Since stepping into web3, I've felt at a disadvantage, nervous, and afraid.

I learned on the go with no mentor, guidance, or understanding of this tech, and after two years in this industry, I've realized many strengths and weaknesses. Web3 was more than just jumping into new waters; it was deep waters with new languages, terms, and a new mindset, and I was curious if I'd sink or swim.

As time passed, I began to ask, Why Am I Still Here?

• Do I understand what building a community means?

• Do market crashes cause communities to disappear?

• Why isn't yesterday's community today's community?

After understanding the answers to these questions, I wondered if I was trying too hard or needed to go harder. I also realized that no matter how ambitious my dreams were or how much I'd love to have a strong community, I struggled to maintain one.

According to Complex Magazine, I didn't have "enough support" to match my ambition.

Interesting, right?

Let’s dive into it.

But first, a bit about me:

If you're new here, I'm Ibn Inglor — A recording artist born and raised on Chicago's far Southside. I'm an alternative hip-hop artist who established a solid presence in web3 by selling multiple NFTs and doing a historic capital raise for my latest EP, "Danger Zone." In addition, I was the first Hip-Hop artist to release music on Sound.xyz and the first artist to launch a successful Membership NFT campaign on Coinvise.

Growing up in the trenches of Chicago (the hood), building a community was challenging because I couldn't trust anybody. I needed help grasping the concept of "community" altogether. However, I held onto the mentality of keeping my circle small and gravitating toward people that wanted to be in my life; learning early on that people make time for who they want to make time for taught me the value of surrounding myself with people that care.

I worked warehouse jobs for over six years, which, sadly, halted my music and my love for it. My career wasn't at the forefront of my life, but being in this space helped me step back into my craft wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, as soon as I started to explore, I lost my father, and while I appreciated the opportunity web3 provided, I was devastated and took a step back. After giving myself time to heal, I returned, continued telling my story with genuine intentions, and grew within the space.

Now, why am I still here?

Here are a few reasons:

• I have a story to tell.

• Autonomy and creative freedom.

• To build genuine connections with fans and more.

Initially, I couldn't grasp the concept of making a living off my music through NFTs, and within the first few months of building, I sold five songs and later ran a successful 20 ETH crowdfund. Fast-forward to now, I’ve recently sold out my new EP, 'Danger Zone.' The truth was, I achieved what most artists dream of – complete artist autonomy.

However, as to went on, I went from being fully active to partially active to being involved as much as possible because of the birth of my second son, resulting in less support, declining engagement, and challenging my attempts to build a community. I went from some activity on Discord to zero, inconsistency in my collector chat, to some collectors shifting their focus to other artists.

Despite everything, I continued building and establishing many meaningful relationships. One of the most significant relationships was during NFTNYC '21, where I met Cam Flowers. During the ZORA x CRYPTOCOOKOUT event, he experienced my performance for the first time. That was a critical moment in our relationship because he instantly expressed his belief in me and bonded over us both being from Chicago. Months later, Cam booked me for a live performance during Art Basel and even contributed to my crowdfund, a further testament to his support.

Later that year, he came to Chicago, and I drove him around my hood; that experience alone gave me a more profound look at one of the many ways the artist and fan relationship could grow. Now, of course, flying to Chicago, driving around my hood, and experiencing the "Day in The Life of Ibn Inglor" isn't happening every day, but ultimately, these are the connections I want to foster, which is why I'm still here!

Even though I desire these types of relationships, I understand that only some want to connect on that level. While I value community, I need flexibility and personal time to create my best work. For a solo-artist community, day-to-day responsibilities for community upkeep can be challenging. However, all relationships take effort from both parties, and these experiences taught me that.

• Building a community takes time and genuine effort on both ends.

• The community I built needed to be balanced and understanding.

Ultimately, My goal has always been to connect with people through my music, and entering web3 opened up a new world of possibilities for me to achieve this. I'm grateful to all my collectors for still showing up and sharing constant reassurance and reminders to give myself grace when needed and for acknowledging that one of my most effective forms of "consistency" has been not abandoning my community.

So, thank you! for everything.

If you haven’t already, be sure to you can join the Guild, and let's continue building.