Written & Photography by Andrew Mangum
On July 13th, I spent the day traveling with Baltimore hip-hop artist Wordsmith. As I sat in the backseat of Wordsmith’s car en route to the Paperbox in Brooklyn, New York, The Supremes “You Can’t Hurry Love” played on the radio. This was the perfect song to start our journey for today. Wordsmith has patiently waited, and continues to patiently wait on his love – the love for music.
Choosing a career path in music can be an extremely frustrating experience, filled with highs and lows. Wordsmith knows the business and has been plugging away, taking on new shows and venues that are working to break the next great talents.
With New York City on the horizon, we are just hours away from the start of the 1st annual 50/50 Festival, put on by POW-TV. The festival aims to highlight underground artists, as well as mainstream, ranging from Hip-Hop, Pop, EDM, Soul, and even International Music.
More than halfway into the festival, and moments before Wordsmith takes the stage, everything starts to take a turn for the worst. What do you do when things start to come apart at the seams? When what you planned doesn’t go accordingly? Do you crumble under the pressure or rise above?
I can tell you that Baltimore Hip-Hop artist, Wordsmith doesn’t even blink. In the presence of pressure he keeps his eyes locked and focused on his goal, which is ultimately, performing his music for the people. However, at this exact moment, 10 minutes before going on stage, the house DJ, DJ Jovi Baby, can’t seem to locate Wordsmith’s set. Without dropping a beat, Wordsmith asks his manager and long time friend, Dan Wachter, to get the backup flash drive from the car.
Wordsmith’s vast experience has taught him to always be prepared for situations just like this. With the backup flash drive in place, Wordsmith is ready to take the stage and do what he loves, perform.
Not every opportunity is going to sling you into a world of stardom. The hike is long, and the path is treacherous. But if you never take the time to dive into these opportunities than you will never know what will or will not come from them.
With New York City in the rear view, Wordsmith makes his way back to Baltimore and onto the next opportunity. He not only lives life check to check, but venue to venue.