D. Blais: Please introduce yourself to our readers?
T. Morgan: Hello, my name is Tippy Morgan. I’m a singer, songwriter, producer, and model.
D. Blais: Who is your biggest musical influence and why?
T. Morgan: My biggest musical influence is probably Sade. That can be heard a lot more on my upcoming EP The Comedown, which is a bit of a departure from my first project. It’s mostly mid-tempo with a vibe more akin to Kehlani and Sabrina Claudio. I’m also a huge Beyonce fan.
D. Blais: How did you learn music and the music business?
T. Morgan: I initially started learning the business through my mother, a former Motown singer/songwriter/producer. She’s been out of the business for a while though, so I had to learn about the newer aspects of the industry through my own research, trial, and error. In terms of production, I’m largely self-taught. I got ProTools a few years back and just started watching YouTube tutorials and playing around with the software. Whenever I work with someone, I’m constantly watching, asking questions, and trying to learn as many production tricks as possible (I’m still terrible at remembering shortcuts though). I now mainly use Logic X Pro. For songwriting, I spent a lot of time just listening to music, studying song structure and melody.
D. Blais: Do you write your own music?
T. Morgan: I write all of my own music. I also self-produced my last EP (Escape), and I’ve collaborated with co-producer Max R3DD for my upcoming EP (The Comedown).
D. Blais: Do you have any music videos?
T. Morgan: I have 1 video on youtube (also featured on my website). But I have a lot of video content planned for my upcoming project once this quarantine ends, so stay tuned!
D. Blais: When did you release Escape?
T. Morgan: I released Escape 5 years ago. The process of writing, producing, vocal producing, engineering, self-recording, editing, and doing part of the mixing all by myself was a bit overwhelming for me and I needed a break once it was over. Afterward, I spent some time studying music again, trying to flesh out more of my musical identity, and networking in the local community.
D. Blais: Are you an independent artist?
T. Morgan: I’m an independent artist with my own publishing company.
D. Blais: Does your songs play on the radio?
T. Morgan: Not currently, but I’ve gotten a few plays in the past. I’m planning for much more radio play in the future.
D. Blais: What do you suggest to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
T. Morgan: I’d suggest jumping in head-first. If you want to write or produce but haven’t done it yet- just start doing it. Begin studying and researching as you move further along to make sure your time, energy, and resources are spent wisely. Knowledge truly is power, so constantly educate yourself, and that involves learning social media. Also get involved in your local music scene because building relationships will be essential. Sometimes just going to open mics around your city and supporting other artists can create invaluable connections (and it’s fun). In order to gain support, you must first give it to others openly and selflessly.
Whatever you put into the process will ultimately pay off in the end, so get to work and remain consistent.
D. Blais: What do you think are the biggest challenges for independent artists?
T. Morgan: I think the biggest challenge for artists these days is building a foundation and a fanbase independently, while also making yourself stand out in an ocean of other talented artists. It can be difficult to cut through the noise, but it’s not impossible. Just pace yourself, learn from your peers, use every opportunity for growth, and gradually build that foundation one piece at a time. Understand that it will be a marathon instead of a sprint.
D. Blais: Do you handle the marketing yourself? How?
T. Morgan: I’ll be handling the marking myself for The Comedown, with the goal of having someone else handle it for the following project (I have a few things planned). With Escape, I was burnt out from the creative process and didn’t fully understand how to utilize social media. Also it was during the transition into full music streaming, so I didn’t make my music available on those platforms and did very little promotion. That experience served as an invaluable lesson for me – never overlook the importance of marketing and promotion.
D. Blais: Do you believe that social media has a positive financial impact on your career? How?
T. Morgan: Absolutely. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying its importance. My social media presence for the past several months has mainly been focused on my modeling career, and it’s given me quite a few opportunities in that regard. I’ll be ramping things up and incorporating my music across all platforms in the coming months.
D. Blais: What is your creative process?
T. Morgan: My creative process varies. Sometimes I play around with sounds in Logic, make a simple beat, write a song over it, and then flesh out the rest of the music. Sometimes my co-producer will send me a beat, and I’ll write over it. Other times we’ll make a beat together and then I’ll write. But no matter what, I’m always writing, thinking of song concepts, and recording random melodies on my phone. The best for me is when I’m emotionally overflowing, so the music just pours out effortlessly. That was definitely the fuel for The Comedown, my rawest and most emotionally honest project thus far.
D. Blais: What achievement are you most proud of?
T. Morgan: I’m mostly proud of producing and engineering. Apparently it’s unexpected because even when I clearly state that I produce myself, most people will still ask who produced my music. When I reiterate myself while even naming my DAW, people will STILL ask “ok but what guy produced you?” I feel like women aren’t expected to be skilled at production or engineering, and I’ve also experienced some gatekeeping in that regard. So I’m incredibly proud to be a female producer, and I’m thrilled to have found a co-producer who was genuinely interested in creating WITH me instead of just for me.
I’m incredibly proud to be a female producer.
D. Blais: Do you perform in live on a regular basis?
T. Morgan: I haven’t performed live very much in the past year, but I’ll be performing as often as possible once this quarantine ends and I can finally release my new music.
D. Blais: What are the next steps for you?
T. Morgan: The next steps will be implementing a promotional campaign for my upcoming single and EP. Covid-19 has derailed my timeline quite a bit, so I’m just patiently waiting for social distancing to safely end. I want to market myself properly this time instead of releasing haphazardly, so I’m choosing to wait until quarantine is over so that I can release with accompanying visual content and strong branding. The music is mostly finished, we’re just tweaking a few final mixes. I can’t wait for people to hear it!
