial repertoire. The podcast (Available on your favorite podcasting platform) provides entertainment news, thoughts on celebrity gossip, independent music artists, as well as businesses that contributor to the music and entertainment industries. The purpose is to provide exquisite cranial repertoire. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button!!!! follow me @BlondeIntelligence @RRoneice. Also the channel name is That Blonde Broad.
Indie Artist Music Hustle
Tyra No Banks: Poetry, Psychology, and Pursuing Dreams
What happens when a psychology major discovers the power of her creative voice? In our latest episode of Indie Artist Music Hustle, we meet Tyra Johnson—known professionally as "Tyra No Banks"—a Southern University senior who embodies the multifaceted nature of modern creativity.
From penning her first poem at age six following her grandmother's passing to winning the President's Award for writing in elementary school, Tyra's journey as a wordsmith began early. Now, her debut collection "Poetry for Colored Folks" represents a fresh, contemporary voice in Black literature. "I wanted to create a body of work that reflects where we are as a community right now," Tyra explains, highlighting how her collection addresses everything from pandemic life to the evolution of Black family gatherings.
But Tyra's creativity doesn't stop at the written page. Having grown up singing in Baptist churches and school choirs, she recently stepped into the recording studio for the first time—a natural progression from poetry to music. "Poetry is a gateway to music; it's the same thing, just without a beat," she observes, demonstrating how her foundation in writing strengthens her musical expression. Meanwhile, her psychology background provides crucial insights for marketing her creative work and navigating industry dynamics.
Throughout our conversation, Tyra's entrepreneurial spirit shines through. Currently participating in a book initiative that could place her work in major retailers nationwide, she approaches potential obstacles with remarkable resilience: "I always have a plan B, C, D, E, and F." As she prepares to compete for publishing opportunities in California, her parting wisdom resonates deeply: "Success is a journey, not a destination." Follow Tyra's creative evolution across platforms @tyranobanks and witness firsthand how education and artistry can beautifully intertwine.
Hello everyone, welcome to this week's Indie Artist Music Hustle with Blonde Intelligence. I'm your host, miss Roni. Please excuse my voice. I have a little bit of laryngitis today, but remember to hit the like, share and subscribe button. Okay, our special guest for today is Miss Tyra Noe Banks. She is a new artist. What we're going to do is let her take over and tell us a little bit about herself.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. I'm Tyra Johnson. I'm from Baton Rouge, louisiana, born and raised. I also attend Southern University here in the city. I'm a psychology major and I'm a senior.
Speaker 2:In the middle of my senior year, I decided that I wanted to go ahead and write my first book and it's titled Poetry for Colored Folks. So it's a short collection of poems for my people. Basically, every poem was written with intention. You're going to learn something, you're going to heal something, you're going to laugh. I just want to bring you back to a favorite memory.
Speaker 2:Like I just wanted to create a body of work that represents the times as of now. You know, like a lot of the books that we have are from older authors and like I'm 26. You know I'm living in current reality. So we got a little bit about the coronavirus going on, just talking about some of how, like the Beck family is not what it used to be, we don't have cookouts and stuff anymore and I just really want to create a body of work that like reflects where we are at as a you know, a community right now and then also while I'm in college.
Speaker 2:I also have a YouTube channel, so I have a little content creation going on. I like to get on TikTok and make videos and stuff and just try to get my face out there. And then also, like I just went into the studio for the first time and recorded a song, so I'm excited about that as well. And I'm just excited to be so young and like trying to do so much and like they you always say like young people not doing anything, and like I'm really throwing my mustard seeds out there and I'm really excited and proud of the work that I've put together.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tell me, is being an author something that you have always wanted to do? Did it coincide with your major, or was it life experience that made you want to write a book?
Speaker 2:I've always wanted to be an author. I actually started writing poetry when I was six years old. The first poem I wrote was a poem dedicated to my grandmother after she passed. And it kept going from there and I didn't really think of it as a talent, it was just something that I did. But I won the President's Award when I was in elementary school for my writing and I had a teacher tell me she was like you're going to write books one day and you know, you hear people tell you that you go on about your life. And then this year, my senior year, I got an opportunity to turn it into a reality. So it's something that's always been with me. I just didn't think I recognized my potential right away, and then completing the book made me realize like oh you nice, like you, you got a talent and keep going with it, so okay so you mentioned that you went into the studio and recorded your first uh track.
Speaker 1:So the reason I'm gonna ask you that I have, I'm going to ask you that I have interviewed and talked to other artists that actually started out writing for Do you think poetry is a gateway to music?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, it's the same thing, it's just without a beat. A lot of times when I do spoken word, people always tell me like it sounds like you spitting over a beat, and I'm like, well, it's the same thing, you know. And I definitely think it was a gateway. I think when I finally realized that it was the same thing, I was already older. But that's what made it good, because it was like I'm already used to doing it. Now I just need to put it over a beat and step into the studio, and it made it so much smoother. I feel like you have to teach. When people don't start with a writing background or a poetry background, you have to teach them how to do certain things. When you already know how to do it, it's easier for you. It was like like, like that.
Speaker 1:So so do that make you have any type of like um, I would say impatience for working with other people who might not grasp it as fast, or how are you when you work for other people?
Speaker 1:um, so I'm assuming you mean like other artists or other people that write poetry well, I'm talking about when working on music, because when working on music, you're gonna have to work with a lot of different people if you can't do all the steps and the components yourself. So, being that much of it that you can do yourself, how are you working with other people?
Speaker 2:I'm great with working with other people. That's something that I do, you know, on the everyday. I think where I get maybe a little bit frustrated is because I have a writing background and not a music background. Mostly it's like people will assume that I don't know certain things and then, when I do, it's more so would assume that I don't know certain things and then when I do, it's more so, like you know, like that kind of dumb blonde moment, they're like, oh, you know, she knows how to do this already and I'm like, yeah, I've been doing it, so that's the only thing. But I can work well with people. I just don't like for my intelligence to be downplayed at all okay.
Speaker 1:So I came across you on social media of hosts. I want you to tell everybody about what you got going on and where you're trying to get your book oh, I would love to.
Speaker 2:So I'm a part of cli. It's this book initiative where they find young authors and they give them a chance to write their own book. So they take you through a whole process. It's a whole year. Every time you write a page, there's someone there to check. You know what you're doing and then, when you get to the end, you have this full book and then you have this opportunity to go to California and compete for publishing. So that's the stage that I'm in now.
Speaker 2:The book is completed but I'm looking to be published.
Speaker 2:So at this conference it's gonna be hundreds of young black authors and you're gonna go on stage and you recite two of your poems or whatever your work is, and you basically give them like a synopsis of what your book is gonna be about.
Speaker 2:And then after that you'll win the publishing deal and this deal could potentially put my book into bookstores, retail stores all over the United States. And I'm so excited about it because you know, I'm just a little you know, a little black girl from Louisiana and to think that one of my books is going to be in Target somewhere around the world like that just makes me so excited and I wanted to share that with social media because you know I'm looking to get donations from people so that I can make it to California and to compete, like I said. You know I'm looking to get donations from people so that I can make it to California and to compete, like I said. You know, I know when I step into the room I'm going to come home with it. I just need to get there and that's why I went to social media with it.
Speaker 1:OK, so do you think that social media has been good for you, or more work for you?
Speaker 2:you or more work for you. Uh, it's been great for me because I was so shy at first and then putting my face in the camera. Doing youtube at first opened me up to the idea of even sharing my poetry or even going to the studio, um, and then when I stepped away from youtube and did tiktok, I would sing on tiktok, I would do all types of stuff, and it was the confidence that I got from, like my followers and my supporters Every time I went viral for doing something. Just to see in the comments like it reinforced me that I'm talented, so it definitely helped me.
Speaker 1:Okay, tell me about your music side.
Speaker 2:My music side, so I've always been a singer. I up in the church. Like I said, I'm from the south, so Baptist church, that's always been a part of me. Singing with my grandmother, singing with my mom singing with my friends, um, you know, when I was coming up, music was a big thing in schools as well, so we had choir. I'm getting choir in church and at school all the time. And then, you know, now I'm just like I'm at a point where I'm like I need more people to hear this voice, I need more people to hear this pen, because I don't just sing, I rap too, and then the poetry as well, so it it's all like I basically say a full circle thing, like everything I've been doing since I was a child has only gotten better and it's bringing me to this point okay, what's?
Speaker 2:your major in school psychology nothing to do with the writing part, but you, like you said, do you work with people.
Speaker 1:you always have to understand people and anything that you do Well, I think psychology is very important for marketing because you have to know oh, I'm going to try to target this market right here this is what I know about them. So if they were in this scenario, what would happen?
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 1:If I done, we'd draw more people in, I mean. So I mean, I used to be a psychology major, Really, but I changed to yeah, I changed to sociology and then I got a master's in counseling. So all up here, I'm all for it.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it yeah.
Speaker 1:I think it's been very. That's the reason why I love it. I love it. Yeah, I think it's been very go ahead. I'm sorry that's the reason why I laugh, but writing is actually very important in psychology. So don't think that it's all hand in hand. Only a person who couldn't put it together and have a whole concept such as when you write a song or you get ready to shoot a video you have to have a concept it's not out there doing anything. So I think the writing, the psychology, that everything goes hand in hand I mean even humanities is almost a part of psychology and philosophy and all those different things that all go together. So when you're creative, you use all those aspects. So I laugh about it. But yeah, that's the big part. You have to know how to think.
Speaker 2:Thank you, yeah, and then doing research about the music business. You already know it's a lot of mind games. You have to be on your, your p's and q's, so being able to sit in front of somebody and just analyze them and know when they bs me or what, and then the marketing part. Like you said, all of it has been helping me. But when I say it usually at the beginning people are like no, but it's helpful, you know oh, I see it.
Speaker 1:So thank you. Yeah, I'm gonna tell you something. You look like and I'm gonna ask have anybody ever told you this you remind me of? I can't remember her name is, but she's Tammy Roman's daughter that's also an artist.
Speaker 2:I know who you talk to. Jazz, is it? Jazz? Is her name? Something like that? Something like that Reminds me a lot of her. Well, thank you, I'm going to take that as a compliment.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tell me about. I know you told me that you was in the choir and that you was in the choir at school and that you just finally got studio. Was this your first time in the studio, and tell me about your experience for the first time so, yes, it was my first time being in a recording studio.
Speaker 2:I was extremely nervous. I'm a perfectionist well, I said recovering perfectionist because I'm trying to trying to let that go but, um, not knowing what to expect had me terrified. And like when they started talking about do your stab and this and that, and I'm like what are you talking about? And then, once I got it, it was smooth sailing, like.
Speaker 1:So I enjoyed it a lot and I'm ready to get back in there, okay so do you think that your career is going to move towards doing more music, or are you just going to keep writing poetry, or are you going to try to get into like ghost writing for other people? What are your plans?
Speaker 2:my plans is to both. Um, writing is a part of me, like I don't just do poetry, like I write stories as well. So, um, I'm definitely going to keep writing the books because that fuels the music. My life experiences, the way that I'm able to, um, explain things and give details about things, all of that helps me do the music. So, if I think, if I stop being an author, that that would completely derail the music thing altogether, because I'm constantly reading and learning new things and those experiences help me write those lyrics. So I definitely want to keep doing both so is your book available anywhere now?
Speaker 2:not yet, but we're hoping that because the conference is this month, um, so it is being published like printed. I won't say published printed right now, but published as in being in places and on platforms.
Speaker 1:Not yet we'll talk after this. I have a friend that owns a publishing company and she's also an editor, and she has been a new york's bestseller for many times over and she's from right here thank you so much. Yes, let's have that conversation you know, I always have a plan b, c, d, e and f yeah, yeah, I know my mom was in my ear about that.
Speaker 2:Now, like, what do you want to do if they don't pick it up?
Speaker 1:and I'm just like, I'm a trust guy like there's other opportunities because you can self publish. You're not just stuck to that. I mean you can open your own publishing company. I mean there can be things that can be done. I mean so that right there, if it's your dream, it can be done. All you have to do is do research, talk to people. I spoke to a man I interviewed on my show one time and I said what advice would you give to people who's trying to get into the industry? He said always work with people, or be around people who is making money doing what you're trying to do. He said you don't want to be around people who is not making money and basically front, because it's not going to put money in your pocket. You need to get around people who know what they're doing. So I'm interviewing, I listen and a lot of things I try to do is pass resources along. So if that's what you need, hey, I know a publisher, I know an editor. She's well, well, wherever.
Speaker 2:Now, all right well, I'll receive it. I thank you so much. I received the advice. I'm always asking people like we can you give me any words that can help me out? So I'm always willing to listen. If you got something for me, I'm gonna hear it. You know, I'm saying I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Tell me how long did it take for you to write the book with you being a student?
Speaker 2:So it took me about six months to write the material because I'm a night owl, sometimes I'm asleep and the words just I have to get up and write it. I have to. If I wrote pretty fast, um, the process took a long time because, like I said, everything I wrote, I had to get it approved, there was somebody that looked over it. Um, I had to go to a panel. So it took a full year to get everything together, but about six months for all of the poems well, I thank you for coming.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed you. You, you are very interesting, so if you have any last words, you get your last words. Tell everybody the name of your book. Your social media handles where they can find you and where you hope to be.
Speaker 2:My last word is success is a journey, not a destination. The woman told me I was gonna write a poetry book when I was in the fourth grade. I'm 26, give yourself time, and my social media handles is Tyra, no banks on everything. So it's ty4a, tyra. That's four a's, no bank, and then I can send you something. I don't know if you put things on the screen or whatever, but you can find me on tiktok, youtube, instagram.
Speaker 1:It's all the same, okay now, how did you get the name tyra?
Speaker 2:no banks when I meet people and they're like what's your name? And I'm like tyra, and they're like, oh, like tyra banks the motto. I'm like no, no, no Banks, I'm Tyra. You're not the same honey. I got you, I got you and I just stuck with it.
Speaker 1:Especially on TikTok. She loves TikTok, I can tell Facebook, instagram and her YouTube channel. You can find us on all podcasts and platforms Spotify for video podcasts, youtube, google Podcast podcast, pandora. I know I'm missing some, sorry everybody. Partnership with Apple, so if you have your links, send your links in. You find us on Facebook and the blog every Friday. We'll see you next week. Bye.