Brian O'Keeffe became popular as a rapper in only a few months after one of his songs went viral with over 200,000 views after being shared by Lil Wayne on Facebook. This gave him a large fanbase and record label offers right before finishing high school. He realized he wanted a career in music around age 17 when friends encouraged him to make a music video, which started his journey. He gets inspiration from his own experiences and the support of fans, but tries to keep his music original rather than copying other mainstream rappers. In 5 years, he hopes to still be happily involved in the music business doing what he loves.

1. Brian O’Keeffe AS Media Interview fordoublepage spread
Tell us, how did you become so popular inonly a couple of months? Well,like manyrappersI
startedrightat the bottom,aboutto leave highschool withnoideainmind.Istartedto uploadto
YouTube;I would onlygeta couple of views.One dayI, uploaded ‘Be Inspired’ andone of myfriends
had toldme my videowentviral whichI didnotbelievebutinonly24 hours, it had around200
thousandviews. Iwasshockedbecause I didnotthinkmy videowouldgetthat manyviews. Ithinkit
was because Lil Wayne shareditonhis Facebook. AfterthatIgaineda huge fanbase andhad many
record labelscomingtome withoffersandIdidn’treallyknow whatwashappeningbecause Iwas
aboutto finishHighschool andabout a weekbefore Ihadnoideabut I didn’twantto missmy
chance at makingthismycareer. Therefore, Itookitand now I am here.
Whendidyou realise that you wanteda career in music? I was interested inmusicandwouldplay
it everyday.Many of my friendsandfamilywouldalwaystellme toturnit off the music.At this
point, Ihad a real passionformusic.Iwas justturning17 and had to thinkaboutwhatI wantedto be
whenI leftHighschool andit never came tomy realisationthatIcouldbe a rapper since I would
wearheadphones andcouldneverhearmyselfbutmanyof my friendswouldencourage me to
make a videowhichiswhere itstarted.
Where do you getyour inspiration?Ilistentomany mainstreamrappers butItry not mixingtheir
musicwithmine because Iwantmy musicto be original andnotanotherversionof someone else,
whichhas workedforme.I have myown music,whichpeople enjoy, andIthink itis because itisI
and notsomeone else.Mymusiccomesfrommyown experience but all the supportIgeton my
musicdoesinspire me,itismotivating.
Where do you see yourselfin5 years? I still hope tobe inthe musicbusinessbutIhope that I am
happyand that I still enjoywhatIam doingbecause Iwouldn’tdothisif Itrulydidn’tbelieve inwhat
I do and thatI am havingfundoingwhatI love.Idonot planto endthisany time soon.
How did you balance school with music: I was gettingstandardgradesandas I said,I didnot really
knowwhatI wantedto be so I was reallytryingnew thingsoutsoI couldhave a somethingthatI
was interestedinbecause school didn’treallyinterestme. However, toansweryourquestionIwas
doingwell inschool andhadsome free time,whichiswhyIstartedsome new hobbies, andIwas
luckyenoughtoturn my hobbyintomyjob.
What is a typical day/weeklike for you? Well,Inormallyspendalot of time inmy studio,whichis
where Iwrite mysongs because the atmosphere ismotivating.We have somanycreative mindsall
workingtogethertomake an amazingsong.Obviously,Idospend some time chillingandplaying
games(laughs),itiscrazybecause youcan get a lot of inspirationfromthese games.
What personal advice wouldyou give to someone wantingto pursue thiscareer? So I startedit as a
hobby,I neverhadanyintentiontotake thisas a careerbut I alwayswanted itbutI did notthinkI
couldmake it.I did trulybelieve inmymusicandmeanteverywordIsaid,I was luckyenoughtoget
the exposure thatIgot.
Where wouldyou be ifyou did not take this as your career? That is a goodquestionbecause Idid
not know,mylife changedinonlyacouple weeksbutIam positive thatIwouldstill be inschool and
studyingsomethingIlove.