Tep the Lion (courtesy photo)
This pandemic has been pretty challenging for everyone, but it has been more difficult than ever for artists to put out music and even do concerts.
Many concerts have been canceled because of covid. Many artists actually got the virus, but are progressing on with their lives.
One example involves Tep Joyner, an artist known as Tep the Lion who co-owns W.A.S.T.E Entertainment and has created hip-hop, R&B, reggae, jazz, neo-soul, and dubstep music .
Tep the Lion has been making music since 2001 and obtained a masters of arts degree in organizational communication. He performs and djs at parties. He is also a teacher and tutor for writing and math. Some songs Tep the Lion made are “Fyah to the Flames,” “LOVE,” and “1-2-3 Destiny.”
However, when the pandemic came, life became a bit rough for Tep the Lion, who was dealing with the loss of his mother. His music recording was not affected by the pandemic; in fact it might have been easier to create songs.
“And so, some of those subject matters, like Black Lives Matter, poverty, pollution, you know all the problems of society, inequality, they [are] coming out in the music,” Tep the Lion said.
Tep the Lion has an at-home recording studio he uses to create music.He has even learned that using a karaoke microphone is better for effects than the computer, because the computer effects override the beats and rhythm while using up a lot of data. He says that the only difficult part about producing at home is having a lot of background noise.
Tep the Lion says that there are new projects on the way but hasn’t given any information on what they would be. He is also working on a mixtape.
Even though the pandemic has made work easier for Tep the Lion, it has been hard for him to make money because he can’t see people that he makes songs with. However, the pandemic has also been very influential in how Tep the Lion makes music.
“It’s a very inspiring situation but not necessarily in a good way,” Tep the Lion said.
“There’s a lot of new circumstances, ways to communicate coming out but also there’s a lot of problems being highlighted through the pandemic that we’ve been able to pay attention to since people have been out of work.”
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