Imitation is Shit | My True Feelings on a Mimic

I'll say it: imitation is annoying; it's not flattering; it's not a compliment; and it's something that I'm very anti.

Inspiration is a very fine line. We find ourselves caught in-between being inspired by others and wanting to achieve our own look. When you're an indie artist, being noticed is a very difficult thing to do. Between struggling to break mainstream, or even struggling to surface above a current of media--imitation is another difficult barrier in our way.

Lately, I've noticed a few...acquaintances...that have oddly enough started mimicking the same looks as I have done in the past. Now, I'm a pretty lenient, accepting, down-to-earth individual...but I have a low tolerance for imitation.

I work my ass off. We all work our ass off, and I think when it comes down to it, when we are directly copied, we feel pissed off. No matter how much anyone wants to sugarcoat the fact and pretend it's flattering, it's rude, and frankly I think it's lazy. Nobody wants to hear this, but part of your job as a creative is to brainstorm on how to be different. Whether it's your medium, aesthetic, or craft, you ALWAYS have to step up your game and come up with something new. One of the things that does piss me off more than anything, is seeing other colleagues have their shit ripped and turned into a cheap imitation. And, when I become a part of that, I'm even more pissed off.

I encourage you all every single day to be authentic, and when I see the Great Value brand of mine and others' work--it's insulting. Putting in your hard work sucks, but if you want to do something with your craft and make it a dream, mimicking others isn't the solution. In fact, people see it, and it's a huge boner killer. It's important to be inspired, but it's another to deliberately take another's foundation and build your house upon it. Artist's have put in years of hard work, income, and built connections to achieve what they have, and when imitation comes into play, well, I don't think people really understand how much of an affront it is.

Here's some real talk: most of the time, when you are put in a position to mentor and teach, often times more than not, the pupil becomes the person to misunderstand the lesson. One of the hardest challenges I faced early on was clearly understanding just how fucking hard it was slamming through the trenches. I don't need to reiterate my experience with how my brand has been built, but, my friends, the shit isn't easy...it's really, REALLY fucking hard contrary to what people may say.

Point of this is, be inspired; be so inspired that you create an empire and conquer, but for the love of cornbread, please don't plagiarize. That shit IS NOT cool, and it's a very disrespectful thing to do to another fellow creative. If there is one thing I hate more than a liar, it's a thief, and in the case of an "artist" that not only lies but steals, you're committing a cardinal sin.

Be authentic in EVERY thing you do. It's hard, it sucks, but when you really focus on competing with YOURSELF, you realize that your work can evolve in a myriad of different ways that you won't need to copy.