Junior Dominic Miles, who goes by the stage name “Toxin,” talks about his career and his journey as an artist.

The story of the name

“So initially my name was just Dom because everybody calls me Dom. So I figured I’d just go by that. But after, I’d say I don’t even know long it was — I’d say like maybe a month or so I changed it to Khari which is my middle name because I felt like Dom was too basic.

It’s not distinguishable. I felt like it was just too simple.

Afterwards, I changed it to Toxin because “the toxin” was like an alias that I used in my music, but I figured I embraced that alias more than I do anything else so I might as well just go by that as a whole.”

His take on failure and success

“I don’t like to fail in general, but I don’t really like to be a super negative person with my music and stuff. I don’t think any of my songs have failed or anything like that, and I’m satisfied with everything I’ve done up until now. I think I’ll truly wholeheartedly feel successful when I can sustain myself financially off of my music and my passion. I think that’s when I’ll be really be satisfied.”

On his journey as an artist so far

“It’s been pretty good, and it’s gone really nowhere. But up right from the start of it, like it was fun, it was just a random idea because it was never something I really planned on doing.

Music had always been an interest but I never planned on it. I’m actually going to record and put out my own music and my original creations — like that was never my idea with it. So like just from starting randomly just like, ‘‘Oh, why not,’’ and being where I am now like actually developing into a known artist by people that I’m around has been crazy.”

The writing process

“I don’t have a specific process. Like all the time I’m always kind of brainstorming lines or rhyme schemes or something like that and then I’ll kind of think of a sentence starter and then add a rhyme and then kind of just flow off of that. Let that take me where it does.”

His memorable moments and development as an artist

“My best experiences with music is being in the studio with my friends. Just being around people who are as passionate about music as I am and being able to work with them and bounce ideas off of them is really just a great feeling and it’s made me like a really-

What’s the word I’m looking for. Like- passionate; more passionate for my craft for sure but it makes me more observant of other people now that I’m putting up my own music.

I can’t just hear anything and not think about it if I’m listening to music. I hear certain themes or certain things that are being said on notice, like certain patterns in lyricism and things like that.”

The main goal

“I mean. Well, I think I kind of said you know just being able to perform and make money off my music. Even if I’m not fully just making all of my income based off of the music. Even if I’m just making money I’m getting to perform here and there even if my shows aren’t huge. If I can really connect to people from anywhere in the world through my passion then I think that’s just my overall goal. I want to have an effect on people even if it’s only one person. That would be my overall goal.”

Listen to “TOXIN“