overhead, bring in new business, meet impossible deadlines and other anxiety inducing
tasks. For me, it was an object lesson in “be careful what you wish for because you just
might get it.”
The concept of success varies widely among musicians. Emilio Castillo, founder and
leader of the highly successful urban soul band, Tower of Power, shared his thoughts
about how he defines success. “When people recognize your music by your own personal
musical signature. Once you’ve found your voice, success varies but generally grows ex-
ponentially,” said Castillo. Lipbone Redding is a New-York based musician with the un-
canny ability to use his voice to imitate a trombone. He’s also an accomplished soloist,
songwriter, guitarist and entertainer. Redding noted, “Money is important, but only to the
extent that it lets me continue my creative endeavor. Sustainability, as an artist, is a big
part of success.”
For part time musician and author/Hip Hop Historian, Sean XLG, success means
something perhaps a bit broader. “My goal as a musician is to have the new style of hip
hop music that I created, Adult Contemporary Rap, accepted and embraced by the main-
stream world of music. It’s an alternative form of rap that primarily appeals to an older,
mature audience, whereas the only form of rap currently on the market is youth-oriented.
This would be expanding and broadening the genre,” said Sean. To some, Sean’s defini-
tion might sound lofty and unattainable. But, without visionaries we’d likely still be liv-
ing in the Dark Ages thinking the sun revolved around the Earth. It’s the visionaries that
allow music to grow, expand and evolve.