Ambition, hard work and education have all been contributing success factors for Cerritos College alumnus Vincent Brown.
Brown, 23, from West Los Angeles attended Cerritos College from 2015 to 2018. During his time at Cerritos, Brown played as a running back for the Cerritos Falcons.
Brown, better known now by his artist name Vinny West, has been hard at work making his mark in the music world as an independent artist, all while playing college football and working towards getting his business degree.
With over 6 million views on YouTube and his new album “HEEM” now available on all music platforms, the “No Face No Case” artist has utilized his studies to his advantage to help set his music career in motion.
West, who currently attends Western New Mexico University, says the education he received and football experience he gained from WNMU and Cerritos College has contributed to his success as an independent artist.
When asked if he feels he has a better chance of succeeding in such a competitive industry because of his education, West answered that he simply feels like he has a good advantage of growing his career and music business because of the tools provided for him in school.
“I feel like you can take what you learn through this major and use it through this career, business wise,” says West, “By learning how to invest, brand yourself, and market yourself.”
For West, juggling school, sports and music hasn’t been an easy task. However, all the hard work he put in has been rewarding.
On Dec. 15, 2019, West took the stage and performed at “Rolling Loud,” one of the biggest hip-hop music festivals in the city of Los Angeles.
“Performing at Rolling Loud was crazy,” said West, “I had been to the one in Miami and I remember thinking to myself, like ‘I’m going to perform in one of these someday.’”
Being one of the newer artists, West had an earlier set so he was a little unsure of how the turn out would be, but as soon as he took the stage and saw the crowd, he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of fans waiting for him to perform.
When asked if that had been one of the most rewarding experiences of his career, West said it was definitely one of the biggest. Getting the opportunity to perform at Rolling Loud made West realize “Like okay, I’m definitely doing something right.”
With performance plans put on hold this year due to the pandemic, West has taken the time to re-evaluate his career.
As much as he enjoys performing and singing, West has other future goals set for himself once he graduates in December from Western New Mexico.
“Once I graduate, I want to start investing and getting into private equity, but with music… I love music, I love it to my soul, but honestly I rather write music for others and [to] be behind the scenes,” said West.
West plans to branch out to more than just being an artist. He hopes to be able to write and manage others in the future. However, his main goal will reman to invest.
In the meantime, West continues to enjoy his time creating music, setting up new music videos for his new album and growing his fan base.
As for advice West gives to others who are working to achieve their goals, West wants everyone to keep the faith.
“You will go through obstacles and hardships in life. I’ve been through a lot of stuff in life, but I’m still here pushing,” said West “So keep faith, keep your head on straight and I want to preach to everybody, this is my number one thing I like to preach and practice … peace and positivity, don’t let anything or anyone disturb your peace.”
