J57 On How To (Sustainably) Be A Multi-Hyphenate

My name is J57, I’m a rapper, producer, singer-songwriter, record label owner, music video director, former radio host, fiancé and father – but not in that order – currently based in LA. I’m a hyphenate; a multi-hyphenate. It’s been a long journey of wearing many hats, but now I know how to use my time wisely. If you’re also a hyphenate, then hopefully this information helps you. This is what I did while creating my new album THE HYPHENATE: DISC 1 (out now via my label FiveSe7en Collective).

I have well over 1,500 registered musical works out there, which you can find on all streaming platforms (including music I’ve made with my friends Sid Wilson from Slipknot, DJ Premier, Joey Bada$$, Wu-Tang Clan, my friend Tuka from Thundamentals, and many more).

Everything I’m sharing here helps me continue to be extremely prolific musically, while being the sharpest I can be creatively, the happiest I can be mentally and the best I can be physically. I used to live a pretty unhealthy and unhappy lifestyle. I only worried about creating music. Now, at 41 years of age, I finally have a work-life balance figured out. I’m very happy to share this information from my trial-and-error over the course of my 20-year-plus career, in hopes that this could potentially help someone. Once I started taking care of my mind, soul and body, then success and happiness followed.

My morning routine is what dictates how productive and happy I will be all day, so I’m going to start there. The first thing I do every morning is meditate, before I help get my fiancé and daughter ready for school and work. I normally meditate for six to 12 minutes per morning while using the Calm app. After I meditate, I practice visualisation (visualising achieving goals), then I listen to positive affirmations, then I do my gratitude list.

I go to the gym five days a week (on weekdays). I’m a vegetarian that eats mostly healthy meals. I only drink water and kombucha. I do one to two 24-hour fasts per week, which has great health benefits – but I mainly do it because I’m my sharpest mentally when I fast. It’s the same thing with being vegetarian; I’ve stuck with it for the past five years because I make the best music possible and I’m the happiest while I’m vegetarian. I’m not pushing an agenda – this just works for me.

I like to work hard but I do need to escape the work-life thing, so I don’t work nights or weekends and because of that, I’m present while I spend quality time with my family. Being with my family recharges me more than anything. Also, while I drive, I listen to a lot of comedy podcasts to clear my mind from music – plus I love comedy.

I came up in underground/indie hip-hop but I’ve gone on to create in many different genres as well. I usually work on multiple projects at the same time, which makes things fun and interesting, as opposed to working on one project nonstop and potentially driving myself crazy.

I work according to my mood; if I’m in ‘rapper mode’ then I rap. If I’m in ‘singer-songwriter mode’ then it’s all vocal melodies that day. If I’m not feeling creative then I focus on label [work] and music videos, and step away from the creation process to let the creative juices replenish. Also, a huge part in me being able to free up time to create is that I delegate certain things to others; my manager, assistants, etcetera.

The last key ingredient in being able to juggle so much is that I maintain laser focus. I don’t keep my phone on. Ever. I don’t do notifications on my phone. I don’t allow unnecessary distractions in my mental diet like checking direct messages on social media. I have an old phone with instagram on it and I use that once in a while to post about new music I release. I don’t do email on my phone – only on desktop and laptop – and I don’t check my email often. I only arrange or schedule phone calls and I limit the amount I do per week to a very small amount – most weeks I don’t do phone calls at all.