Raleigh host
Vaishali Patel
In this transparent talk, Joshua Gunn reminds us to remember our original dreams, live in our purpose, and to give back to our communities.
About the speaker

Durham, NC’s native Joshua Gunn represents the crux of what some refer to as the “Creative Economy.” A well respected hip hop artist, an entrepreneur, a community organizer and an executive with the Chamber of Commerce; those are things that don’t often wind up in the same sentence. Gunn has managed to seamlessly merge these worlds, without trading one for another, and using his creative and performing arts skills in spaces that don’t traditionally fit the “Creative” box.
As a hip hop artist Joshua Gunn, aka J.Gunn, has been a fixture in the Hip Hop scene since he was 11 years old, spawning success as a “freestyle battle” champion into a career that includes the classic album “Perfection Xperiment 2” featuring production from Grammy Award winning producers 9th Wonder and Nicolay, which he released at only 15 years old. Gunn followed this with 3 critically acclaimed solo albums, two world tours, and has performed in over a dozen international countries including Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Korea, Jamaica, and consistently selling out shows throughout the United States. In 2012, Gunn entered into a partnership with legendary artist MC Lyte to write and produce music for television and film, eventually spinning off into his own company Red Eye Lifestyle.
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
“I wanted to be able to make use of my skills everyday. — J. Gunn

“Remember the dream. Remember what that dream was and why you started in the first place... not the things that dream gets you, not the things that you want the dream to give to you. Remember your original dream. Remember your 10 year old self - what did they want out of life? — J. Gunn

“I encourage you to recalibrate and find that compass. Allow it to guide you towards your [younger 5 or 50 year old version's] dream. — J. Gunn

“I turned to my own internal compass of what success looks like and not what other people define as successful. — J. Gunn

“What can I do to give back to the community that's given me so much? — J. Gunn

Photos from this talk See all

Hosted by Motorco
Date September 27, 2019
Partners
Motorco
Counter Culture Coffee
Jack Tar
NC Modernist Houses
VAE Raleigh
Black Wall Street Homecoming
StoryDriven
Awesome really loved this truly blessed! Continue to use your voice for the great for our world and your community!