Music Mentor! 6lack’s Words of Wisdom for Students in Atlanta

6lack was in Atlanta over the weekend, where he met with a small group of local music students ahead of his performance at the C3 Music Midtown festival.

The meetup was part of the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation, designed to create career pathways to the music business.

The artist told the teens, “Whatever you are good at, whatever it is you love… work at it every single day. Work at it till you feel crazy, like you gotta get it done… Nobody else is going to make it happen for you.”

He encouraged them to ignore discouraging or distracting thoughts, saying, “When it comes to writing and performing, I let all of that go.”6lack is also celebrating the one-year anniversary of “East Atlanta Love Letter,” but he told the students he's still learning and growing too.

“I'm learning piano, guitar, and music theory right now so I can have a better ear and more knowledge on what it is I do,” he said. “I don't start with the same process. I don't want to go in writing the same way. I want to go in and put some chords down… Next time I do a tour, I'm going to be a completely different performer.”

He's also staying grounded, insisting he's all about “giving back the love that you receive or just giving love in general.”