Who Is Heistheartist

Heistheartist is an American Christian singer-songwriter from Central Islip, NY. Formerly a secular neo-soul singer signed to “Bentley Records” under his biological name “LeeMann Bassey,” Heistheartist discovered that his true calling was with the Lord after hearing an inspiring sermon by TD Jakes online one day. That day he was inspired to teach the world about the Lord as TD Jakes did with his Sermon but through music.

Hey, Heistheartist Thanks for coming to Honk Magazine to talk about your music career. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path? Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was actually discovered on Instagram one day singing a cover of “Tyrone” by Erykah Badu and a local producer happened to see my video. He loved what he heard and he then invited me to his studio to record my first ever single (now titled “Honey”). And the rest is history.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Yes, one of my songs was selected to be included on one of Dave East’s mixtapes. The song is called “Boom (The Explosion)” and it’s exclusively available on his mixtape “Who Got Next Vol.4”.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

For one of the first songs that I wrote, I forgot to register it with my Performing Rights Organization (PRO) BMI and missed out on some royalties because of it. From that experience, I learned how important registering music with a PRO is.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have the music video to the Afrobeats Remix for my song “Childish” coming. There is no set release date for the music video but when there is a date I’ll be sure to post it on my social media accounts.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I had a chat with Ne-Yo which was pretty cool. It was nice to pick his brain about songwriting. It ironically was around the time of the 15th Anniversary of his album “In My Own Words”.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

To experiment with different genres. You never know what other genre may be of interest to you. Many people believe that you have to be a “genre specialist”, but realistically that’s not true anymore in today’s music market.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

In this industry, you must get used to rejection. You will get more no’s than yes’s. But keep on trying because the more work you put in, the closer you will get towards reaching your goals.

Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices, or treatments that you do to help your body, mind, or heart to thrive? Kindly share a story or an example for each.

I find prayer and meditation extremely important. They cleanse my mind, body, and spirit of toxic thoughts before I start the day, as well as before I go to bed each night.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Remember to register your music with your (PRO) because of the incident I mentioned previously with me missing royalties because I forgot to register one of my songs once.
2. That the industry is very political (as I’m sure most have heard… but I’m here to tell you it’s real!).
3. To trust your creative vision. I found myself drifting off into trying to fit the industry mold. But in the end, I found myself being much happier trusting my own vision.
4. That learning songwriting is the only true way to get your vision heard completely. Of the many reasons why I worked hard to become a proficient songwriter and drifted away from doing cover songs.
5. That success will come but be patient. I found myself almost giving up in the beginning because I didn’t get lucky and go viral. But I’m happy I didn’t because it gave me time to develop my songwriting skills before jumping into the big leagues.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

It’s actually a quote by Sugar Ray Robinson. His quote “You have to believe in yourself when no one else will”. It’s very true in my life and in an entertainer’s life in general. The competition is stiff and there will be lots of rejection, but if you believe in yourself and look past the “no’s” you’ll reach your goals sooner than you think. Success is all about persistence and self-belief.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Firstly, I thank God for everything great going on in my life. But secondly, my manager Michael Stover. He helped lead the way in getting my music to a wider audience as well as on the radio. Before meeting him after he did publicity work for me and eventually became my manager, I was struggling to get traction. But he definitely turned my career around for the better.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Definitely a self-love movement. Many people struggle with self-love around the world (that’s why there is so much hate in the world). The more people there are who love themselves in the world, the more love they can give to others.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

Yes, Singer-Songwriter Trey Songs. I love his new creative vision going back to old-school R&B with a contemporary twist. I feel like that’s a good starting point for the revival of R&B and great R&B songwriting.

How can our readers follow you online?

Find Heistheartist music on all major digital music services at the link below:

Instagram – https://www.Instagram.com/SignedLoveTheArtist

Facebook – https://www.Facebook.com/SignedLoveTheArtist

Twitter – https://www.Twitter.com/hefreedmysoul

Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/artist/6gcmZuz875tFsPHeT9RZaK