Today we’d like to introduce you to Derest Craig-Fagge’Tt.
Hi Derest, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born into a musical family as the youngest of 9 children to the late Supt. Charles E. Craig and Supervisor Janice Iglehart Craig. We grew up in church so I was always around music and my family figured out early on that I had a pretty good ear, but it wasn’t until I got into my teens that I started taking being a musician seriously.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road. In addition to some of the usual challenges of being a musician, add the additional challenge of being a female in a male-dominated industry. A lot of people have been supportive and shown love over the years, but every now and then I still have to deal with people who are prejudiced towards assuming that female musicians are inferior by default.
As you know, we’re big fans of Dream IC Productions. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I started Dream IC Productions after receiving a life-changing prophecy from Prophet Todd Hall about writing a song that would change my life; to date I have been able to produce over 50 songs as a result. I wrote and produced a song entitled “He Won’t Fail” for my church choir, would later be placed on Ricky Dillard’s album and establish me as a songwriter.
More importantly than that though, one of the things I’m most proud of is the last album I produced, which was my mom’s tribute live recording. The Janice Craig Legacy Choir was a choir formed with people who used to sing in my mother church choirs, along with some other friends and people who wanted to be a part. It was a large collaborative effort where we had a lot of singers, musicians, and songwriters who contributed. I feel like it was a dream of mine to fully produce a great choir record so that project was a dream come true.
My company assists people with production, arrangements, recording and tracking music, and consultation. I went to school for Recording Arts so I’m well versed in audio engineering in addition to my experience being a musician.
What were you like growing up?
I was always a shy kid and easily got nervous. The older I got, the more I had to come out of my shell and get over my nerves. A lot of things I had to do for church and school as well as work naturally trained me to be less fearful and more outgoing – taking more risks when I needed to.
I’ve always loved video games and when I was younger, I really wanted to be an aerospace engineer because I loved space. So I’ve always been something of a nerd but I feel most musicians are nerds in some way or another lol. I have a big family so I enjoy spending time around them as long as my social battery is fully charged!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derestcraig
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/derest.craig
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@derestcraig?si=HkQU0tqVhlk4Cnnb
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/BLsSS1v8UrHe2FkjXS
