Journal Steward is a natural observer, curator of creative energy and beat maker from Chicago!

Introduce yourself in three sentences; as you would to a stranger at a party.

My name is Journal Steward and I am a curator of creative energy. I am a regular collaborator with Robotick Media and I am helping them create audio and visual projects for their media company/channel. I enjoy watching Public Access TV and teaching my son the 120 Degree Lessons of Knowledge of Self. 

Tell us about the city where you live. What makes it feel like home? What are your favourite spots in this city? What do you eat for breakfast?

The diversity of culture in Chicago is optimal especially to those willing to embrace it and step out of their comfortable bubble.  My favourite spots are the trains (Redline, Blue Line, Pink Line). You can really engulf yourself inside the energy of the city by riding the different train lines especially late at night.

If we were to visit your city for the first time, what’s the one place we should visit that we wouldn’t find in a guide book? 

The South Side of Chicago and specific neighborhoods like Englewood, Woodlawn, South Shore, Auburn Gresham. It’s the hood so there’s so much beauty here and beautiful people doing beautiful things. Especially in the summertime, there’s house music parties’ in Jackson Park, people posted up, chilling by the lakefront playing their music and everyone just enjoying life. 

Reflecting on your past; what are the key moments or breakthroughs that define your life journey so far.

I am thankful to still be here in a physical form. I suddenly lost one of my best friends this year but his spirit is still right here with me, us. I really don’t focus on perfection anymore and it shows in the beats that I create. I realized that perfection to me is an illusion so I tend to leave gritty artefacts and inconsistencies in my work to remind myself of the beauty in my imperfections. 

Tell us about your side hustles, wildest dreams or vision for the future.

The beats I have been making now for about the last year is where most of my creative output has been personally directed to. I haven’t put anything out officially but I’m getting to that point. I’m weird like that. My vision is to start sharing more with the world and really just seeing what comes from that.

Who or what has impacted or inspired the direction of your life the most? Tell us why?

I would say my inner voice (conscious) has inspired my direction primarily. I tend to listen to it more than not and it has kept my universal alignment intact more or less. 

All journeys in life have their ups and downs. Tell us about a time that you felt uncertain about the future. How did you overcome and deal with this situation?

Hmm, I mean to me I have felt that I was purposed to be impactful so the uncertainty comes from me not knowing how to articulate my impact appropriately. Maybe that helps me avoid being uncertain about the future because I have been working hard in the present.

Give us a peek into your everyday life; what inspires and motivates you to do what you do? Why do you do it? What keeps you going? What challenges do you need to regularly overcome? Do you have any rituals?

My family motivates me. My friend’s and the strangers I meet out in the world that have honest conversations with me. I mean, I don’t know, I can get inspired by anything really. I have never NOT been inspired by something but the challenge with me comes with articulating that inspiration the way I see it in my head. The beats I have been making usually come from a place that I feel once I wake up. Once I have that raw feeling, I can pretty much let the musical portion just flow through me and as long as I don’t overthink it, it usually comes out ok. 

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