When you’re a creator with a unique vision, you’re going to be told “no” a lot. Rejection is challenging, but it doesn’t need to be the end point. This year, Sprite and UPROXX are teaming up to transform three creators’ actual rejection stories into career-defining realities. Each creator will be given the resources they need to bring their dream project to life once and for all….this is Next Success.
AUSAR RAPPER
Family is important, but for rising rapper Ausar (who you might remember from Netflix's hip-hop competition series Rhythm + Flow), it represents the key to him becoming the budding star that he is today. After laying down his musical foundation with the gospel sounds he learned picked up while singing in church with his mother, his brother got him into hip-hop. “We would write and listen to instrumentals,” he says. “It went from me being competitive with my older brother over having to have the best verse to me really having a love for hip-hop.” Ausar grew up in Chicago ’s upbringing took place in Chicago, a proud city known for its many beloved hip-hop icons. For him, the city was pivotal in his development. “It [Chicago] has influenced my style. Chicago has influenced me on all levels,” he adds, giving a nod toward his music and his efforts to show up for the community as an advocate and example. Besides hip-hop, Ausar has learned a lot of lessons from the game of basketball. Most importantly, discipline. “More than anything, knowing that it requires a regiment to get to where you’d like to go,” he says. “The results come directly from the work you’re willing to put in. On the other side is knowing your role within the team. Knowing when to step up and be a leader. Knowing when to fall back and rely on the people around you. You have a team for a reason: you can’t do everything on your own.” That drive and positive mindset hasn’t made Ausar immune to challenges in his career, though. “Every step on the road, I’ve faced some form of rejection to get to the yeses,” he says. “I’ve had instances where I entered competitions and I felt like I was good enough, but didn’t end up winning. It killed my confidence. Then I came back around, did the work, was right back in those same positions, and succeeded in them.” His experience on Rhythm + Flow ended in disappointment, but he knows how rare an opportunity it was and he’s using it as a building block. “I was knocked out in the first round, but years later, we’re getting the results we were looking for,” he says. Ausar’s absolutely right on that. His recent single, “Homies,” has been gaining traction on streaming platforms and is racking up tens of thousands of plays. As Ausar continues his journey, he hopes that other up-and-comers like himself can observe and take something away from it. “I’m continuing to be myself and be a resource and an outlet for anybody who needs one,” he says. “I think a lot of people feel like you have to fit into a very particular box in order to be successful, but that’s not the case at all. As long as you stay true to you, you’ll find it.”
TURBEAZY MUSICIAN
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TALECIA TUCKER FINE ARTIST
PRESENTED BY
TALECIA TUCKER
There are a lot of things an artist needs to do right to make it big, and one of the most major of those factors emerged over the past decade or so: social media. A creative’s online presence is how most potential fans first see them, so if that part of your branding isn’t strong, it can be off-putting to potential fans. New York rapper Turbeazy is putting in work on the music side of things, but when it comes to social media, he’s lacking. That’s according to Shawnae Corbett-Rice, an artist manager helping Turbeazy boost his online branding in a new episode of Next Success, presented by Uproxx and Sprite. Being productive doesn’t always mean being polite, so Corbett-Rice was transparent with Turbeazy by telling him that his social media game is “pretty weak.” Turbeazy was initially surprised by the assessment, but knowing that Corbett-Rice was there to help, he dove headfirst into a photoshoot, a strong first step in helping to establish his visual identity and brand.
Talecia Tucker is at a crossroads. They first established themselves with the unisex clothing brand Pretty Major, but recently, Tucker has shifted to making photography a primary professional focus. Those two endeavors actually go hand-in-hand, and in a new Next Success video (presented by Uproxx and Sprite), they get an assist on both fronts. In the clip, Tucker meets up with fashion designer Lee Velvet, who picks Tucker’s brain about her creative vision. They explained that in their younger years, fashion helped her to really find herself and photography has become a natural extension of that. So, to take those two interests to the next level, Velvet got Tucker set up with a photoshoot. While Tucker’s DIY aesthetic has served her well so far, Velvet gave them access to equipment, settings, and personnel to take that energy to another level. Tucker admits the environment was intimidating, calling it “my biggest shoot that I’ve ever had,” but positive change happens when you leave your comfort zone.
COMING SOON
TURBEAZY
AUSAR
TALENCIA TUCKER
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