Two kids from the Chicago suburbs thought of doing something productive with their time. And so started Justin and Gianni’s collaboration in BUDDIEZ that has become an instant hit among today’s youngsters.
With belief in themselves and seeking a productive way to spend quality time together, Justin Escalona and his friend Gianni Taylor formed BUDDIEZ. Gianni would write the songs and with the help of autotune, Justin would sing them. In just one week, their album got 200k plays. What was once just a joke, is now their full-blown careers. The reason why Justin and Gianni decided to pursue BUDDIEZ was that it was a fun way to spend time. Gianni had already done a lot of song-writing work for major artists and Justin knew a lot about creating viral marketing campaigns. As a joke, they thought that if Justin could become a music artist, anyone can. But as it turned out, a lot of people actually liked their music and their plan worked out. BUDDIEZ wanted to make a statement that no matter what your dreams are, you should pursue them.
Strength to pursue dreams
Speaking of pursuing his musical career, Justin says, “Do not let anyone tell you that your ideas are stupid, because before we started BUDDIEZ, even I didn’t even know how to sing.” Being authentic in their efforts and enjoying the ride to creation is the spirit that fuels these two kids. Without setting any expectations to earn big or becoming the next big sensation in the music scene, the duo created their first album in just two weeks, and received accolades that many ambitious stars can only dream of.
Years before BUDDIEZ
Taking a few steps back and learning about a time before Justin and Gianni joined hands to entertain many of us, it is interesting to note that Justin was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Growing up, he was always surrounded by musicians and learned filmmaking by shooting music videos for local artists. After years of hard work, he started to shoot for major acts like Chance The Rapper, Wu-Tang Clan and Mac Miller. From those connections, Justin built his clothing brand called 1340 COLLECTIVE. His clothes have been worn by many A-list celebrities. As Justin would get more involved in the music industry, he met his friend Gianni Taylor. Gianni was a singer and songwriter also from the Chicagoland suburbs. The rest, as we all know, is history.
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