Name
Toffay (the ‘o’ is short like ‘Todd’ or ‘October’
What is your profession?
I’m an artist. I create music that is authentic and in tune with my personality and ideas. By day I’m a mother and a logistics and operations manager for a third party delivery company.
How did you get into the field that you are in today?
My entire life I’ve been surrounded by music. When I was a kid, Music Choice and OnDemand music videos were always on the tv. My mom introduced me to all types of music. Her favorites were The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run DMC , Michael Jackson and etc. She would play their videos and have me sing and dance to them. For my 16th birthday she bought me my first ever music equipment. I was so excited. I got into the logistics aspect of my life due to me being in search of a physical job. I’ve been an athlete my entire life so I enjoy being active. I was offered the management position due to my representation of leadership, critical thinking and self problem solving skills.
What do you love most about your profession?
I love that there are no limits to creation with music. There are so many different avenues of self expression! It’s okay if your music doesn’t reach everyone because there’s always an entire group of people waiting to hear what you have to say. With music you are never truly alone and it helps you realize that there’s someone who understands you and are going through the same things you are. Music is also a space to be vulnerable and comes with great respect.
Tell us more about what you do?
I’m just starting to put my music out to the world, but I’ve always been into creating music for as long as I can remember. I’ve been teaching myself about production and self engineering. I take my leadership skills from my day job and apply it to how I work with others whenever I go to the studio to help others see my vision on what the goal is. I’ve learned a lot from my day job that I apply to my life in general and it’s also helped me overcome my shyness and be more open with and in my music.
When did you discover that you had a passion for this field?
I discovered it when I was around 10 years old. I used to be sitting in front of the tv watching my favorite music videos Andy favorite songs and I would study the music. I was consistently challenging myself to keep up with whatever song was playing and would test my limits on what my skills were at the time. I eventually said to myself that music was what I wanted to do in my life.
Who in your field do you look up...
Growing up in the early 2000’s and the 2010’s Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé were definitely some of my biggest influences as a child! They were authentically themselves 100% of the time and exude self confidence. Currently my biggest inspirations are Smino and FreeParty. I love how they don’t stick to the norms of today’s music and society’s standards. They’re great at taking older influences and making them their own and I aspire to be that.