Meet Joshua Salmon | Artist & Creative

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

Hi Joshua, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Tampa, FL. Looking back at my childhood, being raised in Tampa was definitely a blessing. Both of my parents worked as full-time pastors so the way I was raised was much different from other kids. I still got to play sports, go to parties, and hang out with friends like other kids, but my parents have been big on morals and integrity. While they wanted me focused on school and my dreams, they also wanted me focused on making sure that my heart was always in the right place. I think being raised like that definitely caused me to value things in myself, people, and this world a lot different than I might have if I didn’t have these messages so heavily implemented. I really look past just the work that I produce, or the projects I’m offered to help on, and look at myself internally and the people I’m working with to make sure the motive is always pure.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My outlook on my creativity has always been based on the same concept: I desire to create solutions. As an artist manager, film creator/director, event curator, musician, and designer, the aim has always been to create what I desire to see. I feel like I often recognize what’s missing from different areas and I always loved the idea of coming up with ways to fix them. Growing up I use to see rappers and R&B singers execute these terrible roll-outs and I would get caught in rants to my parents and friends about what I would’ve done if I was their manager. Or I’d hear a song on an album that I knew needed to have a video accompanying it and the video would just never drop, and I’d sit back and write concepts out in my journal about what could’ve been. Point is, I recognized at an early age that what I wanted to see, and what I felt the world needed, just wasn’t being created. It wasn’t until I started praying on it that I realized what I wanted to see wasn’t being created because it was meant for me to create. From there I really just had to start, and trust me as much as that sounds bold, it’s still to this day the scariest part of my creative journey. Whether it be choosing to manage an artist, directing my first music video with no “professional” experience, hosting my first event with no sponsorships, or dropping a clothing line with less than 2k followers on Instagram, the leap of faith has consistently been the scariest part and the most valuable part simultaneously. The biggest lesson I’ve learned up to this point is that you have to bet on yourself. Furthermore, in order to comfortably bet on yourself, you have to know yourself and better yourself. Think about it like betting on a sports team. No one would bet on a team that is trash and taking no steps to be better. Placing a bet in favor of them would be frightening. However, if you’re betting on a team that recognizes their strengths and weaknesses and is taking steps to better themselves, you feel a level of comfort. It doesn’t mean it’s not still frightening, but the fear has less of a hold on you taking a leap of faith. That’s how I look at myself. I have to make sure I’m right within with my motives and overall life to truly create anything substantial.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a cool question. I’d definitely show them around Morehouse and really the AUC in general. Even further than that, I’d take them around the West End. Since moving here, I’ve gained so much information on the history of the west end of Atlanta and how much the AUC has played a role in that. Shoutout to Mr. Chapman, one of the heads of the Bonner Office of Community Service at Morehouse, for giving me the rundown on the rich history here. I think history brings a level of respect and appreciation of where we are. I’d definitely take my best friend to a bunch of restaurants, especially spots like Slutty Vegan. Lastly, but most importantly to me, I’d take them to Peter’s Street Station on a Wednesday night. They do these open mic jam sessions and the love and energy shared in the spot are literally indescribable and unmatched.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to definitely start off by shouting out my parents, Oniel and Georgia Salmon. Shoutout to my younger brother, Timothy Salmon. Shoutout to my church family at The City of Restoration. They say it takes a village to raise a child and my village has really impacted everything that I am today. Shoutout to all my Morehouse brothers and all of my family in the AUC!

Website: linktr.ee/joshuasalmon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paco.pdf/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-salmon-b935771ab/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JaySalmon01/featured

Image Credits
Josiah Robinson Jalen Turner Mark Bouldes