Meet Elijah Rieders | Musician, Artist & Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elijah Rieders and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elijah, why did you pursue a creative career?
Since I was a kid, I never saw myself in a cubicle or working a typical 9-to-5 job even before I started pursuing an artistic career. I knew I wanted to do something where I created my own hours and went at my own pace, but I didn’t know exactly what that looked like yet. Once I discovered my talent and love for music creation, I knew I was headed in the right direction. The more I dove into music and everything that surrounded it, the more I felt at home. With music creation, everything else such as videography, content creation, graphic design, and marketing fell into place. To me, the best part about pursuing a creative career is that there is not one set path. You get to choose your own.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I believe what sets me apart from others when it comes to my art is that I pretty much do it all. From producing the beats to writing and recording the vocals, from filming the videos, to editing and creating the final product. I’m almost entirely a one-man army. Of course, it didn’t start that way. The main reason I do all of those things is that there were many challenges along the way that lead me to where I am now. I began freestyle rapping in high school and it took me 4 years to even have the courage to start writing lyrics. A few years after that, I fell in love with videography and taught myself everything from filming to editing to color grading, etc. More recently I started diving into producing and engineering. If my 16-year-old freestyling self could see how much I’m doing now, they’d be proud. The process is never simple with art and everyone moves at their own pace.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Because most of my friends are also creative people, we’d be going to a bunch of museums. The Met, the MoMa, the Guggenheim, the Museum of Sex, etc. Since I live in Brooklyn, there are a few restaurants close by that are necessary stops such as Cuts & Slices, Saraghina, and Bushniwa. In Manhattan, we’d eat at Sugar Fish, Dumpling Man, and Gennaro.

Aside from food, the main thing we’d do is go to the many NYC attractions such as Little Island, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, The Vessel, and the High Line to name a few.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Although there are tons of people who have supported me, my mom deserves most of the credit for this shoutout. Growing up, my mom always encouraged me and instilled the idea of openness into my life. She allowed me to choose my own destiny and supported me in any path that I chose even if it wasn’t something she would do herself. Having this support system at the forefront of my existence, allowed me to branch out and pursue what makes me happy. I send her every song that I release and every video that I create. Even when I know it’s not her cup of tea, she’ll always give it a chance, and sometimes that’s all I need.

Someone who deserves some additional credit in my story is my other mom, Stacy. Back to the idea of openness, when I was young my parents got divorced and my mom ended up re-marrying a woman. Stacy was a much different mother than my biological mom, but of course, still had a major role in my life. She was the creative one who is actually a musician herself. I think the dynamic of my two moms automatically set me up for success in my creative career path.

Website: incmomusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloincmo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/helloincmo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE94UfpLEyYiJx4_irtrOrQ

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@incmo