Meet Givhan | Creative Works Coordinator

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

Hi Givhan, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
As a multi-disciplinary artist, it’s really challenging when you take that step to become a business because you have to essentially sculpt what you do into a package that can be received by something as small as a mission statement.

Art/creativity is already massive so presenting more than one as a business was extremely hard for me. You want people to know you do a lot but you don’t want to come off as being all over the place. I’ve always wanted to help people with all the different skills I have but do so & show up as myself; so that could be as a producer for an album, helping design a website, project management, or any other skill I have or will have. I do so much alone so I know the feeling of doing it all & sometimes creatives just need help. So I constructed my company just to be a package of myself & my skills.

I learned a long time ago that I am not separate from my art so all of my skill sets can be of service while remaining organic & authentic to who I am. Which is why I made the name Create Proper. We can do anything we put our minds to & the only expectation I have is to do my best. The name Create Proper is to extend that message & expectation; If I have a skill set you’re looking for, I’m here to join on any creative project — whatever you want to create, let’s do it & let’s do it the proper way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist & I work primarily with music/audio. My current focus is on my own music, which can be described as low-end/experimental R&B, and as a songwriter/producer for other artists. I’m most excited about my upcoming album, Good Juju. I co-produced it with my close friend, Ashton Woods and it’s about 80% live instrumentation; it’ll be the first official project featuring my band that plays with me for shows.

I got to where I am today professionally by loving what I do & staying true to myself. Regardless of my pace, I never felt as though I’ve gone backwards. Being authentic i everything I do always helps me progress as I should. My biggest lesson over the years really is just owning my truth of where I’m at professionally, where I want to be & recognizing that it takes more than desire to get there; just because I love what I do doesn’t mean it isn’t going to be hard work. As for my story, I just want people to know that I do what I do out of pure love. The music I write on my own is my story & the work I do with other artists is always from a place of respect, love and joy for the craft. I love music and I love helping people so my art is a medium that allows me to do both in cool, unconventional ways.

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.
I prefer more chill & lowkey spots. For a friend visiting out of town, I’d probably keep that same pace. A week long trip would have to start off with them trying Coney Island if they never have before. It’s a Detroit staple that anyone visiting has to try at least once; we’d hit Omega on the west side specifically. I grew up eating there so I’d put them up as one of the best in the city.

We’d spend most of the week visiting a few homies; I have a lot of friends that cook & typically do potluck style kickbacks so that’d be a for sure move. I’d have to take them to Belle Isle for a day to enjoy everything there; the water, observatory, just chilling in the park — I love being outside so that really needs an entire day to take in. Of course we’d hit a few of my favorite spots to eat like They Say for wings, Sonny’s for burgers & Lou’s Deli for some corned beef egg rolls. I’d have to take them to Astoria downtown for some Superman Ice cream as well, and hit Panthy for some lamb chops & steak bites.

I’m sure we’d catch some shows around the city. Spots like El Club always have things going on. We’d also probably hit Spot Lite and Deluxx Fluxx — hear some good music & run into a few familiar faces. A couple of the late nights we can hit The Griot. They have some pretty good drinks and play great music, it’s a super chill a more mature vibe in there. On the flip side, we can hit the DIA, Charles H Wright & Motown museum for them to really get into some of the art & history we have here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my brother Ashton Woods. He’s an incredible leader, reliable teammate & has been a source for me to bounce ideas to orchestrate my next moves for years. He’s continuously pushing to grow/improve & always inspiring me to do the same.

Website: createproper.com

Instagram: @givhanstalo

Twitter: @givhanstalo

Image Credits
Shot by Lancer Casem Creative Direction by Key Jackson