Honestly, this was one of the best/craziest days of my life. I knew it was going to be up there, but I didn't know how legendary it was actually going to be until it happened.
The night of my mixtape release party. This one night changed the game for me completely & let me tell you how.
It was Summer, I was gearing up to release my new mixtape at the time that I worked so hard on and I knew I wanted to do something different.
All my friends that were gone out of state for school & such were back home in New York again like every other Summer so I knew whatever I did had to be BIG.
So I planned a release party. I wanted everybody I knew to come, get lit, turn up with me & the squad, and catch me perform songs off my mixtape that was dropping.
I found & rented a huge, dope loft in Harlem for the special night. Free food AND liquor was provided to all my guests (Courtesy of me & da homies, even my mom cooked something last minute to support!). A couple of my DJ friends came to help set the vibes & everything was all good to go!
Me & my friends started promoting weeks in advance so ticket sales started coming in s l o w l y. Then the day before & the day of, ticket sales just shot up! Guess everybody knew this was the place to be that night lol.
Along with the advanced tix sales & the sales at the door, there was an estimated 130+ people that came through for the vibes & to see me perform. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY.
WILD
The place was packed!!! & Everybody was there to see me. All my people & more in one place.
The energy is something I'll never forget.
Another reason this night was so important to me is because I made it happen independently.
No label, no extra artists on the bill to perform, no "promoters", just me & my people!
I was able to see my hard work really paying off, especially since, when I first started years before, it was tough to even get 10 people to come to a show...
But I never gave up, just knew I had more work to do.
That night was one of the first times I was really able to see the strength of my team up close & personal.
Even people that lived out of state came through that night to support.
That hit differentttt
I'd be lying if I said the night was perfect though...
At some point, the cops had come to the door and threatened to shut the whole thing down for no reason.
They were trying to pressure me & said if they come and see x, y, & z then they would arrest me.
I was soo stressed, upset, and scared because what started out as the perfect event had become a real risky situation for me & I hadn't even performed yet!
There was no way I was going to let this night be ruined, so I kept it rocking regardless knowing what the risk was...
I popped a bottle of moscato and told my guys I was ready to perform.
My bro Nikai grabbed the mic, got the crowd ready & introduced me. Thats when I pulled up.
Had everybody in the spot chanting my name "WHOISARIEL, WHOISARIEL, WHOISARIEL"
And in that moment, everything became real to me.
I performed and I was filled up with so much excitement, energy & adrenaline.
The feeling in the loft that night was unlike anything I ever experienced, especially with all the attention on me.
I wish we could have caught more footage, but I did collect all the Snapchat stories that I could and compiled it into one big Super Story.
Also grabbed my DSLR camera after the performance towards the end of the event and grabbed some footage.
Although the time has passed, you can still experience this legendary night through these recap videos. Hope you enjoy!
So... Who Really Is Ariel???
Yeah, this might be one of the biggest mysteries anyone's ever tried to figure out lol.
Nah but for real. To put it simply, I am a music artist and all around creative...
...But that's not it.
Growing up in an Afro-Latino (Dominican) household in New York, music & art has been a big part of me since birth. Although I always loved music, all genres (except maybe Country)... I didn't get my start making music until I was about 14/15 years old.
But getting from that kid that just enjoyed music to the artist I am today, creating albums, packing out venues, and inspiring others was no easy task.
It's crazy because at first I didn't even want to be a rapper, I just wanted be behind the scenes producing all the fire beats. (Never cared too much about the spotlight.)
I had got the software FL Studio on an old busted up laptop and tried making beats. Honestly, they were sooo bad in the beginning but I just had fun creating melodies.
Music turned from a hobby to a passion that Summer and I literally spent about everyday working on making beats & learning how to get better and create different sounds.
I knew I had to learn an instrument if I really wanted to tap into producing, so I taught myself to play piano over the years & my beats got 100x better.
I didn't start writing lyrics until years later in about the 8/9th grade!
My English teacher made us keep a journal where we would write poetry & that got me into writing. That was cool but something was missing for me.
That's when I decided to take my producing & my writing & actually put songs together.
At that point, I was selling beats to local rappers, doing freelance graphic art & even started a small clothing brand while in high school. (Entrepreneur mentality)
Eventually I had saved up enough money for recording equipment. I began recording myself at home & the rest is HISTORY!
I actually met with the major label Atlantic Records back in my senior year of high school when I had produced songs for a colleague of mine, and there something happened...
With that meeting, I was reassured that I knew I had what it takes to go far with music.
I didn't leave with any record deal, but in that meeting I also learned that you don't need one to succeed!
My whole perspective about the industry changed & I knew that remaining independent would be the right path for me
I didn't want fast, easy, inflated "success" while having to be a slave to a label.
I wanted to succeed on my own terms, building up to the top while really connecting with people on every level & earn it myself.
& Most importantly, have my FREEDOM.
That's because I need people to feel me and be motivated by my story for real.
And that's what I've been focused on ever since.
I don't want you to think of your dreams as unattainable fantasies but more as visions & goals that you can achieve if you actually apply yourself.
If nothing else, that is the message I hope to send out with my music, brand, & movement.
That your goals are not out of reach, and you can live the life you want to live regardless of what you feel is working against you.
I’ve spent so much time perfecting my crafts & figuring out exactly what I want to do with it, I want to thank YOU for being a part of this journey, whether you’ve helped with anything specific or you just enjoy the music I create!
It means the world and I hope my music can positively impact your life & continue to do so in the future to come.
So to answer the question, Ariel is me. & I'm just a person trying to do some good with my time here on Earth. (While giving y'all dope soundtracks to blast at any given moment! Hopefully you fall in love with music the way I did)
If you’d like to hear the latest piece of my journey, you can listen to my project Not 4 Nothing HERE
