A Star In The Making: Casanova

Rarely do artists see major success in their first year in the music industry. That is not the case for Brooklyn born rapper Casanova though. In the past year he had a hit record, got signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation, and has been on tour with Chris Brown since March. Shortly after releasing his debut track "Don't Run" the emcee has enjoyed a straight path to the top. What is interesting about him is that he does not come off as a rookie by any means. Rather, everything about him screams that he is already a veteran of the industry. I recently had a chance to sit down with him to discuss what this rollercoaster of a year has been like.

Adjusting to the music industry has not been a difficult endeavor for Casanova. Considering he has only been rapping for a year I expected him to tell me about the difficult transition. But he actually said things have been easier than he thought they would be. Casanova attributed this to being around so many artists for years growing up. While around them he always studied what was going on, and learned a lot without realizing it. He got to see how different artists treated various situations over a period of time. Those observations taught him how to avoid some major pitfalls of the music industry.

Despite avoiding certain pitfalls though, Casanova has still learned some valuable lessons. One of them is that signing to a label does not mean that you have already succeeded. It actually means you are only getting started. When Casanova signed on that dotted line he thought his life was going to change, but it has only meant more work. He is making the best of it though, and is back int he studio working on new music now.

Considering Casanova has made street music so far you might thinks that is his favorite type. That is not the case at all though. His favorite genre of music is R&B. An artist he is listening to a lot these days is Philadelphia's PNB Rock. Growing him he listened to The Fugees, Lauryn Hills, Usher, 112, and records Ja Rule did with Ashanti.

Looking forward Casanova wants to put out more smooth music over time. Right now he has an R&B record with Chris Brown that will come out soon. He plans to move away from gangster rap over time. His biggest issue with it is getting boxed in to one type of music, which is something he wants to avoid. He prefers being a versatile artist.

An artist trajectory Casanova admires is the career of 50 Cent. He loves that 50 Cent could transition from doing a record like "Many Men" to another like "21 Questions". Even though the types of records 50 did were so different he was not questioned. That is the type of artistic freedom Casanova desires. The way he sees it, while gangster rap is fun to listen to in the club, that is the only time you would catch him listening to it. When he is driving in his car it is always smooth R&B records.

Different artists have inspiration come from different places. Casanova says the thing that inspires him is losing so much. In his eyes, this is his last opportunity to change his life around. It is also one he never imagined having. So he wants to make the most of it. To do this, he inspires himself daily. Every time he thinks about doing something he should not he reminds himself how it is not worth it. When he gets stressed he always finds a way to calm himself down. He is acutely aware of how much he has to lose.

Something interesting Casanova sais he does when he gets very upset is stop speaking. While he did not call it silent meditation that is what it sounded like. If he feels he is getting too upset he goes into a full on verbal silence. There have been situations where he stopped speaking to anyone for as long as 72 hours. Practicing silence helps him feel more self control about his temper. This allows him to stay calm when most people think he is going to lash out. And it is a practice he has engaged in for almost eight years now.

Being new to success in the music industry brings a lot of new experiences. In the past year the most surprising thing Casanova has felt is what he calls fake love. And while fake love is everywhere around it, he says that it is different in the music industry. People he never expected to be fake turned out to be so. What he took from these experienes is that almost everyone is fake. And for the most part, people are not who they say they are. The most obvious way he experienced it in the past year is when someone says they like his song. He said that statement was always followed by some sort of ask. The actual ask varied, but there was always an ask. So when he hears someone say that of late he starts preparing for what the ask will be.

While experiencing fake love was not fun, it taught him a valuable lesson though. He found out there is nothing wrong with it. Dealing with it is a necessary part of the business. You cannot avoid making relationships in the music industry. It is how the industry runs. And issues with it only arise when people feel misused. To avoid misuse he only furthers relationships and situations that will better him. If it is not bettering him then he will not do it. You cannot do everything with everyone, and this is a big part of the reason why.

Though Casanova is proud of his success he made sure to mention Taxstone. He says Taxstone was instrumental in his success thus far. The way that he described it Taxstone came in waving the flag for him to people in the industry. When no one knew who he was Taxstone would mention him on his podcast, and his popular social media channels. He also brought Casanova to the corporate side of things. While Casanova was getting his name buzzing in the streets, Taxstone was in the boardroom. He got Casanova to give up on doing small gigs to focus on getting bigger and better records out. It was also Taxstone who first brought Casanova around Memphis Bleek. Later on Bleek actually signed Casanova to Roc Nation through Warehouse Music Group. And for that help he is forever grateful.

Looking ahead Casanova wants to do more records with Chris Brown. He also thinks it would be great to do collaborations with The Weeknd, Young Thug, Tory Lanez and 50 Cent. Also, he would like to do his own tour once he is off tour with Chris Brown.

All in all, Casanova is enjoying life right now. He is on tour with one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and got signed to the best rapper ever in the same year. Also, he is able to better provide for his family, and is living out a dream life. What he does next is anyone's guess, but if the past year is any sign, you can expect to hear his name more.