When you have a gift to create I believe you should always use all your creative tools to inspire the world and use them to change a world of despair into a world of hope, And so for August The Inspirational Corner features a man that uses all of his God given gifts to inspire the world through his artistry, we introduce none other than Floyd Boykin Jr.----> The Renaissance Man.
(Picture by: Abbie)
"We all have a mission and when we let others cast doubt upon that vision, it is no longer a vision....it becomes an unofficial assignment to assimilate and create what's popular."
~Floyd Boykin Jr.~
Me: I remember three years ago when I was searching through YouTube and I came across one of your spoken word videos and from then on a great friendship and working relationship developed. I am so glad to have the opportunity to interview you, so you can share your artistry with my readership community. First of all, what would you say was your particular form of artistry?
Floyd: My form of artistry consists of poetry, hip hop, soul, jazz and experimentation. I consider myself as a poet, as well as a spoken word artist. But I am also a musician (I play the bass guitar, a little flute and a little piano), I produce videos and publish books, magazines and greeting cards. So in essence, I am a student of expression. I've been called a "Renaissance Man". Humility means the world to me as an artist.
Me: Humility is definitely important in developing your artistry. Since you are very humble about your artistry how do you utilize it to inspire the world around you?
Floyd: I use my talents to inspire, or at least help motivate individuals to think outside of the box and stay grinding in the land of creativity. Through my music and my written work, I promote self love, respect for self and others. I do this by encouraging others to put forth their best effort to help create better beings of love. I also enjoy highlighting other artists in my music, as in Spoken Vizions Magazine, to let other see that there are people out there with similar situations as the readers who are pursuing their dreams regardless of their situation, health, finances or other obstacles. To inspire hope, ignites dreams, give birth to visions and therefore creates a reality of love.
Me: As you help others ignite their dreams what have been some valuable lessons you have learned in the development of your artistry?
Floyd: My most valuable lessons is to never compromise your art to please others; I am who I am as an artist because I do what I feel. I do what I believe in and I create what's from the heart. Those are the reasons that people even know who I am. I follow the light that I believe God has placed in front of me. We all have a mission and when we let others cast doubt upon that vision, it is no longer a vision....it becomes an unofficial assignment to assimilate and create what's popular. Another lesson that I learned was from Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets. He told me once many years ago after a performance at Club Divinity, to "never let technology keep you from doing what's in your heart." Since then, I've been moving forward and doing what I see in my head. If I don't know how to do something, usually I will get a book and teach myself. I don't particularly like waiting around for "people" to become available to me. I would rather just enhance my skills and add to my artistic worth. A great lesson is that music and art suppose to inspire and take you higher.
Me: We all have a path in life to take, a consistent journey. What would be the one word you would use to describe your journey as an artist?
Floyd: That's a good question. I think I would go with the word that many called me earlier in my career and it later became my stage name (I no longer use it but it is still relevant)---> IMPACT. People use to say that my work always had a powerful IMPACT on the minds of the people. It was a healer to some. So I adapted the name IMPACT, changed it to IMPAKT and it became my name for many years. I always capitalized every letter because when you see words that are capitalized people feel like it was meant to have more power.
Me: Authentic is a word I have used to describe my journey. What does this word mean to you?
Floyd: Being authentic to me means to be a genuine representation of oneself. My work reflects who I am. It is not filtered, watered down or copied from someone else. I believe that I am unique in my craft, yet inspired by many incredible artists. An artist that fits this bill would be Me'shell Ndegeocello. I am truly inspired by her work, and you can hear the inspiration in my music yet when you hear my work you still hear Floyd Boykin Jr. I think there is a difference between being inspired and straight up copying someone else's style.
Me: The Inspirational Corner tagline is: "Live Bold, Live Loud & Live Authentically" in what ways has this concept been implied in your artistry?
Floyd: I live boldly and unapologetically in my work. I talk about things respectfully but in your face through my music and my writings. In term of the phrase LIVE LOUD, I stand firmly behind my work and try my best to let my work be heard and seen. Once you get a hold of it, it speaks loudly to your soul and your heart. Live authentically, I believe in being myself. To know my work is to know my mind, therefore my heart and it's authentic.
Me: Sometimes people who strive to live their dream can get discouraged what would be your words of inspiration to someone who endeavors to live their dream?
Floyd: My words of inspiration would be to never let someone tell you that you cannot do something or achieve something . Most of the time it's coming from people who weren't bold enough to try or someone who tried and failed for one reason or another. Just because someone else didn't achieve their goals, doesn't mean that it's your fate as well. Just get up, get your nerves up, be encouraged and do it. Learn what you need to know to make it happen, put your shoes on and run track in it; run with it and don't look back! There is a quote by the late Steve Jobs that I love and it says "When some see them as crazy ones, we see genius because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
To me this means others will never see the genius in who you are if you give up on yourself, so don't give up!
You can find more information on Floyd Boykin Jr. at:
www.spokenvizions.com www.floydboykinjr.com
www.poeticbydesign.com
Social Media Sites:
https://www.facebook.com/floydboykinjr
https://twitter.com/spokenvizions
(Also can find him on on Instagram. Google Plus And more....)
Floyd Boykin Jr.- Don't Give Up
Floyd Boykin Jr.- She Could Be My Wife
You can check out more of this artist music at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/FloydBoykinJr