High (With You Baby)

Today marks a creative milestone. 12 releases in 12 months. It feels crazy even typing that. It's not been easy, but the growth made it profoundly worthwhile. And while it's not a new concept, I'm realizing there's just no replacement for experience. You can't think your way into the art you have inside you. You have to act...do...make.

We psych ourselves up about doing something, reading about it, researching it, twirling the romance of the idea in our head. And without realizing, the pursuit gets stolen by the responsibilities of our daily lives. It gets absorbed into a black hole.

We're here to create. Every last person on this planet has something beautiful to contribute. I had to move mountains in my mind. I had to decide now, not later --- to act. So I announced my big, hairy, audacious goal in July 2019 and proceeded to..... well.. panic. Produce an original song, mixtape, or remix EVERY month?! I thought, "Can I actually do this? Is it worth it? Will people even like my stuff?" You know, those age-old self-sabotaging thoughts that prevent you from putting your art out into the world.

There's a book I adore by Steven Pressfield called, The War of Art. One of my favorite quotes is, "It's better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot." That hits home. Art is hard, but the joy it will provide outweighs the struggle.

Do it for you. For the love of creating. That's the secret sauce. Forget the recognition. Forget the vanity metrics. Measuring yourself against others is a fool's errand. I do it all the time and it just leads me into dark corners. You are enough.

The future remains a mystery, but the present is here, offering us moments to live within. High (With You Baby) is meant to encapsulate that feeling when the past and future don't matter because the present is offering something far more lovely.

If you've been following my journey, showing love and support, you are heroes to me.

You have my heart,
Midnight Marty