The interview.

In a well-lightened room, a woman in her early 'thirties' could be seen sitting comfortably on one of the seats of the room. She was looking so elegant and beautiful in her wine-colored suit and skirt, with that glamorous smile on her face, she was looking so perfect. The setup of the room made it clear that it was a compartment for interviews, specifically, for interviews regarding music. The cameraman was all prepared behind the scene for the shooting of today's show and program.

With everything in place and order, the adorable woman who was the host of the show proceeded with her speech with that glittering smile on her face,

"It's your one and only girl who is here to always captivate you with interviews of different artiste and celebrities around the globe. Make sure to stay tuned 'till the end of today's program on whatever channel you are watching right now. In today's program of the 'Music extra', I am gonna be interviewing a talented upcoming artiste who goes by the stage name, 'Mark', give it up for Maaaaark".

Mark walked into the room majestically with that cool guy style taking a seat at the front of the host,

"It's nice to see you Mark, how are you doing?" The adorable host asked him.

"I am doing great, you?" Mark asked returning the gesture.

"Am doing fine". She replied

"Yeah, it's evident, you are glowing". Mark stated complimenting her beauty.

She blushed a little, "Hope you ain't teasing me".

"I am being serious here".

"Thanks a lot, you aren't looking that bad either". She uttered as both of them giggled a little.

She faced the camera now talking to the viewers of the program,

"I am gonna be asking Mark a lot of questions regarding his music career, so if you are his fan out there, make sure to stay tuned because you are gonna learn a lot about him today".

She turned to Mark once again saying, "I am gonna start with the secondary questions of your music career before jumping into the primary ones. So my first question for you today is, what got you into the music industry? Why did you choose music as a career?"

Mark answered, "Well, I had always loved music from when I was a little kid. While growing up, I listened to different genres of music, and it influenced my sound. As time passed by, my love for music became so strong and it made me realize that music was my thing, I decided at a very young age that I was surely gonna pursue music as a career 'cause I knew I had the talent and passion for it".

"Wow! that's so cool, setting a goal at a very young age, nice. You said something like you listened to different genres of music, if I may ask, is there any particular artiste that inspired you to do music?"

"As you said, I listened to different genres of music and different artiste, so many artiste inspired me to do music. But to be precise, I'll d say Jane and Armani inspired me more to do music, they were one of my best musicians back then".

"Nice, you have such a good taste of music. How would you describe your genre of music? What particular name would you give to it?"

"Hmmm, I won't say I have a particular genre for the type of music I make. 'Cause I do make and write songs according to my emotions and feelings at that particular moment. And the beats do matter a lot, I can't be making a slow song while the beat that is being displayed by the producer is rough and hasty, I have to allow the flow of my music go along with the beat always. So I don't think I can give a particular genre to the type of music I make".

"That makes sense, but surely, all your songs are hip-hop right?"

"Yeah, sure".

"Ok, my next question, if you weren't doing music, what would you be doing by now?"

"Let's say, law".

"Why law?"

"My dad had always wanted me to become a lawyer before he died. If he was still alive, maybe I'll d be a lawyer by now".

"So sad, If I may ask, how old were you when your father died?"

"I was 11years at the time of his death, he died of a heart problem".

"So unfortunate, well, my next question, have you ever dealt with performance anxiety"?

"Yes, almost all the time, as an upcoming artiste, I don't have a large fanbase that can cheer me up and boost my morale whenever I am performing on stage. So anytime I get bookings for shows and concerts, that anxiety builds up in me. How would the crowds react to my performance on stage? would my next performance be better than my previous ones? So those are some of the questions that do fill my mind anytime I get bookings for shows or concerts".

"Hmmm, do you think that's how anxious other upcoming artiste feel when they get bookings for shows or concerts?"

"It might differ, but a maximum of the upcoming artiste would feel the same way. Mounting on stage and performing with the best energy and vitality but not receiving the energy back from the crowd. Do you know how that feels?

"Very discouraging".

"Yeah, so discouraging and disheartening, I have been through it a lot, so I know exactly how it feels".

"Wow! not nice at all, but that's how life goes, lots of cornerstones and misfortunes".

She faced the camera once again turning back to the viewers with that pretty smile on her face, she said,

"We are done asking Mark the secondary questions of his music career, we are now gonna switch over to the primary questions of his career".

She swiveled back to Mark, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, always ready". Mark responded.

"Ok, first question, what would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of being an upcoming artiste?"

"Are there advantages? well, there are advantages, but very few, the disadvantages takes the higher count".

"Why so?"

"It takes a lot to record a nice and vibeful song, after the recording, the mixing follows, then the song is ready to be dropped. Lots of talented upcoming artiste go through these process to make nice songs, but what do they get after releasing these songs, the reception they get from fans and people would be so discouraging, and it keeps on going like that for years. That's the biggest issue upcoming artiste go through, such a big disadvantage".

"No advantages at all?".

"There is, at least, we upcoming artiste make money, that's something".

"Is that the only advantage?"

"That's the only reasonable one I can think of".

"Is it that bad?"

"Yeah, I am an upcoming artiste, I have gone through all these, so I understand what it feels like better".

"Hmmm, true, my second primary question, how long have you been in the music industry".

"I had been recording and dropping songs in the music streaming platforms since my secondary schooling years. But counting from when I got a record deal with my current label till now, it's been four years. So I'll say I've been in the music industry for four years now".

"Wow! that's some time now, looking back from when you first got signed to your current label and now, would you say you were able to achieve something you had always wished to attain as an artiste?"

"No, 'cause I am still an upcoming artiste and things are still the same for me, no changes. As far as I am still an upcoming artiste, I am never satisfied. Attaining fame as an artiste had been what I have always wished for, but I haven't achieved that yet, so I haven't accomplished what I have always desired as an artiste".

"What is the name of the current label you are signed to?"

"Cool boiz record".

"Now, coming to the main primary question, you have a collaboration with Arnold right?"

"How do you know that?"

" 'Cause I have listened to it, and it is such a cool and vibeful song to listen to".

"Really?"

"Yeah, after listening to the song, I knew I would love to interview a talented artiste like you, so I made plans for it, and your management was contacted".

"So let's say, you are a secret fan of my music".

"Yeah, something like that, after listening to the song you made with Arnold, it made me listen to some of the songs you've released in the past, and I loved them all".

"Wow! cool".

"But you couldn't still attain fame after collaborating with Arnold, how do you feel about that?"

"I felt so frustrated and tired, I asked myself questions like, if I can't attain fame after collaborating with a legend in the music industry, when and how would I attain fame?" I was saddened, but thanks to my favorite music producer, Ben, he was the one that encouraged me and gave me hope to keep striving. He has been the person that had been encouraging me from the onset of my music career, major shout outs to Ben wherever he is right now".