A lot of people look at my life from the outside and ask, “How do you balance it all? How do you switch gears from being a barber to being an artist?”
The honest truth? I don't really switch gears.
I'm not "Korben the barber" by day and "Unalive" by night. I’m just me, all the time—a socially awkward, kind of funny weirdo just trying to make it. My mind is always going.
The "balance" is really just a 24/7 grind, and every part of it has a purpose.
The 3 AM Grind
My day doesn't start at 8 AM. It starts at 2 or 3 in the morning.
As I’ve mentioned, this is when I have my "creative episode." It’s when I’m writing, producing, or sometimes just ranting into a microphone. But when that creative burst is done, my day isn't over. It's just moving to the next phase.
I use those quiet, early hours to learn—researching the music industry, figuring out how to build my company (UNALIVE ENTERPRISES, LLC), and putting the business foundation under the art.
The 5 AM “Why”
Then, between 5 and 7 AM, my real 'why' wakes up: my son.
Everything shifts. The hustle isn't just about me anymore. It’s about getting him to the bathroom, making him breakfast, and maybe watching some cartoons together. He's a toddler, and that time is everything.
Then it's off to daycare for him and off to work for me—cutting hair from 9 to 5:30.
I don't get a lot of crossover. My clients don't really know they're getting a cut from 'Unalive.' I just do my work, keep my head down, and stay focused on the next step.
I'm Not “Settling for Okay”
People ask why I do all this. Why the 3 AM nights and the 9-to-5 day job? Why not just pick one?
It's because I have a dream. It's a dream for me, for my son, and for his future kids.
I want to give us a better future than anything my family has been able to provide by just “settling for okay.”
I'm not settling. This grind is about building a legacy, piece by piece.
And the music? That's the part that keeps me sane through all of it. It's the release. It's the one place I can process everything without a filter.
At the end of the day, it's simple:
Making music is free. Sometimes, it even pays.
Going to therapy is very expensive.
When you support this music or buy this merch, you're not just supporting a song. You're supporting that 3 AM grind. You're supporting that dream for my son.
Thanks for being a part of the hustle.