Upcoming Entrepreneur “YSN” has been working his way through the game for a few years doing many different things! I got the chance to connect with him & ask him a few questions about his come up so far.
Tell me about yourself & how you got started?
“I would say I’m a jack of all trades. I’m an artist, radio personality, and podcaster. I also emcee and DJ on occasion. I got my first gig as a DJ at the skating rink in my hometown when I was 16 years old and everything just went up from there. That was my first time spinning records and entertaining a crowd and I got the hang of it pretty quick. Not too long after I started DJ’ing, I started making music after my cousin kept inviting me to his studio. I was nervous about putting my songs out at first, but when I did, everyone at my school was rocking with it so I just kept doing it. I stayed on the DJ and rap grind up until I went to college at The University of Tennessee – Knoxville. When I got to UT, I started doing radio at WUTK 90.3 The Rock for a grade in my journalism class and immediately fell in love with it. It was pretty much what I was doing for 2 years at the skating rink, just without the crowd. After my first semester was over, they invited me back to do more with the station and I eventually got added as a co-host on The Edutainment Hip Hop Show and promoted to Music Director. When I got into position there, I started all the connections I made through making music and began giving all the dope artists I knew a platform to shine. Whether it was spinning their records or giving them an interview, I had the door open for all the dope underground artists to showcase themselves on the radio. I kept that hustle going all through college, but Covid forced me to make some changes. When it first came down, I wasn’t able to have any artists in the station for interviews or anything like that so I had to think of a way I can keep the ball rolling, and that’s how the podcast came about. I took all the money I had, and invested in mics and studio equipment, setup my website, and YSN Radio was born. My initial goal was to make it an extension of my radio show, and now it just passed its first year and still going. Shortly after I graduated college, I got my first professional radio job as an On-Air Personality and Board Operator for B97.5 Knoxville. So now, I’m still making music, radio grind is going strong, and the podcast is steadily growing. I’m very excited to see what’s next in store.”
When was it you realized you had the perfect voice for radio & what caused you to take things serious?
” The first time I talked on radio was when I knew it was the perfect fit for me. Like I said before, I started doing it for a grade in my class, then they invited me back and I started getting more time behind the mic and doing more behind the scenes is when I began to think more about what I could do with it. When they sent me to Gulf Shores to do press coverage at Hangout Festival 2019 is when I decided that I definitely was going to make this into a career.”
Describe the perfect preparation of a YSN interview?
“Before I interview someone, I try to get a feel for who they are by checking out their social media and watching other interviews they did if they have them. I also listen to a lot of their music, both old and new, to get a feel for how they’ve progressed as an artist. While I’m doing all that, I just take notes on what I find so I go in with a whole list of questions and talking points.”
What are your 3 biggest accomplishments since you’ve started?
Being able to turn a class assignment into a career
Doing press coverage for Hangout Fest
Interviewing Duke Deuce right before he blew up
Who are your top 3 figures you would like to interview in the future & why?
“I really wanted to talk to Young Dolph, he was one of my favorite rappers and someone I looked up to when it came to grinding independently and taking care of your people. Some other people I would love to have on the show is Lil Baby, I think he’s one of the dopest artists out of ATL right now. Dave Chappelle would also be a dope interview because not only is he hilarious, he’s also very insightful too so I think it would make for a great conversation.”
What are some things you have coming up in the near future?
“I just rolled out season 3 of my podcast, YSN Radio, so I’m going to be pushing that super heavy and growing my brand. I have some new music that’s been in the vault for a minute, so when the time is right, I’ll be hopping back into my rapper bag. I’m gonna keep up on the radio grind too, like I said I just got my first professional radio job so I’ll be running that up and see where it takes me.”
Its fair the to say the future is going to very bright for “YSN” as he grows each & every day. If you want to keep up with YSN & his upcoming moves be sure to check out his website for his podcast & also follow his social media links all linked below!
