What is your superpower?
Embrace your inner strength and accept your weakness
I am not a hero, even in my own story.
People still perceive me as half the man they think they know.
And I’m cool with that because I know the real me (adaptable writer); that’s my superpower.
I am writing this article to share my journey of discovering my hidden talent for songwriting and producing digital music.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I don’t know how to play musical instruments, but I sang in the choir for years. And no, my voice didn’t really improve that much. I can carry a tune, but it’s not pleasant to the ears (heavy sigh).
I love music, period. It calms me, and it speaks to my heart and mind. There are artists that I listen to frequently because they help me craft my fictional characters. When I feel down, I’d wear my headphones and play my favorite songs on Spotify. I’d flood my auditory senses with feelings of joy, hope, and love.
I wish I could say that I intentionally wanted to write and produce music, but I would be lying to you.
And since lying is not good and I despise it, I’d give you the backstory of my journey— the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
End of Teaser :)
During the height of the pandemic in Northern California (March 2020), my special needs son (14-year-old) and younger kids were having a difficult time. It was mentally draining seeing my wife struggle to care for all three of them while working. I had to end my 6-month contract (contract extension was in the works) with Walmart Media Group (now Walmart Connect) as a Creative Producer.
Although it was a difficult decision, I was happy I made it because it improved everyone’s mental health when I became the primary caregiver for my eldest son. I hate to admit, however, that my decision to leave my job gave me anxiety because I feared that my unemployment gap would become a hindrance once I’m able to re-enter the workforce.
Nevertheless, I did my best to keep a positive outlook on our situation. Writing is my passion. Moreover, it is my self-medicated therapy alongside listening to music. Whenever I have free time, I would be on my laptop and develop ideas for a new story.
I also realized that I need to improve my writing portfolio, so I started writing articles on Medium. Writing curbed my anxiety and fueled my optimism.
Being with my eldest son 24/7 inspired me to write a novelette series with him as my muse. I wrote the first episode of A1D@N, and it was available on Amazon’s KDP as an ebook and paperback (went on sale starting October 8, 2020).
Without much fanfare, I thought it would be good to revert to my original idea of developing an anthology novelette series. So, I rebranded A1D@N and named it VRM3 FILES (went on sale starting March 6, 2021).
Knowing that it would be time-consuming to write Sci-Fi, I entertained the idea of writing basketball-related Young Adult Fiction called Sadé’s Origin Story or SOS. At the same time, this fictional character named Post Mort10 kept bothering me. I was fleshing out the story for both series.
I created the ebook covers and realized that they needed a professional touch — so I hired a freelance graphic designer (Crisshasart on Fiverr) to humanize Post Mort10.
And I hired Zurkon (from Indonesia) to illustrate Sadé Ortega-Smith.
In the beginning, I wrote SOS (Sadé’s Origin Story, also stands for Sadé Ortega-Smith) in a song format. For example, Chapter 1 was entitled “Hoopin’.”
Writing SOS in a song format was the turning point in my journey to discover my talent as a songwriter and digital music producer.
Allow me to give you the backstory of every song I wrote and produced.
I wrote Hoopin’ as part of the 24 songs included in the novelette series “Sadé’s Origin Story.”
Spoiler alert: I am re-writing the novelette series since I could not impress my voracious reader (9 year-old-daughter) slash fiction critic.
I love writing poetry equally to crafting stories, but writing original songs composed as stories brought me so much joy. Initially, I downloaded No Copyright beats (YouTube Audio Library) and listened to a track repeatedly to analyze the structure. I counted the beats, and I figured out where to insert the verses and the chorus. Even though I wrote 24 songs, I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything since it wasn’t produced (performed by an artist).
So, I watched a few YouTube videos and learned that I could hire vocalists on Fiverr to perform my lyrics. And so, I hired a female rapper/vocalist (from Romania) to record Hoopin’. I was happy with her vocal performance but was disappointed that the freelancer did not honor my request to enunciate the words bear and narrative properly.
And to make matters worse, I had no idea I couldn’t upload my song since the track I used did not belong to me. At the time, I felt like I wasted my time and money, but I didn’t feel defeated.
So, I hired a beatmaker on Fiverr and asked him to produce hip-hop beats according to my specifications. Long story short, I had 15 instrumental tracks I could study and write my lyrics accordingly.
I re-wrote the lyrics to Hoopin’ to fit the new hip-hop track I chose. After an extensive search of female vocalists on Fiverr, I felt Pauline Mykell’s voice is perfect for the song’s tone. And like the cliché: The rest is history.
Hoopin’ is the catalyst of my digital music production journey. I attempted to mix and master Hoopin’, but it was a disaster. It was vital to produce high-quality music worth listening to, so I hired a professional mix and master engineer.
David Johansson (from Sweden) is my go-to mix and master engineer for all of the music I distribute on DistroKid.
Favorite lyric line: Shoot your shot with eyes wide open
This Illusion is the second song and the theme song to VRM3 Files. And at the time, I thought it was my final song because I wanted to focus on writing my novelette series. But inside my head, I thought: What about the 13 hip-hop tracks? Also, my alter-ego kept hyping me: You could write and produce an album, dude!
I already decided to ignore my inner “Flavor Flav,” but when I saw the joy in my mom’s face every time she listens to Hoopin’, I had a change of heart. No money in the world could equal the feeling of being acknowledged by your parent. Furthermore, my kids kept singing, “Shoot your shot with eyes wide open!” Hook, line, and sinker, I was all in.
So, I decided to put aside writing my novelette series so I could write and produce music.
It was time to shoot my shot: I asked Pauline if I could write and produce her debut album.
She responded, “Perhaps in the future. When I’m done recording This Illusion, I would have to take a break to focus on my studies.” She was a senior in high school, and of course, her education matters more than my pipe dream of producing music.
Favorite lyric lines: Virtual world’s not my reality / It’s a mask to cover my infirmities
My Space was supposed to be a break-up song from the vantage point of someone tired of being stalked and harassed in person and online. But after watching the Britney Spears documentary — “Framing Britney,” I felt compelled to re-write the song as a song to counter JT’s “Cry me a river.”
The New York Times documentary about Britney is equally fascinating and heartbreaking. Being older and hopefully wiser, I now understand why Britney reacted the way she did during the tumultuous times in her life.
I intended to write and produce an homage musical album (10 songs) entitled “Ode to Britney Spears.” So, I reached out to the freelance beatmaker and ordered tracks to correspond with the OTBS musical. Consequently, I reached out to Farrah Rogers, and she lent her voice to this song.
Favorite lyric lines: Though we’re forever linked / We weren’t in sync
I was surprised to receive a message from a Brazilian artist — Daniel Lucas. I figured Daniel reached out because he was promoting his music. I listened to his single “The Invisible Man” and fell in love with it. His voice reminds me of a throwback Jazz crooner. I thought to myself, “It would be great to collaborate with Daniel.”
So, I messaged him, and he agreed to collaborate with me. I wrote Love Deferred with Daniel’s vocal styling in mind. However, he accepted a full-time gig and will not have the time to collaborate with me on his projects.
I felt defeated for a while. But I took a chance and reached out to Pauline if she’s interested in recording Love Deferred.
Fast-forward, Pauline humanized the feelings of a troubled person reeling from a bad breakup. Btw, this is my daughter’s favorite song.
Favorite lyric lines: Did I heal your broken heart? / Mine, you tore apart
I was inspired to write Fade Away when my younger son and daughter shared a story about a YouTuber they follow who constantly gets hate (negative comments and dislikes). They both informed me that as much as they want to be YouTubers, they don’t want the negativity attached to it.
I shared my experience with them about an unhappy person who trolled me when a post of mine went viral (by Linkedin standards, so it wasn’t all that, really). They were both surprised that my content was worthy enough for a troll to crash.
I assured them that no matter what they do in life, there will be people who celebrate their wins and people who will bring them down. And that they should focus their energy on producing content that makes them happy and at the same time brings happiness to people.
Favorite lyric line: Digital villains inflict internet pain
Far East Queen is my homage to the Philippines.
I think I was listening to RHCP’s “Under the Bridge” repeatedly, and it just dawned on me that I should write my version of how I love San Francisco or the Bay Area. I wrote different versions, but I was not happy with the result. And then, I remember Train had a song called “Save Me, San Francisco.” So, I decided to write an homage to the Philippines instead.
And that’s what I did. Also, I figured Pauline could channel her inner Lana Del Rey and sing the heck out of this homage song to our motherland. And she did.
Check out her cover of “Brooklyn Baby” on YouTube.
Favorite lyric line: Forced adaptation dressed as education
I initially requested IntrovertDAME to record my parodies:
Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” (It’s Elon Musk, Musk, Baby)
Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” (T’was a good day! Yay!)
It was great working with IntrovertDAME, so I decided he’s the perfect rapper to perform Post Mort10’s theme song — “Thawed.”
FUN FACT: We both collaborated on three rap songs — Meet Me Outside, Flashback, Esteemed (mental health-related rap songs). We both agreed that his upcoming album title should be “Brainwaves and Heartbeats.”
IntrovertDAME is such a talented artist. I highly recommend him if you’re interested in collaborating with a talented rapper.
Favorite lyric lines: I’m awake, now I’m thawed / I’m woke, but is my mind flawed?
My personality type is INFJ. And one day, I was in my feelings and wrote poetry describing how I felt that day. Later on, I realized that there’s a hip-hop track that matches the syncopation of the way I wrote the lines.
All I had to do was write a catchy hook. But of course, with Pauline’s help, she made sure the double-tracking vocals were on point.
FUN FACT: Pauline is also an INFJ :)
Favorite lyric line: Collecting cues, patterns, one-person focus group
Shooting Star is the first song of Ode to Britney Spears: Musical Album.
Originally, I requested Farrah to record the entire OTBS album. However, besides the fact that she was balancing a full-time job and side gigs on Fiverr, she dealt with renovations in her residence, making it difficult for her to record music.
I wanted so badly to finish OTBS, but I figured I was going too far deep in the digital music production journey that I’ve neglected my writing.
After all, my goal in writing and producing music is to showcase another talent that I recently discovered, not fully immerse myself in music production.
I communicated this to Farrah, and it saddened me to break my promise. I hope to continue this project with her whenever I could. Time and money are not on my side, unfortunately. :(
Favorite lyric lines: I was fit for Innosense / Flying solo made more sense
I’ve written a poem called Tadhana (Destiny in Tagalog), and much like my experience with INFJ, I knew in my heart that it would sound so much better if I converted it into music.
And after hearing Pauline’s single “Bukang Liwayway,” I figured she’s the best spokesperson to this auditory art form.
FUN FACT: I am so proud of writing and producing my first Tagalog song.
Favorite lyric lines: Tadhana, kailan ka lilisan sa buhay ko? / Tadhana, alam ko ang patutunguhan ko
I wrote Two K Baby as part of my pitch to help write and produce Pauline Mykell’s debut album.
During this time, I was busy interviewing for copywriting and content writing opportunities, and I felt it was vital to focus on my job search.
So, just like I broke the news to Farrah about not continuing OTBS, I sadly informed Pauline that this might be the last song.
FUN FACT: The polaroid picture is a symbol and parallels how the older generation views the colorful life of today’s generation.
Favorite lyric line: Social and connected, not living vicariously
My goal in sharing my experience is to convey the joy and happiness I felt every time I accomplished a goal I never thought possible.
I also want to share that it’s possible to accomplish your dreams as long as you fix your eyes on the prize.
Thank you for reading my novel-like article and going on a mini-journey with me. I hope it was fun for you as much as it was for me.
Listen to all the songs compiled into a playlist entitled: Facts & Fiction on Spotify :)
