Identity is the one thing that can't be copied or replicated.

In a democratized creative world where everyone got access to the same tools across multiple feeds, or the unlimited opportunities to see what others are doing at every single moment, still, it is impossible for anyone to lock that perfect combination of what you been through and learned.

Try to recall this moment; You typically scrolled and seen something that looks like a random idea you had or created? Done by somebody else? Probably. And to be honest, it seems like nothing can start from zero, since everything been influenced by something else, but when is the borderline between imitation and copying actually broke down? And what the fuck happened to originality?

Might need to link with the Magic Conch Shell real quick to get some answers.

The oversaturation is real; Are.na, Instagram, Wayback Machine, Pinterest, every. fucking. where. To a point that aesthetics actually travel faster than the meaning behind them. And that? That's one hell of a problem for the modern creative, and it probably explains why your feed looks the same. Not only yours, + your friends too +

So who actually benefits from the algorithm here? The idea itself, or the person behind it? we’ll try to solve that. 

Truly, we shouldn’t be concerned here, because your identity sits outside of what can be replicated. Given the oversaturation that broke the barrier between imitation and copying, it is really your lived experiences and how you choose to see and dissect the world in your own unique way that dictate your work, and those things cannot be copied. Well, not unless someone lived the exact life you lived, since birth, with your genes.

That probably explains why we see so many “Basquiat inspired” (lol ok) artworks out here that clearly missed the mark and crossed that barrier.

Some work can be found even without a name attached. Take Gabriel Moses. You just know it's him. All it takes is the UNIQUE lighting, the composition, and you just know, simple as that.. He even broke it down in his Instagram interview, what inspired him to shoot like that. INSPIRED. That's why it can't be bought, no matter what.

Take Virgil. How many people started writing as irony after he did his thing? But if V wasn't inspired by Duchamp's readymade, if he didn't study what he studied, that specific culmination of lived experience is what made it make sense; the irony behind the quotes, the ability to say two things at the same time. There's a lived rational behind it. That's the difference and it is the person's identity, not the work itself.

Seems like we got our answer to the question from before! the algorithm eventually rewards the person, not the work since the person created the work. The work cannot exist without the person. The person can exist without it. And that's the key here!

One answer got resolved, and look at this, a new one just popped out.

Why do most creatives skip that self-knowledge step entirely and go straight to producing work? Could it be the need for immediate results? Or is it being too scared to look deep inside for inspiration - facing your past in a way, but learning from it?

Big gem here. Was watching the 500 Days In UCLA video by Kanye, and he said something like this (not quoted, just out of remembering): when you are two years old and you want to climb the table, an adult tells you no, and now your world changed into what others tell you. So he fights that, and applies that mentality into anything he creates. Which often gets people asking him "how is it so Yeezy."

That's the self-knowledge that most people never sit with long enough to find.

By collecting references not intentionally and just for the sake of creating in the moment, we risk diluting and overwriting our identity again and again, in every instance. This results in non-recognizable work. Something with no specific ethos that can be ascribed to the creative, and ironically, those same references that were supposed to help? They become the thing that's actually blocking you, because you rely on them so heavily that your own voice never gets the space to breathe.

That's why returning to yourself will always be the perfect strategy.

Once you know what you like and why you like it, you start looking at creative work through a different lens; because now you complete the work, in your own terms. And once something is completed, a new cycle begins. That cycle becomes the basis for your work.

Personally, big fan of Wu Tang Clan. Can't fully describe it. Asked myself why so many times. It took diving into GZA's Liquid Swords, RZA interviews, Inspectah Deck classics (attached below!!!) to figure it out.

Turns out it’s that love for New York in the 90’s, and to me, Wu Tang describes it in the best way. Now that I know that, I can channel it into my work. In my own way. And that’s the beauty of it.

Because once you understand something, you can apply it without copying. And that's the best feeling in the world.

You question things way less. You just put work out, and naturally it transcribes better for the audience. That's why it's possible to post three articles a week and have fun with it!

Do yourself a favor. Take a few hours offline this weekend. Watch a film, listen to an album, but actually listen, don't try to think. And you will see what is missing in your work. If anything is missing at all.