Leaving the Secular Music Industry after Eight Years

This testimony of mine, is a testimony I forget I have. Of course I wasn’t mentally present, as I was dealing with serve disassociation. However, there was a little thing called Snapchat Memories or Instagram Stories that reminds me of the past that did exist.

From collecting SohoHouse wristbands to joining exclusive zoom calls where I could simply “pitch my idea” to Hollywood Emmy winning film executives to casually meeting a c-suite executive of Amazon Music and receiving mentorship advice from one of the most top voices in the industry… my life has changed a lot. No longer am I in rooms with multi-millionaires, getting sponsored a black billionaire (twice) to sit in rooms with Timberland, saying high to a Rockafeller, or even passing on a TABs business card to the best friend of Issa Rae after winning 100 bucks from her. My life has changed a lot.

As I started my new job as a box cutter worker, organizing draws and bras (not what I signed up for by the way), after a year and half of being a full-time (un)employed author and illustrator, I have had a chilling revelation. I’m not surrounded by celebrities anymore and the chances of me running into one went from 80% to 1%. 

Only reason why this revelation came to me was after I realize, the chance of me getting with a reborn secular artist like Daddy Yankee (not saying I like him like that but rather using him as an example) was far-fetched now. Seem unlikely unless God proves me wrong. For context, as of November 2025, I am still registered into a very prestigious music organization that is filled with artist affiliations like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Though despite them renewing my membership for another couple of years, I have not been active since 2023. Why? Because God called me out of the industry. Or at least He never called me back to it.

I have been in the music industry since 2016. I got my foot through the door at the age of 13 by blogging about K-Pop soloists. By 15 years old I was doing live podcasting with my first guest being JUNNY during his pre-debut days on Soundcloud in late 2017. Definitely was one of the first people to interview him before he got super successful in Korea.

In addition I help hosted multiple online K-Pop festivals through the Amino App (back when you could get sponsors and people got 100k likes on posts). I even help lead a social campaign in honor of the Late Kim Jonghyun of SHINee to stop fan cyberbullying and fan wars against EXO and BTS. My team and I partnered with various Amino communities ranging from 200 - 800k with ARMYs and K-Pop Amino being onboard.

I even joined a co-ed K-Pop group... A story for another day. I was a sophomore in high school by the way. Now I don’t remember these years of my life because I was unknowingly a workaholic because I hated school and was transitioning really hard to living in America after years of living abroad but screenshots and my college admissions essay does help me remember some of what I accomplished from 2016-2018.

 By mid 2018, I moved into graphic design or edits. Now I have been an editor since 2016 on Vine (inspired by Stranger Things and LetGoNorth BTS edits) but I took it more seriously in 2018 learning After Effects while attending animation and film school during my junior and senior days. I amassed a huge portfolio and collaborated with editors (photo and video) all over the world from France, to India, to Indonesia. Most of my work (IG: @loda_untitled.mp4) is quite depressing and lowkey gives off self-harm vibes but I'm good. I was just a very melancholic person. I wasn't a person of much expression other than bitterness.

By 2021, I found myself in a position that I never should had been in. After being convinced by a friend (and I use that word loosely), I got stuck into being a manager for an upincoming R&B singer. Now this person could had been big if they lock in but it wasn't the case. It was the first time I would be exposed to drugs, and the club scene (from a musical) point of view. The worst part about this experience was me saying “Oh you are fumbling the bag. Your not focus and now this 'Romantic Homicide’ D4VD is taking your spot in the industry… Yeah unknowingly I was constantly compare this individual to alleged singer with a more infamous title. My fault. I repent for that.

This manager position was the first time I realize, maybe the music industry isn’t for me. Yes, I wanted to be backstage at Rolling Loud Miami so badly so I can flex on all my classmates who forgot my name. Though working with _____ was so bad. I’ve turned down a scholarship to go Dubai and Abu Dhabi with my leadership development cohort for this individual. Luckly my suitcase went instead of me (I gave it to my classmate). I was suppose to go to New York and hypothetically meets some A&Rs for this guy though praise the Lord that it fell through before leaving.

I was really putting all my eggs into this individual who was more interested what the world had to offer and it my job to push his vision or what God actually desire me to do for His Kingdom. By God’s grace I step down from my position after three-four months and somehow never really crossed paths with him again. Though my prayer is that he finds God for himself and accept Jesus into his life.

At the age of 20, I became a signed cover artist for a UK company that never gave me any work before freelancing. I ended up doing cover art for EDM, R&B, and Indie Hip-Hop artists. 

I got accepted into a few top music organizations in the world (public to man obviously. Not those behind closed doors organizations. Thank God). It wasn’t hard for me to get in because of my resume and portfolio. I also believe the university I attend help me out a lot. I met a lot of top industry folks like VPs of Interscope, Universal Music, Warner Music, Amazon Music, Capitol, and so on. I would have conversations monthly if not weekly with one of the co-President of the Recording Academy  (The GRAMMYS) (before they step down from the position). Met a few gospel singers like Yolanda Adams and some 70s and 80s singers.

Me and Shanice at a SXSW event

Sat three rows from Timberland at ACL Live one time. Mix and mingle with someone from Bruno Mars’ team during his Silk Sonic era. I even had a mentor who’s family was part of the Selena Quintanilla-Pérez dynasty who later became a right hand to Shakira. (Now he wasn’t much of a mentor to me but he was my assigned mentor for about six months so I’ll put it on my resume). 

You might wonder, how did I get here? I made too many K-Pop edits. I made way too many and folks liked it. 

Though one day it all went away after a failed Kendrick Lamar “Die Hard” lyric music video failed short for UMG as I was about to be crowned as a music video director for their up and coming talents division as it was going to launch me into a later Rolling Loud, Live Nation career making top dollar. 

God snatched me before I got too deep. Ghosted from the industry and not even the now former co-President of the Recording Academy couldn’t even help me.

Though I now work on The Archives of BFF series, I can’t help to wonder how different my life actually was. It was quite normal for me to run into a famous Latin singer or record label executive or a rapper dripping in chains. It was like “Oh are you going to the Latin GRAMMYs” or “Yeah I work at HBO with ______”

It was more than just Landon Cube noticing my work or Jack Harlow (at his hype) pointing to me during intermission, saying “I see you up there. Yeah you. You with the red,” at a sold out arena from the nosebleeds (cause of course I showed up to his concert in my pajamas and headphones on).

Gotta listen closely and you would hear him. He also pointed to my friends and I alot during the concert. Again my shirt was pretty much glowing in the dark so it was easy for him to find us. But yeah it was a weird time. Not to mention it was during my birthday weekend. I don't remember it too much... I also don't remember being recognize as a potential high level next talent along side IVY League students. Again I was on autopilot before rededicating my life to Christ.

A lot of people envy me and others who genuinely wanted to harm me (deep down in their thoughts). Lots of people were jealous of me. Yet I told them to not feel ill towards me, because I wasn’t really making a lot of money. I was a hoarder of finances and never truly spent my money in which God would truly humble me later in life.

Now my world is different. I started a new job, making what I feel like minimum wage, breaking down boxes and hanging up bras and thongs. No shade to my new job. Its chill and it pay the bills. Plus after watching Freedom Writers and learning that the teacher also was folding bras, it made me tolerate the humiliating task at hand. However with the revival of secular artists coming to faith like a true Switch member… Makes me realize, as the single girl I am, how I’m not going to run into these reborn Daddy Yankee artists. 

It was my story of course, working with secular artists (on the creative side) to further their idolatry, sex, money, and drugs vision. Yet now I do more testimonial and witnessing writing. I don’t necessarily want to mix and mingle with my past life but find creatives who transition like me to Kingdom missions, hence why I find Daddy Yankee’s testimony quite moving. Especially knowing alot of people have stories like his. Now I’m not saying I am taking names of those who are reborn and single but I found the whole situation quite intriguing. Networking and meeting new people, regardless of race, social-economic status, location, etc, was never a true issue for me. But now I run into no one, whether in-person or via internet. Its clearly God hiding me which is fine. Though when you write about romance without experiencing it, human as I am, I think about these things.

Now God's thoughts and ways are much higher than mine. I’m realistically not going to bump into a reborn christian with a MC Jottapê or Justin Bieber storyline at an industry party or at a SohoHouse lounge. But if it is God's will, He will make it happen. Fruit for thought. Again this blog post was deeply inspired by a conversation I was having with the Holy Spirit while the sole of my feet were hurting at my “minimum wage” job. Of course as I try my HARDEST to tithe more and become a generous Christian, I hope to find my way out of this turmoil and chase full-time employment as an author and illustrator.