Meet Alex Cherry | Music Journalist & Curator, Novice Principles

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Cherry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
The belief in myself starts from within. When I began my creative process in building Novice Principles, I wanted to ensure there was a defined purpose. That purpose alone is my backbone to never giving up. As we continue to  grow, we’ve started receiving feedback (mostly positive) but there’s always going to be opinions but that has never driven any decision being made. Every step I take as an artist is progression and I’m very humble but I know Novice Principles is special and that keeps me going. Even on the darkest of days, when doubt creeps through my mind whether to keep going or give up, I always choose to keep going because I believe in myself and Novice Principles. Your unique path will take you to places once unimaginable as long as you believe.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Novice Principles is a creative media outlet, centered on emerging artists & present-day story telling in Hip-Hop. My focus has always been to tell the stories of talented upcoming artists and narrating about all going on in music today. You’ll catch album reviews, concert reviews but also you will see editorials like a story about the power of women in music, just to give you some insight into how far we stretch. Playlist Curation is also very prevalent for NP and it is popular amongst our growing audience. This variety and the quality of it is what separates us from others.

We launched in January of 2021 but have made so much progress since and that is what I’m most proud of. I am still learning and growing in my journey with our brand but it has been amazing to see what we’ve done such as major artist and their teams shouting us out, topping over 2,000 views on our website and much more. I’m not really worried about name recognition because what we are building is special and over time the masses will see that. We are so young though and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of how far we can go. What I’m learning is this isn’t a race and it has helped me with producing quality work as opposed to posting every single day just because. I’ve been following my own path and it is paying of tremendously.

NP is a special brand and I already know that. Everyone should just continue to keep up with us because there’s a lot in store.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man. My friends and I are pretty crazy. During the week after work, we’ll definitely hit a Happy Hour at Escobar on Peters. That’s my go to spot. I’m also very big on Mexican food. There’s a spot off Northside called Agave, closer to the Topgolf that has the best Mexican food and drinks. The new Puttshack is a cool, fun hangout spot too. Weekend Brunch is one of our favorites though. We like lit brunches so SPK/Opium is our kind of vibe. Bottomless Brunch at Red Pepper is another stop. Every time we go to Traffik for a night move, it’s always an experience so that’s one of my favorite clubs. There’s so much more to do in the city and I’m grateful I have the privilege to experience it fully.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have a large support system. There were a few I consulted before I even launched Novice who were vital in its creation. I don’t want to name drop in fear of leaving someone out but they all know who they are. I’m very picky when it comes to advice because everyone feels they know what’s best for you. Through the beginning of Novice to throughout growth which is still happening, I feel I’ve gained important people to my process and they’re all contributing in some way to our overall success. I’m thankful to everyone rooting for and supporting Novice Principles.

Website: noviceprinciples.com

Instagram: instagram.com/noviceprinciples

Twitter: twitter.com/novprinciples

Image Credits
Ross Gordon