Today we’d like to introduce you to Deraj.
Hi Deraj, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
If we want to go all the way back, I was the kid who liked to draw in class and loved Hiphop. I wrote my first rap when I was nine, actually. Honestly, I owe my music journey to my oldest brother. Coming up, he was a part of a big rap group back in the day. They were like the DMV version of the WuTang in my eyes, ha. Over the years, my musical tastes evolved and I became more active with recording and producing my own music. When I moved from Maryland to VA during my high school freshman year, that’s when things shifted. As a teenager, I began attending church more regularly with my family. This is when my faith became more of a priority as I began to use my art to share and inspire others. I never had pursuits beyond just creating as best I could and sharing it with my peers and anyone else willing to listen.
Fast forward to the end of my senior year. I decide to leave Virgina and move to Florida, where I attained my Bachelors in Digital Arts and Design from Full Sail University. During and after graduation, I stayed active, performing constantly and generating a buzz in the city. Soon I was gaining recognition as a musician as well as a visual artist, which caught the attention of Reflection Music Group and indie Hiphop label based in Nashville. I began working as their art director but it wasn’t soon after that they learned more about my music which led to me becoming a signed recording artist in 2014. I spent five years touring and recording, amassing tens of thousands of followers and millions of streams. As of 2019, I’ve become a fully independent artist and have begun creating music used for brands like Call Of Duty, TMobile, Lionsgate, and CBS, just to name a few. We also teach others how to get their music in Tv and Film through our community on Clubhouse called CTRL Camp.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t think any worthy pursuit in life is without struggles. So yes, absolutely. To be honest, I don’t think I ever had a lot of external resistance in comparison to the internal battles I’ve dealt with. We all (especially creatives) deal with imposture syndrome and not feeling like we’re enough. Qualified enough, talented enough, disciplined enough, not making enough… we fall into the comparison trap one way or the other and way too often. That lead to my daily anxiety which, if you pay attention, was evident in a lot of themes in my music. The beautiful thing is it gave me a space to be honest about where I was and give others permission to as well. Nowadays I have a much healthier view on life (as far as I know, lol) and deal with those anxieties significantly less. It feels like night and day, honestly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist/producer/songwriter for sync licensing, creating music for TV, film, commercials, trailers, promos, games, etc. I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with brands like Amazon, Facebook, T-Mobile, VH1, CBS, MLB, Call of Duty to name a few. In addition, we have a boutique branding agency that services clients’ visual identity needs.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
The advice I’d have is don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions, get to know yourself and define what success means FOR YOU. Your journey is yours and you’ll be much happier chasing your definition of success rather than trying to bear the weight of someone else’s. Lastly, I’ll say learn the art of trusting your gut and aim high. I was a late bloomer to my dreams but now I feel I’m just really seeing the version of myself I always wanted to.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@justderaj.com
- Website: www.justderaj.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/justderaj
- Facebook: facebook.com/justderaj
- Twitter: Twitter.com/justderaj
- Youtube: Youtube.com/justderaj
- SoundCloud: Soundcloud.com/justderaj
