Meet Jorge Flores | Artist, Producer, Engineer, Videographer, Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jorge Flores and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jorge, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I see a balance between work and life am important aspect in living a happy life. A balance between the two is like the perfect soil for a seed to grow at the most optimal and steady rate. Some people do not really have a choice in having a balance because they have to work multiple jobs to provide for their families. Others prefer to spend as much time as they can at work in order to climb up the ladder of success. The balance between the two has changed a lot as I have been growing and learning. Intentions about what one wants in the future is a factor that plays into this balance as well and can greatly affect how much time you put into each side. I used to put more time into work and music because I saw money as the primary objective of life. I now see memories and love as the primary objectives of life and that is what helped me balance the two out. Seeing and reading about people who lost their family, or missed many years of their kids growing up because of work, also helped me put into perspective how important a balance is. One can also get too caught up with family and not put much time into work and then monetary problems arise as well. It is difficult to always stay balanced, and so the objective is to try to stay in the middle even when things shift around.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I am most proud of with my art is that I feel it can potentially teach someone something, like the types of songs that I would like to listen to as a young kid. I aim to create the type of music that helped guide me down the road of knowledge and self-understanding. Artist like Tupac, Nas, KRS-One, Immortal Technique, and others that put knowledge in their music are what inspired me to want to write and be a student of life. This is also what I hope some of my music does to the listeners.

It took me a while to get to where I am professionally, and that is also because I took a longer route to get to the music. I had started messing with Hip Hop at a young age with my childhood best friend Chris Masarweh and his brother Ryan. They would put on beats and we would freestyle over them. I never thought about music as my career until eventually in my Senior year, I took a Audio Production class and realized this was what I wanted to do with my life.

I went to Mt. San Jacinto Community College to get my Associates Degree in Audio Production but ended up switching my major 2 different times before coming back to music. I was not entirely sure how I would make a career out of music and that is what led me to switch my major to Liberal Studies, then to Environmental Studies, and then back to Music. I ended up graduating from Cal State San Marcos with my Bachelor’s in Music.

I learned that making those changes were good because I gained so much knowledge along the way about different subjects and topics regarding Psychology, Philosophy, Science, Physics, and much more. I learned a lot about myself as well, and continue to do so. It has helped me come into the music industry with a different mind than I would have if I never switched my majors and went straight into the music industry at a young age. As kids, we see success as a straight line and we never think of the obstacles that come along the way that come with the journey. When these obstacles come, and they will, the most important thing is to move forward with an open mind and a sense of wonder.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting I would suggest a hike around here at Palomar mountain, Potato Chip Rock, or some other hiking spots here in San Diego area. After a nice hike it is always good to go get an Acai bowl or boba to cool off.

Going to Balboa park to visit the museums is also somewhere I would take my friend to visit. The Centro Cultural, the Fleet Science Center, San Diego Natural History Museum, and others are a fun place to go and learn around here. Around there is also Chicano Park to see the beautiful art and the community around as well.

Some of my favorite food spots are all over. Some of the spots that I like are Cross Street Chicken and Beer, Las Cuatro Milpas, and the Black, Blue Steakhouse at Valley View Casino, and In-n-Out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my whole family. Without my family and the love that we all share I would not be where and who I am today. They have supported me in with my music and goals, and in doing what they do, have inspired me to be better. Another dedication is to my girlfriend, Elizabeth Hernandez, for also supporting me in what I do, and for being patient and understanding with me through this journey. Having her with me as I keep navigating these dreams has been helping me create a strong foundation to build upon.

I want to thank all of the teachers and professors along the way for all of the hard work they do to help the students grow and learn. I also want to dedicate this to Bob Marley for showing us how to be humble and kind even at the level he was at. There are plenty of other great thinkers of this world that have influenced me a lot I want to shoutout the San Diego Hip Hop scene for embracing me with open arms and opportunities as I was coming into it.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dahomie_beats/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8SSLz2vbUqzQTzXCQ0WYlA

Other: DaHomie Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6h73PIYxF9uLM9ysbirEFo?si=gA1hFQBdR1-ivsVeygUNYg 3 of Life Podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/20kfUFjU4JRaUq1fxwbpum?si=0367b57f72cd4cc2 DaHomie Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dahomie/1513078706

Image Credits
Elizabeth Hernandez, blessed_dayz