Rising Music Star Emanuel Green of GreenVisionX On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
…We expect to release more motivational and upbeat songs to keep spreading the message and helping to inspire people to keep things moving even in the worst of times. Outside of the United States the song “A Beautiful Day” is streamed the most in Ukraine. We know they need all the support they can get, and it is cool to see that somehow, we are able to help them even in the smallest way. You never know who your art is going to affect or help so do the world a favor and put your work out there.
As a part of our series about rising music stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Mr. E.Green.
Mr. E.Green — Emanuel Green — lifelong artist and former foster kid and adoptee who knows the system inside and out, comes from a background of family turmoil. Having experienced first-hand parental death and mental health struggles alike, the artist approaches music and humanitarian work with a fearless degree of love and belief in better.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I am a former foster kid and adoptee along with my older brother, raised in Deming, New Mexico. I am the last son of my father who was 74 years old when I was born. My brother and I went into the foster care system at a young age due to my mother’s mental illness after the death of my father.
I do not recall much because I was so young, but I do remember being in a few foster homes before we ended up in the care of our adoptive mother. She raised us and her daughter as a single mom, but she managed to give us all the love and support we needed albeit coming from a very humble background.
I recently found out that my father had 9 kids (who have mostly passed away). My 88-year-old sister contacted me on Facebook, and I was able to talk to her about my father who I never got to meet.
It is crazy to know that I have such a huge generational gap with my other siblings except my brother who is only two years older than me.
My biological mother was allowed visitation rights, so I did know who she was. After she passed away a couple of years ago, I got to learn more about her side of the family. I do not want to open a whole different complex issue, but I learned a little more about my grandfather and that side of the family. I also learned a little more about my uncles and my grandmother.
There is still a lot I do not know about my adoption or my biological family but the few things I have learned is enough for me to have an idea of where I come from.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
My first dream was to be an Olympic sprinter, I was running in track meets since I was a kid. I did everything I should when it comes to being good at a sport, but injury got the best of me in my high school years.
After my athletic dreams were crushed, I got into music. I always used to rap for fun, but I really started to take it seriously. I created my stage name M.I.S.T.A. Green and I created a demo to send out to talent scouts. I was eventually signed by a talent agency who got me my first distribution deal before I graduated high school. I had a lot to learn about the inner workings of the industry. My first release called “GreenCity” did not do very well because I did not understand the business. I was signed again at 19 with a management company and had a 24-hour deal. This independent record label who was working on building a celebrity child actor at the time. I say 24 hours because less than 24 hours after being offered the deal the owners unexpectantly shut it down.
I decided to take some time to figure out my path in the entertainment industry. I went to college and received a degree in Business Administration in Finance. I got an internship at Capitol Records the summer before I graduated. To stand out I wore green shoes to work every day. I would go into executives’ offices to introduce myself expecting them to kick me out, but they never did. I was remembered for my outgoing personality. I made such an impression; on my last day, all my co-workers came to work dressed in green. I was dubbed “The Man in the Green Shoes.” Unfortunately, after I graduated Capitol Records was bought by Universal and a lot of my co-workers were let go. I was exposed to the darker side of the industry when I returned to Los Angeles to pursue my career, so I left for a couple of years.
I got involved with commercials a few years ago and that is what brought me back into the industry. I returned to music after being asked to speak about my experience as a foster kid. I realized how therapeutic it was talking about it. I figured it would be great to create more awareness for the 400k+ foster kids in the system in the United States. There are more than 130 million worldwide with 20,000 foster kids aging out of the system every year with no support or opportunities. I created “A Beautiful Day” to help tell our stories creatively, raise awareness, and provide support from a system that only creates a band-aide for a much bigger problem.
U.S. Adoption & Foster Care Statistics: https://fostermore.org/what-is-foster-care/
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
As a commercial actor, I got to be involved in some cool projects. One was interesting because it involved me flying a plane. Typically, you expect to do a little acting in a commercial, but you do not expect that you will get into a plane and fly as part of your role. I was a pilot in this commercial and I thought I was going to be in a plane that was still on the ground “acting out” flying the plane. I got the call from my agent at the time that I was being asked to “really” fly the plane. There would be an instructor there the whole time but to create more realism I would get to fly it.
It took a minute to digest, but I decided to go through with it. I am SAG Eligible and I would never do this now without the proper contracts and safety in place but at that time it was something that just happened. The commercial came out cool, but I would not do that again without a pay bump and proper notification. So, I can say that I was a “real” pilot for a day.
Sometimes you are asked to do things unexpectantly while you are on set. If you are comfortable with the risk involved and you assess the situation, then make it happen. My advice to others, never do anything that you are not comfortable doing on set. If you are a complete “yes” man, then you do not really make a stance for anything. A job is a job, but you do not have to bend over backward for every request.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I remember the very first gig I got was some commercial print work for a large tech company. This was the first time I was exposed to a job with a big budget. We had a dedicated wardrobe, which I was asked to put on. I remember they gave it to me with all the tags still on it. At the time I had no idea that they keep the tags on so they can return the merchandise. I figured this is a multi-billion-dollar company and they paid for all these nice clothes for us.
I proceeded to go into the restroom to put on the wardrobe and I ripped all the tags off the clothes and put them in the trash. I returned and immediately was asked what happened to the tags. They did not freak out on me luckily, but they kindly asked me to dig the tags out of the trash and give them back. Let’s just say I never ripped off any more tags.
The lesson I learned from that was do not assume anything. Whether the project has a big budget or not, everything costs money. Respect the fact that money is being spent and you are either costing them money or making it for them. Do not cost them more money than necessary and you may be invited back for another project.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am really excited about the cause-related marketing project I am working on for “A Beautiful Day”. It allows me to get back to my creative roots and do so for a cause. We have a project called “FosterzStory” which is going to tell the stories of 10 metahuman foster kids who all take different paths. Their storylines will be interconnected and lead into a full-feature animated film. The animated shorts will roll out as we develop them, and we hope to tell real foster stories through the storylines of these characters.
Also, on the music side, we expect to release more motivational and upbeat songs to keep spreading the message and helping to inspire people to keep things moving even in the worst of times. Outside of the United States the song “A Beautiful Day” is streamed the most in Ukraine. We know they need all the support they can get, and it is cool to see that somehow, we are able to help them even in the smallest way. You never know who your art is going to affect or help so do the world a favor and put your work out there.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
As someone who has been exposed to various aspects of the industry and how stereotypes are the norms, we all live by. I would say the three reasons diversity in music, film, and television is important, primarily we all have a story to tell. A lot of people live vicariously through characters from their favorite tv shows, or musicians. It is our job as artists to be the right representation of our culture. Do not get me wrong not every stereotype is a good one, but they do help other people relate. When you do not have diversity in the industry then you are limited to only one perspective.
The second reason is diversity allows other people to see what is possible for them. The industry of tv, music, and film is a tough nut to crack. There are a lot of talented people out there who would love to get involved and the more representation and opportunities we have for them the better. I personally do not believe in waiting around for the opportunity to present itself. You must go after it, but if you have somebody that has done it before you that you can model that is ideal. I always followed Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. I admired his keen sense of the business but also how he was able to capitalize on his platform and expand into other industries and markets. He showed me that you could be more than just an artist. More importantly, he showed me that African American men could also be businesspeople. Master P and Sean Combs were also entrepreneurs in the business I followed.
The third reason for diversity is the market opportunity. When you do not have the proper representation, you are limiting the marketability of your project. The world as a collective is made up of a remarkably diverse group of people. Carving out your niche market is important but understand that even in your niche there is diversity. Some markets are bigger than others but when you can cater to a larger group of people your project can grow much faster.
Diversity can inspire change and creativity on all levels. We all would like our voices to be heard which is why social media has taken such a large precedence in a lot of our lives. I think we all have false perceptions of other cultures that we are not familiar with. The more stories that are shared from the perspective of people from that culture the more understanding we will have. You do not have to agree with everything or everyone, but I believe we should all have respect for one another.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I think one of the best tips I would recommend to my colleagues in my industry of tv/film and music is to learn about money. This is an industry where your life could change in an instant. However, you never know when your next gig is coming and if you do not manage your money correctly your hard work will not pay off. I think as artists we get so caught up in being “creative” that we forget the value we create in the marketplace.
If you do not understand that value, then somebody who does is going to take full advantage of it. We are businesses and those who understand that leverage their opportunities for more success. We do not all make it to the top of the heap and pull in millions a year, but we are a business. There is no reason you cannot make a living or at least create some passive income with your creative work.
Learn the business of the industry that you want to be a part of. If you understand how to leverage opportunities and create passive income, then you will not have to “struggle” as much as an artist. Learn how to market or get with people who do. It is perfectly okay to make money from your creativity and never let anyone tell you, you should give it away for free. It takes a lot of time, and energy to create. When you learn how to make money from your work, that will help you continue to focus on what you are good at.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
If I could inspire a movement, it would be a movement to create a system for talent development. Creativity is an outlet for a lot of people, but it seems so far off to believe that you can make it in the world as a creative person. I would love to create a system like trade schools that are tied to production studios, record labels, dance companies etc. As talent is developed through these programs, they would get the opportunity for a “real” audition for these companies. This would help create more opportunity for people to get into the industry and help to find more talent. The industry has such an “exclusive club” type of vibe that people are willing to give up their morality to make it. I think the industry should develop and find talent like the NFL. Obviously not everyone will make it, nor should they be coerced into a program if the experts feel they cannot make it via the platform.
You cannot make everybody a star or get everyone work but these so called “workshops” that take advantage of talent and their dreams and charge for their services promote that. There would be scholarship programs private and federal to help finance these programs. Creative people add a lot of value to our economic system so their development should be paid for the same way the traditional educational system is. If I want to be an actor instead of a lawyer, I should be able to have a legitimate shot at doing that. Instead of knocking down somebody who wants to be a music artist or actor let us help build them up. We could be depriving ourselves of an extraordinary talent simply because they did not have a path.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I have had the opportunity to come across a few mentors who came into my life at the right moment. One has been in my life for the past eight years. I dubbed him the “Mr. Miyagi of Finance,” but my mentor Joseph Kung has been instrumental in helping me structure myself in the business world. I spent a lot of time building on sand and of course when you build on sand your foundation is not stable. We all need people in our lives who not only believe in our capabilities but push us beyond what we believe is possible for ourselves.
I met Joseph when I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been financially independent since 1999 but he continues to help other people reach their full potential. He has a great judgement of character when it comes to people. He has taught me that you must learn how to see people where they are going to be and not where they are currently at. An example of this is he invested in me early in my business development. He understood he was going to lose the money, but it was not about that. He wanted to show me that he believed in my abilities even though I was not ready at the time. We do not all have somebody like Joseph in our lives, but I recognize that I have been blessed with the opportunity to know and learn from somebody like that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite “Life Lesson Quote” is “You become what you think about” by Earl Nightingale. You have no control over your family or where you are born. The only true control you have are the thoughts you dwell on. Your perception of the world exists between your left and right ear. Statistics show that people who come from situations like mine typically end up in prison, on drugs, or dead by a certain age. The only way I could manage to do something different is to think beyond my current circumstances and think about where I want to be. Everything starts with a thought, and without it you cannot see beyond your current situation. I had the opportunity at an early age not because I had everything lined up for me. I got that because I focused on what I wanted, and I acted upon it. Things start to happen when you decide to go after something. There were a lot of things I did not know and when I got it, I had a rude awakening. However, I still got what I wanted because I developed myself and went after it. I am back now carving out my own path because I did not want to give up my morality for fame. I consciously decided to do this. The right deals, people, and situations will show up now because I am ready for it. You can accept what I say or not but either way your world exists as you create it in your mind.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
There are more music artists today making the transition into acting but most are unable to maintain it. Somebody I always respected was LL Cool J. He went against the stereotype at the time, and he had more of a fun-loving image. He maintained a fit physique and marketed himself very well. He was phenomenal in helping FUBU get to new heights as an urban fashion brand. He was also instrumental in helping to make hip hop more mainstream and commercial. He had an extensive career in music and is still consistently in tv shows and movies. He showed me there was a path for the “good guys” to follow. Longevity is a challenging thing to accomplish in this kind of business. He is a living legend but on top of that he seems like a genuine person as well.
How can our readers follow you online?
Business Website: www.abeautifulday.co
Add our song “A Beautiful Day” to your favorite playlist: https://ffm.to/abdlaunch
Connect with me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/themaninthegreenshoes/
Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanuelgreen/
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
