In a world with Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd, the music industry often seems, from the outside, like an exclusive club — one that the average person can’t easily see into, much less dream of entering.
With contracts and agreements, managers and media executives, designers and concept creators and assistants galore, the sheer amount of money it seems to take to be successful as an artist today is unfathomable.
This barrier to entry can be disarming and discouraging. What’s the point of making music if what matters — streams and plays and clicks — are being fought over (and won) by signed artists flush with industry cash?
Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Carlton Dawson, aka Tajonyx (pronounced Ty-jon), is turning that idea on its head. As an independent artist, Tajonyx has been creating and releasing his own music, free of any label constraints, for over a decade. And he isn’t letting his lack of industry ties, or the traditional conventions of a male pop artist, get in the way of his creativity.
“Why should I work so hard to get to a point for a record label to then see my worth and value?” Tajonyx questions in a video on his YouTube channel, referencing his decade-plus as an independent recording artist. He recognizes the advantages that come from being signed — namely, the money required to generate that elusive industry “buzz” — but he’s content with the buzz he’s generated on his own. His music video for his song “Rockin Witcha” boasts over 100k views on YouTube, and the videos for “Swipe” and “Down” have both surpassed 50k.
Hailing from Columbus, Georgia, Tajonyx’s life has been infused with music from the beginning.
“I feel like I was kind of born into music. My mom’s a singer and singing has always been in my blood,” he said. “I remember from a young age just harmonizing with my mom while we cleaned up around the house and singing gospel songs.”
That familial affinity for music was passed down to Tajonyx, first coming to light when he — at only five years old — joined the youth choir. Since then, he’s known that he wanted to become a singer.
As the years progressed, Tajonyx came into his own as an artist. His first uploads to his YouTube channel over 14 years ago are song covers recorded in his bedroom and dance choreography videos recorded in a dance studio. Looking back now, these intimate, amateur views into Tajonyx’s mind are nostalgic hints of the artist to come.
In 2016, Tajonyx released his first collection of music, “Armor of Onyx,” a six-track EP. A few years later, in 2021, he released “Dark Matter,” another EP with a more distinctive, formative look at Tajonyx’s identity as a person and artist. “Dark Matter,” with a striking black-and-white cover, is only 14 minutes long, but delves deeper into Tajonyx’s views on heartbreak, friendship, and identity as a Black, bisexual man from the South.
Peering into Tajonyx’s creative process, it’s clear just how much intentionality, thought, and care goes into his work. Tajonyx doesn’t just write the lyrics; he builds his music and visuals from the ground up. And when an idea pops into his head, he moves quickly to catch it.
“I’ll wake up and a production concept is in my head. I’m hearing a track, I’m hearing the instrumentals,” he said. “I’ll get on my phone, sometimes it’s like three o’clock in the morning, and I’ll hum out the melody, beatbox the cadence, and hum out any other scents or pads or instruments that I may be hearing to accompany the production.”
Every piece of work he releases has a concept, an idea, and a purpose behind it. Bringing his ideas to life, he makes sure that, at its roots, his work is infused with meaning.
“I think symbolism is really a driving force to storytelling,” he said. “And I think that it can get your point across in such a raw and unfiltered way when you use symbolism.”
Phantom Fire, Tajonyx’s newest release, is the culmination of all of these elements, and his largest body of work to date. The album, just shy of an hour long, is rooted in pop and queer history. It’s both thoughtful and highly danceable, a journey from the ashes of self-deprecation to the light of strength, self-assurance, and confidence.
Identity is an inherent component of Tajonyx’s work. Growing up Christian, singing in church, and maintaining his faith have been vital to Tajonyx and continue to be powerful steering forces in his life. However, living in the South, where so often LGBTQ people have the church and Christianity turned against them as a weapon and justification for bigotry, Tajonyx has felt his fair share of pushback, hate, and homophobia.
Even in the media, where LGBTQ support has become stronger in recent years, Tajonyx finds issue with the way LGBTQ lives and experiences are portrayed and tokenized.
“We’re just trying to make our way through life just like everybody else is,” he said. “We just have our story told, from all angles, not just the one that’s trendy, and not just the one that grabs the most attention the quickest.”
When asked who the album is for, Tajonyx said, “everyone” before clarifying: it’s made for everyone, but it’s also made for the fans, the loyal supporters who’ve stuck around, commented, and streamed for years, and the listeners who may need it more than others.
“There are young, Black queer children and young queer children in general that need that music, so that they don’t feel othered and they don’t feel alone in the world,” he said.
You can keep up with Tajonyx on Instagram @tajonyx and online at tajonyxmusic.com.