<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would describe it as ever-evolving. There are ups and downs, but I can tell that today\u2019s struggles can and will lead to tomorrow\u2019s victories. If I could speed up the process from obscurity to people knowing who I am as an artist, I would. But I know that I would be missing out on lessons that I\u2019m learning, and I always say, if it ain\u2019t a blessing, it\u2019s a lesson.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you had any backlash following the transitions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah. It sucks to step away from an established career to people not knowing who you are or caring about what you\u2019re doing, it\u2019s incredibly discouraging. But I just remind myself that there was a time when I didn\u2019t even know what football was and if I can go from there to being a pro football player than anything and everything is possible. Everything that you can imagine is real.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n What was it like mentally playing football even though your heart was not fully in it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was mentally and physically and emotionally and spiritually excruciating.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Describe what music is to you and tell us what about your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Music is one of the highest forms of art in my opinion. It\u2019s a method of communication and also very honest and open. Music is also one of my preferred methods of communication. Being autistic, I don\u2019t just hear sounds, I also feel them making my relationship with music more intimate than 99.9% of my relationships with anyone or anything else. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My music is best described as what would happen if Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye,<\/em> and Sly Stone wrote songs together and Kanye West produced them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of mental health,<\/strong> what advice will you give to the young generation about dealing with depression and going into a lifestyle where a lot of demand exists?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be honest with yourself and the people around you. If you\u2019re hurting, no one can read your mind and there are usually people around that do want to help. Also, be honest with yourself. Too many times we try to downplay our pain because we don\u2019t see it as being as significant as someone else\u2019s you know? Mark Twain said it best \u201cNothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown are events of the same size.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe is very much an example for young people growing up to learn themselves, trust in their intuition and go for what your heart tells them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Photography By: Ismael Quintanila III<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Picture this. Thousands of fans cheering for you, along with your team to win. You see the opponent is not up to the mark…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":5000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[1379,18,1378,116],"class_list":["post-4998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-lifestyle","tag-andrew-miller","tag-femi-magazine","tag-joe-barksdale","tag-mental-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/femimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/JB-Web-Resolution-683x1024.jpg\")