NowVIZ / Graham Rahal + Courtney Force

NowVIZ: In terms of marketing yourself, how has your college education helped you?

Clejan: Getting a dual marketing degree in International Business and Marketing with an emphasis in Digital Marketing has definitely helped me market and run my brand and music on my own. As an independent artist you have to treat your music as a business. You have to wear 20 different hats and marketing is just one of them. In school we were taught how to market brands and products, how to read and predict consumer behavior, and h o w t o ide nt if y and tar get the r i g h t demographics all over the world. All these skills can be applied to music marketing, with subtle tweaks here and there. As a musician, I am very thankful to have a business degree.

It’s helped me navigate each different “hat” as a CEO, making informed and data-driven decisions to further my business and music career.

NowVIZ: What is your vision for your project?

Clejan: I aim to be the premier violinist in the hip hop and Trap space. I’d like to continue inspiring children in band and orchestra and show them that the violin can be so much more than what we’re shown in school. I will continue to give back to the African American communities that created this genre of music and eventually expand the hip hop community by showing it in a different light to new audiences. When it’s all said and done, I want to be one of the greatest violinists of my generation, not just for my skills on the fiddle, but also for my business acumen, my story, and creative drive.