Meet TROY FAYOLA | Music Artist, Educator & Culture Influence

We had the good fortune of connecting with TROY FAYOLA and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi TROY, what makes you happy? Why?
Being able to fulfill my purpose makes me happy. I love being an artist and so making music and teaching is a part of my purpose that I am blessed to have. To be able to inspire myself and others with my talents and skills gives me the energy to love what I do. I am at my happiest points in life when I am creating, learning, writing, rapping and educating. Working on my craft everyday brings me joy and I am thankful that I get to create music, teach students and push the culture forward as a music artist and educator.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

As a music artist, I am most proud of expressing myself purposefully, and enlightening myself and others with my lyrical messages and impact in my community. I think me being able to stay committed and consistent to my music is how I got to where I am today professionally. Also my family supporting me and giving me the tools and discipline at an early age to pursue my craft is how I got to where I am today.

It hasn’t been a smooth journey but I am grateful with how I am defining my pathway as young woman. As a Hip Hop artist, some of the struggles I faced along the way was creating an identity and lane for myself in a predominantly male driven industry. In Hip Hop, women in my caliber of artistry are often overlooked as the music industry places certain standards of how they prefer a certain image of artist should present themselves. However, it is also a blessing to be able to be unique and create my own narrative as a Black woman artist.

Another struggle for me was learning the business aspect of music. As an independent artist, it can be overwhelming sometimes learning how to officially manage your music, team and brand in the music business. I’ve been continually obtaining knowledge to professionally understand the commercial side of creating, legally publishing, and releasing my music. I realized, the more I network and build authentic music relationships with colleagues, mentors and experts in the music industry, I gain a sense of knowledge to help me engage, perform and push my music forward to build better connections with my audience.

I want the world to know that I am here to always push our culture and heritage forward and higher. I will continue to create music and teach our people about the essence of who we are. I would like the world to also know that I am honorable, fortunate and blessed to be in this space where I get to think, create, inspire and influence the people to be great within their works.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area and I wanted to show then the best time ever, the first place I would take them to is this music showcase event called the Bonfire ATL. This event is a nice place to have fun, listen to live music performances and acts, and enjoy good food. The next place would be the ATL Trap Museum. The Trap Museum is so rich in culture and music. I think this would a good spot for my friend to view the essence of Hip Hop Artist from Atlanta, GA. I would then take my friend to the ATL Jazz Festival and Juneteenth Festival. These two events is something I enjoy attending and would highly recommend anyone to attend as well. Both festivals include amazing live bands and performances, countless food and clothing vendors. Both are great events to relax on the lawn and enjoy the festivities at Centennial and Piedmont Park. Next, I would invite them to the various spoken word and open mics events in the City. I would take them to this vegan restaurant called Cafe Sunflower Buckhead. This place is a good place to dine in enjoy the delicious vegan meals they serve. I would also take them to this health market called Wadada. This is one of my favorites spots in Atlanta, GA where you get enjoy natural foods, herbs and shop for clothes and jewelry. Last but not least, I would take my best friend to visit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birth Place. I think this would be a very profound trip to see because of MLK powerful and profound work and history in Atlanta.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to recognize God and also my family. My mother, siblings and extended family continuously believe in me and has supported me through my music and teaching careers. I am grateful that each of them helped me evolve in many aspects in my life. The love and guidance that I receive from my family pushes me to do and be better as a person and creator. I would also like to thank my close friends, music colleagues, teachers, students and supporters. They believe in me and motivates me to be a better artist and leader. Everyone plays a huge role in my journey and success and I appreciate the love from each and everyone that supports me.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamtroyfayola/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtroyfayola

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamTroyFayola

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TROYFAYOLA

Other: Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/iamtroyfayola

Image Credits
Image Credit: Simo Haier Image Credit: Your Favorite People Image Credit: Naimah Trice