In the pursuit of his dreams, Willie Taylor of Day26 has been juggling a full schedule with Day26, family obligations and business ventures. With the days counting down to the release of the group’s third album ‘A New Day,’ time management will be truly tested for Mr. Taylor.
During the downtime between Day26 record deals, Mr. Taylor had the opportunity to go home to watch his newborn daughter grow. Making sure he used his break wisely, he also focused energy on his business ventures, including his record label Noivak Music. In a short matter of time Taylor successfully launched singer Avery Smith’s career with a performance on BET’s 106 and Park.
Signing First Artist To Label… “The thing that made me sign Avery Smith was the fact that he was able to captivate an audience. He can get on stage and bring the [audience] into him. Of course the music, the image, the way he carries himself; he is a full package. I felt like Chicago is a hard market to break so I wanted to bring my Noivak label here and help as many people from the Chi as I possibly can and other cities too. The initial plan is to bring up my city.”
Sitting In The Captains Chair… “I have always been up to date on my business. During ‘Making The Band’ I understood all the situations and all the contracts. I understood what I got myself into and the whole nine yards. Being in this chair right here of course I learned a lot from Diddy, watching him and the way he runs his business. He always capitalizes on every moment, that is one thing I want to do with my label. I want to capitalize on every moment. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Finding Time To Balance Family, Day26 and Ventures… “When we had a break from Day26, we [had] went through the separation with being with Bad Boy to being [signed to] Atlantic directly. During that break, my wife had our second child, whom is my daughter. I was able to live back here and watch my daughter grow for her first year. I have no complaints about that. I was able to get my Noviak brand off the ground so everything right now is starting to work together. I get a little time here and there to really focus on those certain things. When I was doing Day26 I was on the road all the time so I wasn’t able to do the family thing. I came back to do the family thing and really branded the Noviak Group. My real test is coming up with the Day26 single about to drop.”
A Man Of The House… “As a man, I feel one of my main responsibilities is to make sure everything around here is on the up and up. I think my wife understands that, which allows me to do what I got to do to ensure we get to eat and live the life we want to live.”
Creative Difference Without Diddy… “We have way more creative control but at the end of the day I am not really mad at the previous projects. The first album with Day26 which was a great album, I feel like that was hand picked by Diddy. It could have been anybody who made the band to make that album. The second album we found the majority of those records and then Diddy came in and added the records he wanted in there. This album is all us of course with the help of our A&R Darryl Jones at Atlantic [Records]. It has pretty much been us writing the records, finding the records [and] the whole nine yards. I feel like this is going to be our best project to date.”
Meaning of Forthcoming Album Title “New Day”… “Coming from the reality TV show and really understanding the realty TV show, it is obvious that we were suppose to be done by now. We still here, still doing our thing. Still signed to a major record label. Still able to get out here and make this money.”
Before The Next Reality TV Show… “If we did do another reality TV show, I would do it after this album, going into our next one. Because I want to show everybody. When your on a reality TV show you are sometimes overshadowed by the reality show. People talk to you about the show but they don’t know about the music. I want this to be about the music, I want it to be about the hits. My dream was to be an entertainer, my first thing was to be an artist, I didn’t want to be a TV star. I want people to respect the music first.”
Not Trapped In A Box… “I have never been all about writing about sex music. I did that because it was one topic that they tried to slander me with these nude pictures on the internet. My statement was more so like I will not be defeated by what you are trying to do to me. I will use whatever you try to use against me as an up. When I did that it was just that. I write about a lot of things if you search the internet you will see songs about my son, about my life, relationships. My writing goes real broad, it is definitely not in a box.”
—— By: Interview By Adeniyi Omisore
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