Let’s Admit It, Anti-Star DATA-X is Extremely Annoying To be Around

Tolerating tirade after verbose tirade from the prolific thinker has lead me to ask a very important question: can we tolerate him anymore?

Is it just me or being in a room full of creative people, DATA-X is probably my least favorite creative. Not because of his level of panache or his chiseled resume but because he induces a deafening intellectual chokehold on his subjects in that loud annoying voice of his that echoes in the room with the most asshole-ish commentary you can think of.

Everytime a snarky comment comes out of his mouth it makes me cringe. His jumpy thoughts are paralyzing — being in a creative zen around him becomes impossible as the fear he induces in his associates causes many a great idea to go unrecorded because well, he is thundering on and on.

The most legendary of all time-wasters, DATA-X is most famous for teleporting from one half spoken sentence to the next brand idea. One minute it’s strategy, discussion and goals to execute daily, the next it’s a completely new plan with a brand new business that he’s invented, right now. His ability to concoct new businesses is certifiably maverick however, having successfully founded & run TR-909 Radio, a creative agency focused on innovative underground sounds. He started it in 2014 in downtown Toronto and has never looked back securing releases with budding super-producer Black Jab, whilst organically growing a teeming online hub that services as both blog + art collaboration portal.

It is hard to keep up with consistency in any creative projects with DATA-X. In my years of experience working with him, it’s been rewarding but challenging to collaboratively finish projects together as his quasi-scattered mind stays jumping through imaginary “system hoops” in his head instead of getting down to operations.

Despite working alongside talent from DIESEL, OVO, Taylor Gang, IBM & more, DATA-X refuses to learn what he calls “static” business practices and is thoroughly disenchanted with the contemporary as his penchant for de-constructing wonky institutions hits a peak whenever he’s questioned about the school system or healthcare:

Our earthly institutions are completely broken — like there’s no social engineering going on at all. Unchecked capitalism is handing out the money on time but is sending the rest of the planet to hell! this is never going to work.

All of this however makes me wonder how he was able to create so much buzz around Roy Woods leading up to his signing to OVO. The fact is DATA-X is talented at bringing people together from impossibly different places & squeezing their strengths out of them. But not so much getting along with anybody. For a Creative Director he’s got the irksome quality of being right almost 99% of the time. DATA-X’s overly day-dreamy nature and obnoxiously rude and loud tongue is the eclectic front for an encyclopedic mind that seems to work triple-time.

His chilled-out rework of Woods’ Jealousy clocked in at more than 2.7 million plays & is still going. In early 2020 however, his focus seemed to shift to more major concerns as his interview with RESPECT had a large focus on sustainability.

Just when the tirades about god, systemic injustice and UX nightmares seem to get tiresome from the tall and athletic DJ however, the unnervingly sobering reality of life for the majority of its inhabitants rears it’s head, one gloriously morbid headline after another. Life on Earth remains fucked — in the face of continued police brutality, a glorious plundering of the planet’s natural resources & mutating viruses uncontrollably tearing through our species. As horribly pandering he may seem, it may be time to start paying attention to this beautiful angry boy again. What if he’s right?