Artist Spotlight
How A Trained Army Officer Turned Musician By Walker Vernal Seldon
Walker Vernal Seldon was born on 18th May 1994. He was popularly known as Selldretti being an African-American Rapper, Songwriter, Producer, and Entrepreneur. He is the founder of Selldretti Music and is a trained Army turned Musician. His first song on iTunes was Vice N Palas and grew so fast where he created his label and brand called Selldretti Music. On the military side, he became the first African American male from Columbus, GA to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
He was inspired by Dorian of Dorian Group 82, a rapper/entrepreneur who likes to share his knowledge about the music industry and avoid many pitfalls.
For those who need Tips to get into the music industry, Walker Vernal Seldon recommends that being consistent and believing in yourself is key. That the music business is filled with lies and you have to do a lot of filtration to see real people in this industry.
It was a rare privilege to have this exclusive interview with Walker Vernal Seldon and hope you read more below:
Questions:-
1. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Walker Vernal Seldon: I joined the Army right after high school in 2012 and was stationed in Fort Drum for about 2 years. While I was there, I received an opportunity to apply to the United States Military Academy. I was accepted to the prep school in 2014 and attended the academy in 2015. While I was in college, my brother suggested I take music seriously so I began recording music on my phone in the basement of my dorm building.
From there I released my first song on iTunes called Vics N Palas, and from there I began to take music seriously. I did a lot of research on building a brand and starting a business, so at that point, I created Selldretti Music, which is the name of my label and my brand. From there I have grown my catalog and built my brand into a business not only for music but for merchandise as well. On the military side, I became the first African American male from Columbus, GA to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
2. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
Walker Vernal Seldon: The most interesting story is when one of my recently released songs charted #1 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap Charts.
3. 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?
Walker Vernal Seldon: One of the funniest mistakes I have made was releasing songs as singles and making one of the cover arts to one of the singles the album cover for all the songs I released. I learned that releasing songs and albums required a lot of planning on the front end.
4. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Walker Vernal Seldon: I am currently working on a collaboration with one of my former rap group members named LBS (pronounced “Pounds”). The release date is not confirmed at this time.
5. Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Walker Vernal Seldon: I have interacted with Dorian at Dorian Group 82. He is a rapper/entrepreneur who shares his knowledge about the music industry and avoids a lot of pitfalls. I don’t have any stories per se, but he is a good dude and I appreciate his willingness to help us make it to the top.
6. Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Walker Vernal Seldon: I recommend being consistent and believing in themselves. The music business is filled with lies and it’s not a lot of real people in this industry that will be real with you. Always stay true to who you are and believe in yourself and your craft because nobody else will do more than you do.
7. 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?
Walker Vernal Seldon: Embrace failure. Failure is going to be the root of all of your success. Don’t be afraid to take risks and fail, but you are going to learn from those failures and become that much better the next time thus moving further and further up the success chain.
8. 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.
Walker Vernal Seldon: Myself care consists of praying with my Wife or having conversations with God. I play my PS4 to decompress from stress or simply rest on my couch or bed.
9. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
Walker Vernal Seldon: a. Build a brand: It is one of the most important things to do to be successful.
Walker Vernal Seldon: b. Find an engineer: My earlier music would’ve sounded so much better.
Walker Vernal Seldon: c. Don’t do everything yourself: I was getting burned out a lot but now I have people to do things for me.
Walker Vernal Seldon: d. Create a press kit: Makes it easier for publications and fans to know exactly who you are.
Walker Vernal Seldon: e. Develop a plan for a release: Before I was just releasing songs with no real promotion and didn’t see any results.
10. Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Walker Vernal Seldon: “Keep God First” This quote has helped me the most in my journey not only as an Army Officer and a music artist but as a husband and father.
11. 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?
Walker Vernal Seldon: My Wife has played a crucial part in my being who I am and how far I have come. She is my everything and my other whole, and because of her unconditional love and support, I have been able to grow in ways unimaginable.
12. 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. 🙂
Walker Vernal Seldon: My tagline is “Follow the Movement”. I want to start a movement of understanding and growth. Each generation should be able to learn from the last and continue to move forward while also documenting history.
13. 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 whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
Walker Vernal Seldon: I would love to eat breakfast with Denzel Washington because he is one of my favorite actors/actresses of all time and I would love to pick his brain.
14 How can our readers follow you online?
Walker Vernal Seldon: My Contacts:
Website: https://www.selldrettimusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealselldretti
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