INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL TOLEDO HIP HOP ARTIST iNTELLECT
David Bunts (aka iNTELLECT). Photo Credit: Michael Wood
MAY 2018
Last year, I began thinking of an idea for a series about local Toledo artists. I wanted to feature artists that make no excuses in getting their work out in front of an audience on top of their full-time careers. This is the fourth in an 11-part series I’m calling The Moonlighting Series interviewing hip-hop artist, iNTELLECT.
(You can read Part 1: Jeff Harris, Part 2: Meghan Yarnell, Part 3: Larry Meyer)
iNTELLECT is a local Toledo artist always at work. Many artists you’ll see release a project, promote the project and then go dark for an extended period of time. I’ve followed iNTELLECT on Instagram for a while now, and every time I see him release a project, he is immediately back in the studio working on another. Some artists are prolific because they understand that this is the process – the only way you get better is to keep in constant practice. On top of this practice, iNTELLECT, whose real name is David Bunts, has a full-time career and is a husband and father of three kids.
I wanted to sit down with him and ask a few questions about his craft, those that say ‘quit your day job and chase your dreams,’ and practical advice in maintaining a full-time career while pursuing his art.
What’s your full-time job title and how long have you been there?
I’m a Supplier Quality Engineer working for First Solar, which is a solar panel manufacturing and installation company. I’ve been working for First Solar for nearly three years.
A lot of people ask me ‘What is a supplier quality engineer? What do you actually do?’ My response is that I’m responsible for managing supplier relationships from a quality standpoint. I’m responsible for communicating and enforcing our quality requirements with our supply base. Oftentimes that requires traveling to supplier facilities and auditing and reviewing their processes. It’s a pretty cool job because I’ve been able to travel all around the world.
When did you first fall in love with music? When did know you wanted to pursue being an artist and when did you write your first song?
I first knew that I was in love with music when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I actually wrote my first lyrics around that time to the beat of a song made by an old-school hip-hop group called the Jungle Brothers. I didn’t’ write a song until I joined a rap group with three of my friends when I was 16.
There is a myth that an artist just write 9 to 12 songs and that’s the album, when in fact, the great artists are prolific writers who are writing WAY more songs than ever see the light of day. It’s like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the better you get. What is your weekly writing practice? About how many songs are you writing in a year?
Honestly, I’d say it’s all the time for me. Ideas come and go easily, but I try to focus my efforts on what I would consider the best ones. I’ll ‘write’ many concepts in my head and put them down on paper but never finish them because I’ll end up scrapping the idea. The songs that I put out I would consider the best idea for the music that I’m writing to and the overall theme of the project if the song is a part of an album.
As a father, and husband with a full-time career, how do you carve out the time to create? How have you found a balance between it all? What are some mistakes you’ve made along the way to finding that balance?
For me, it’s pretty easy. I give my full attention to my day job while I’m at work and the times where I may need to catch up on things at home. But in my spare time, I try to devote most of it to music. Being that the music conveys the gospel message, I see it as a high priority. That means that some leisure gets sacrificed. I don’t watch TV hardly at all.
Some of the mistakes that I’ve made is balancing the music with the home life. My wife is so supportive of what I do, but I have at times devoted too much of my spare time to the music. I feel that this is an area that I’ve gotten better at and being that I’m a husband and a father of three children, I try to make myself available for them and the things they want to do.
Your song Something Better addresses how you used to view fame. What would you tell young artists about the difference between chasing fame and chasing your true art?
Chasing a dream is like chasing something while only focusing on some idealistic outcome. Pursuing a dream can cause you to get frustrated during the growth and the creative process that an artist goes through. Dream chasing can cause people to give up because the fame and accolades that were hoped for don’t come soon enough.
Chasing your true art is embracing the creative process and learning from it. It’s all about sweating the details, and that’s something I love doing. Not only do I write and produce but I also record and mix my songs in my home studio before sending them off to get mastered. As I listen to my music, I can recall where I was as an artist and what I was doing to try to get better. I absolutely love the creative process!
What skills that you’ve learned from your full-time job have bled over to music production?
My day job really forces me to stay organized, and that helps me keep things straight when it comes to my music. Since I’m an independent artist, I not only have to manage the creative process but also the promotional side of things. I use some of the same tools like One Note and Excel to keep things straight with music that I use in my day job.
What excuses or myths drive you crazy from people that have put their artistic crafts aside? What are some practical tips for them to get over their reasons and do something?
The excuse I always hear is that ‘I don’t have any time!’ My response to that is that for something that is truly important, you will make time. If you really want to pursue something, you’ll cut out some of the things that get in the way of it.
Who are some of your biggest inspirations in music and how have you learned from them?
Cross Movement, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest along with great producers like RZA, 9th Wonder, and DJ Premiere are some of my biggest influences.
As a Christian Hip Hop artist, Cross Movement always impressed me with their ability to communicate the gospel message. The flow and the lyricism along with the music hooked me right away.
Wu-Tang Clan really got me with their lyricism and the fact that each member had their own style. It really forced me to develop my own lyrical style and do my best to perfect it.
The producers have influenced me big time as well. When it comes to making music, I’d sit and analyze their approach to different records and try to incorporate into what I do.
What are some things you wish you would have known or done in your 20’s that you can reflect back on to help other aspiring artists?
I would tell my younger self that there is no ‘perfect’ time to get started with something you want to pursue. For a long time, I was waiting for that ‘perfect’ moment to come where all the stars would align, and the work I was putting in would produce the perfect outcome. I was writing songs and producing music during that time, but I wasn’t going in a specific direction. I have so many songs from back then that I never recorded because I thought the time had to be right or that something big was going to happen. It really just comes down to putting forth your best effort and trusting God with the results.
How do you feel about the belief that we should all drop our day jobs and pursue what we are passionate about full time?
I really don’t think the whole idea is realistic. I know it’s the ‘American dream’ and for some people that can make that happen, it’s a good thing, and I’m happy for them. But I know for myself, it’s not my reality, and I’m totally good with that. As a husband and a father, I have the responsibility to take care of and provide for my family and my day job does that. I also know that God has used my day job experiences in ways that have in turn helped me with my music and have helped me overall become a more well-rounded person.
Do you have a favorite quote that you live by?
My favorite quote is actually a Bible verse. It’s Philippians 1:6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
This verse is so encouraging because it gives me hope that I’m still a work in progress and that God will continue to work in amazing ways in my life. He will complete the work in my life that He started.