Artist Spotlight
Exclusive Interview with Thoma$, a Canadian Singer, Songwriter and Producer Who Is Making Wave Now In The Industry
If you are not familiar with Thoma$ read more.
Thoma$ is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. He started the music software FL Studio in 2018 and quickly discovered his passion for music. And then he started producing his songs in 2019, and only decided to release them in 2021 with one of his friends at the time. Thoma$ was greatly inspired by the work of several great producers and mixing engineers such as Mike Dean, Metro Boomin, Southside, and many others.
In 2021, Thoma$ started teaching other producers how to mix and master their beats through in-person personal coaching and YouTube videos. His first studio album called ”All In Or Nothing” is released on Christmas, 25th of December 2021.
Hey, Thoma$ thanks for taking out time to respond to us. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thoma$ – I started listening to rap music when I was 8-years-old, and I always liked the energy of this specific genre. When I was a teenager, I remember telling myself that I could see myself making music that sounded as good as the artists I was listening to. In 2018, my sister showed a beat that one his friend made, and I told myself that I could easily make a beat that is better than that even if I had no prior experience in doing that. The day following that event, I downloaded FL Studio and I fell in love with the process of making a beat and this eventually led to me making and rapping on my beats.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
Thoma$ – The most interesting story that happened to me was when I chose to pursue a music career instead of finishing my bachelor’s degree in education. At this point, I was 3 years into my degree, and I was close with some people in my cohort, and they all supported my music. When I decided to drop out, the reaction of the people of my cohort was so positive and motivating; they all say that I had what it takes to make it, and they wished me the best of luck and were convinced that I would succeed.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?
Thoma$ – Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that? The funniest thing that I used to do when I started making music is that I used to think the beats that I made were so hard and different from anything that was out there. Once I compared my beats to the beats of the biggest producers, I realized that I wasn’t there yet and that I had to work my *ss off to get there; I couldn’t mix properly and most of the time my 808s (the bass) was not even in key. This being said, I’m happy with the progress I made over time, but I’m still looking forward to progressing even more.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Thoma$ – I just finished recording my first solo album called ”All In Or Nothing” which will release on Christmas (25/12/2021) on all platforms. This 11 track project was made in 2 months and was entirely produced, mixed, and mastered by myself. Although this is my first solo album, this is not my first project since I previously was part of a group called Top Dogs with one of my friends at the time, and we released 2 albums. All In Or Nothing has a deep meaning to it and represents who I am as an artist more than anything I’ve previously released, I’m very excited to share this project!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Thoma$ – Being a very deep thinker, the most interesting people I’ve ever spoken to would have to be my philosophy teachers in college (CEGEP). These people have a way of living their life that is simple yet very interesting, and they could incorporate some of the concepts we saw in their classes in their everyday lives (ex: weighing various decisions, understanding points of view, etc.) The most important life lesson that I gained from interacting with some of them is that the search for happiness never ends and once you understand that you can enjoy the little things in life a lot more, you usually tend to also the deeper meaning of things more easily.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Thoma$ – Establish a schedule and respect that schedule, I know that it can be tempting to put in more hours than the schedule allows, but this could lead to burnout for a lot of people; you have to know your limits and work according to your limits.
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?
Thoma$ – Do not have any expectations, the worst thing that can happen is that you give up, not that you don’t succeed; believe in yourself, work on your craft and never quit.
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.
Thoma$ – The thing that has benefited my mental health and my physical health the most is working out very frequently. I started lifting weight 3x per week or more since when I was 15 years old, and I can say that nothing else has helped to develop my discipline more than that since to have a good workout you have to plan it, and you have to plan and calculate your rate of progression; this is crucial in any aspect of your life. Another routine that helps me significantly is to make a ”to-do list” every single day right when I wake up, this allows me to know exactly what I will do throughout the day. Other than that, I make sure I drink at least 3 liters of water per day and that I read for at least 30 minutes per day (news, books, etc.)
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- Be yourself
A lot of people are living fake lives and are not being themselves, you must get to know yourself to be your true self, you learn by trial and error, and you never stop learning about yourself.
2- Nothing worth doing comes easy
You need to be ready to put in an insane amount of hours before you reach your final goal, there are multiple steps along the way, start by deconstructing how you will progress.
3- Bring something else to the table
In the music industry, especially in hip-hop, the vast majority of artists sound the same. Be unique
4- Remember why you are doing it
You are the only one that can give meaning to your life, remember that when you feel discouraged
5- Never give up
The moment you fail is the moment you give up.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Thoma$ – “People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.” – Elon Musk
This is so significant to me because I noticed so many people are not doing their dream job or are not chasing their dream and that is why they lack motivation and tend to be depressed. When you are doing something very important to you, you will feel motivated to wake up every single day to do that thing whatever it is.
None of us can 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?
Thoma$ – My mom is the person that helped me the most in my life, she’s always been extremely supportive and always believed in my potential. I could openly talk about any problem with my mom, and she always tried to help fix that problem. For example, I always had a hard time fitting in when I was younger and my mom would bring me to therapy, she would give me tips on how to make friends, and she would congratulate me on my progress toward that and various other aspects of my life.
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. 🙂
Thoma$ – That’s a very good question, I think about it every day. I am someone who cares about the environment, and seeing what society did in terms of damage to our planet is quite depressing. This said I believe that the source of the issue is the big industries that heavily pollute, the oil industry that controls the market, and the society that makes us inclined to consume a lot. To solve the problem, I would start a movement where people are invited to boycott the big industries that make our lives worse. To do that, many awareness campaigns would be necessary to make the population realize that this is more serious than what they think. I believe in collective goodwill.
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. 🙂
Thoma$ – Elon Musk, since he’s the smartest person on earth, in my opinion. I would like to ask him about the future of humanity and various other topics. I pay attention to everything he does.
How can our readers follow you online?
Thoma$ – You can follow me on Instagram :
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