Peace, Love, Unity and Having Fun!

Back in the year 2000, I had a nervous breakdown.  It was an identity crisis.  I had just dropped out of journalism school because of a family crisis and I was wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life because I had always been a creative person from music to writing to every facet of design and art and now I was being told to fall into one box and I had no motivation.  I was tapped out of life and creativity.

A year later, I reconnected with a childhood friend, who I used to write music for who wanted to partner up once again, to start a record hip hop record label.  I was about 14 years old when I started writing rap songs for this friend and my brother and we had done live shows, television interviews and learned the ins and outs of the studio and business enough that six years later, starting a label would just be another step in the process.  I learned a lot over the next six years of that partnership to help me start The Downrock Records which started out as a Rock music blog.  Interviewing all kinds of musicians and learning even more about the business.  I soon transitioned it to a hip hop music blog because, at the time, I really wanted to help independent hip hop musicians, who didn't have a platform, get their music out to the world.

With the way technology has evolved, my website isn't really a necessity as far as helping promote indie artists so I decided to get out of the helping everyone else business and into the expressing my own creativity business.  

It's been hard to put pen to paper or brush to canvas because of all the trauma due to traumatic events over the past decade, but I've finally arrived at the reality that I'm here for a purpose and I wanna fulfill that purpose in honor of those who aren't here to fulfill their own.

Now The Downrock Records is about the type of music I love.  The type of music that makes me feel good.  The type of music that helped me get back to being the creative person I've always been.  And I want to share that inspiration with potential clients and customers of my art and design agency and other music lovers.

The Downrock Records is inspired by the DJ principle of breaking new music.  I don't mind showing a bit of nostalgia every now and then but I principally wanna share good music people have never heard before and help them open their horizons and get to know what the hip hop and dance music cultures have to offer.

The Downrock has two meanings.  Underground rock music and the b-boy dynamic that was the catalyst of hip-hop culture.

I hope that you get to hear new music every time you stop by and I hope it inspires you just like it inspired me.

Simon Mario Thompson