Features

Feature: Poo Bear On ‘The Book of Nabeel’ Album and Creating Some Of The Biggest Songs Ever

He won’t tell you himself, but Poo Bear is one of the greatest songwriters and producers of all time. You may know him as the guru behind hits like Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?,” Usher’s “Caught Up,” DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One,” FKA Twigs’ “Holy Terrain” and so much more.

If those songs don’t ring a bell, let’s give a further glimpse into Mr. Bear’s achievements. Known for blockbuster smashes such as Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours,” Chris Brown’s “I Can Transform Ya” (feat. Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz) as well as the 13-times platinum “Despacito (Remix)” (feat. Justin Bieber) for Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, Poo Bear’s catalog has registered sales of over 350 million records worldwide, dozens of multi-platinum certifications, and 100 billion streams and counting.

The multi-hyphenate sat down with Terzel Ron to discuss his new solo album, ‘The Book of Nabeel,’ out now.

Happy birthday. Why is saying that to people significant to you?

If you were strange or unique like me, you felt comfortable to be yourself, knowing that I don’t care what anybody thinks about me, when really I really did. But it was like this reverse psychology protection mechanism for myself. And then in terms of the lifestyle, it’s like, you know what? Every day should be a birthday. Why should we wait a whole year to feel special?We don’t know how long our lives are promised, so let’s just celebrate it every day. And then our real birthday, we just celebrate extra hard. You know what I’m saying? But every day we wake up, it’s a birthday. So it’s a lifestyle. It’s great energy, a great ice breaker. I want the whole world to say it.

I personally love that message. It definitely puts a smile on everyone’s face. Another thing that puts a smile on everyone’s face is the name Poo Bear. I mean, that’s the most friendly name you could ever think of. What made you think about that name?

That’s nice. You know what my mum used to call me? Poo Bear. And my friends were, like, messing with me, like, Poo Bear. And then when I got a little older, I went to school and girls were like, You’re Poo Bear? And I’m like, yeah. And they were like, oh, that’s so cute. And then I really embraced it. I was like, ‘I am Poo Bear.’

It fits well because it fills people with good energy, and that reflects in “Favorite Human.” Tell me what the process of creating that record was like and why you chose it as a single.  

“Favorite Human” is out everywhere. The process behind “Favorite Human” was I hooked up with an amazing poet named Nabil. And, you know, I never actually worked with a poet. We did “Favorite Human” in Los Angeles, and it was a special record. Ultimately, that poem that he wrote was about his kids. And then I put melodies to it, flip put a hook to it, and then I looked at it like, you know, this represents my kids now.  Not just my kids, but it’s the people that are closest to me.

Was this the first time that you worked with Nabil?  

We had already written a lot of records in Paris. We started working with each other maybe, like, two years ago. So all these new records that are coming out that have come out, these are just records that me and Nabil have done that or poems that have been turned into songs.  

So really, really fresh.

“Favorite Human,” first of all, had an amazing video. The colors really stood out for me.  But also, it seemed like there was some Caribbean influence – is that on base?

Absolutely. And that’s the thing. I can’t really even say it’s, like, specific Caribbean because it still has a little baby Afrobeat feel to it. More Caribbean than Afro. Like the little twirl sound, the main melody sound. It’s extremely Caribbean. When we worked on it, I was thinking, like, man, I wish I could think of a really dope reggae collab for it. That was my first initial gut feeling. Like, who could get on there from Kingston? You know what I’m saying? But we just ended up just putting it out, doing it by myself.

Why Did You Connect So Deeply With “Favorite Human?”

Unanimously, this was one of the most special songs on the album. I also liked the whole concept of having a favorite human.  We just feel like so many people can relate to having favorite humans in their lives. Conceptually, melodically, sonically, we just felt like this was a great record to actually push at radio and push not just put out digitally, but literally put a cool marketing campaign behind it.  I really value the people, the non musicians and the non creative opinions which also allowed us to choose this record because a lot of people just gravitated to this song in general.  

You started off with very humble beginnings. You were homeless at one point. When you were in high school, you wrote “Anywhere” for the R&B group 112. Now you write for the biggest artists in the world. Have you ever been able to sit and really think about that journey?  

Honestly, I don’t, man. It’s like randomly once every six months, I’ll be at home, and I’ll look around. I’ll be like, ‘wow, can’t believe, like, I’m here.’ But then it’s like a four second moment.  

I live in the future, man. I don’t know how to live in the present. I don’t know how to stand still without going crazy, because I’m constantly really creating new songs. I’m constantly doing what’s next and trying to push everything in my life forward.  I do have very small moments of reflection, but I’m so far deep in my life that I’m just nowhere near where I want to be.  

So it’s like, I think maybe when I get a bit older or when I obtain some more of my goals, I might be able to do that.

Your dreams are just so big.

Yeah. I do look back sometimes and think, ‘I can’t believe I’m driving a Ferrari right now. I’m living!’ Then, when I wake up, I snap out of the dream. I’m like, ‘whoa, I’m in a fairy tale right now.’ Every blue moon reality will set in and hit me. I’m in a constant state of gratitude.

I personally think you’re the best songwriter in music. I think your track record speaks for itself.

You just really said that really comfortably, like, real confidently. It’s really interesting that you say that out loud.  Thank you, man.

“The proof is in the pudding,” as they say.

No, really? Thank you. I strive hard and work hard. I could never say that myself. I would never feel comfortable saying that. So to hear you say it really is inspiring.  

That’s the thing I think about you, is that you are humble. But you do need to talk your shit sometimes!

I know. It’s a healthy balance, right? I don’t toot my own horn. I don’t drink my own Kool Aid. It’s cool to be appreciated, and it’s cool to hear people appreciate me and mine, but it’s so awkward for me to say it or like, I don’t even like taking compliments. I get what you’re saying, and I just really like my music to do that, man. I really like my music, my businesses, my water. I want everything to speak to do that part that’s, you know I understand.  But at the same time, I like my music and my success and all that to speak really loudly for me.

The Book of Nabeel is out now, but I remember when you released Poo Bear Presents Birthday Music. How has the album making process differed over the course of time?

The baby is born. The baby is born. To go back to Poo Bear Presents: Birthday Music was 2017, and it actually came out in 2018. It was more so my celebrity friends that I worked with, and we had a lot of great songs that were just sitting in the music of business, like, I call like to it. We just do these records and then they’re like, ‘only for you.’ So I’m like, ‘yo, why don’t we put out?’ I didn’t really know if I was actually able to pull it off, but I have a lot of great artists there.

What is “The Wolf Hour?”

It’s like, in the middle of the night.  It’s around like 04:00 a.m.. It’s the threshold. So either you’re going to call it a night or you keep going all night. That’s the Wolf Hour starting point on whether, man, I’m going to call it a night and get some rest or we go it’s one or the other.  

So I don’t even know what that was. So I was educated just working with Nabil, just because he’s a scholar. I didn’t graduate from high school. I went to the last day, but I didn’t listen that much, you know what I’m saying?  It’s just for me, it elevated my vocabulary and just being able to sing words I would never use. I’m just tired of hearing the same words being said like, “I need you by my side.” We hope to raise the bar for the people that it does reach, for the musicians. We hope it inspires them to just push music forward and not settle for the same cliche songs.

When you were going through that time and you were experiencing homelessness, did you ever foresee yourself getting to this point?  

No. When I was homeless, it was me and my mom and my brother, and I just used to hear a voice that would say, you’re going to be okay. And I heard it enough to where I actually believed it, but I didn’t know what okay meant.  And then as the years went on, I would hear that voice again, say, this is nothing. You’re going to have way more than this. Like things that are outrageous. I’ll be somewhere in like, a big mansion and be like, all these things and I’ll just hear this voice and you’re going to have way more than this.  And then to really look up and be like, at that point in my life where really everything that little voice said manifested. So. I didn’t foresee myself being here where I am now. I just used to hear this voice that I think was I honestly think it was my higher self.  Because there is no such thing as time. I’m not going to get too deep, but all of our lives are written. I agree that I do know the future because it’s written. But it’s up to us to pass the school for here on a school on Earth on a mission.  So it’s up to us to have a clean slate. But I do know there’s a higher self that can see and be like, look, if you only knew what I knew. I know it’s rep right now. You’re struggling. You’re hungry right now, but you’re going to be good.  That voice is what kept me going.

What sparked the ambition in you to come to the forefront and put out your own music?

I used to write down my different goals, and one was to be a songwriter, a producer, have my own label, be an artist and act and be a teacher.  All these things I used to write down on, like, these are the things I want to be always saying. I just couldn’t sing when I was younger, but I figured it out a little bit. And I’ve always put out music.  I put out mixtapes to break up, too. It’s just working with Nabil and doing these new records, he made me feel confident that it doesn’t matter. Your age or whatever is any bit of insecurity that I had in the Bill kind of, like, really assured that it doesn’t matter.  He really pushed me to do it because. We’re doing it together.

And then, of course, you’ve got Justin Bieber.

Justin’s always like, you should say, you should put music out. So Justin always believed in me as well. So it was like hearing that and then putting out music. And he’s like, ‘I believe in you more than anybody.’ And for me, it just made me that confident. Let’s put it out, and whoever is meant to reach it will reach them. Hopefully people can hear it and they could be influenced by other music I’ve done.  And we can raise the bar, raise the standards of songwriting, so people can actually put out songs that have complete thoughts and complete ideas and not a hack of a thought. I feel like all that is important, me being an artist and me pushing music.  

It’s just important. I feel like it organically happens, and I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life physically.

I was going to say, you look good, physically, man. You’re in great shape!

I really evolved myself. I was obese. I got to a place now where I feel like I’m just really comfortable in my skin, and it’s cool. I would love for this music to reach the people that it’s written to reach, and it was meant to happen. I’m here for the ride. I love putting out music.

I would be remiss to not ask you what your experience is like working with Justin Bieber and how that all came about.

Yeah, I met Justin at a birthday gathering.  Lil Twist had a really small birthday gathering in Vegas in 2013. Justin flew in and we hung out, stayed, you know, at the compound that I was I was staying at in the studio.  We didn’t even work. We just hung out and had a bar for 24 hours. Then, you know, a couple of days later, I get a call from a random person like, “this is Justin.”

He’s like, “can you take the chords from this record and flip them and write a whole new song to it?” I was like, yeah, a challenge. It wasn’t really a challenge, but I did it in, like, 30 minutes with the audibles and sent it to him.  He was like, “Would you come to Boston? Like right now?” I was like, cool. And when he flew into Boston, we cut recovery. And then he kept me on the road with him for 14 months.  And we just went everywhere in the world, different continents. And it was just amazing just working with him. I never foresaw myself working with Justin. I just felt like he was a superstar.  I didn’t need anybody or anything. But he definitely changed my life. He’s the first artist to give me credit verbally, like, interviews and people, places where I’ve never heard anybody say my name.  Nobody’s ever. Everybody usually just takes the credit like they did it on their own, which is totally fine because I just want to take care of my family. I don’t care about the extra stuff. But he was the first person to say my name out, really, in public. And for me, it’s like it’s changed my life forever. So I’m super always indebted to Justin.

The people around you will talk your shit for you on your behalf.

Absolutely. He inspired me even in times where I didn’t believe in myself. I never had anybody believe in me more than him before.  And it was, like, mind blowing that it gave me so much more confidence. And it happened to be, like, the biggest artist in the world out of all the people who I would want to say my name, it just ended up being like it made perfect sense that Justin Bieber will be the first person to give me my credits to the world.  

Let’s play a quick game I call “song versuz,” where you put your own hits against one another. So, Justin Bieber’s “What do you mean” versus Usher’s “Caught Up?”

“Caught up” for sure.

Chris Brown’s “I Can Transform You” versus the “Despacito Remix.”

“Despacito Remix.” Super special!

What are you most proud of in your career?

Wow. I’m most proud of my longevity in my career. I think that the statistics say that I saw rider producers. The average lifespan is two years. So I had my first hit record when I was 17, 1997, and it’s now 2022. And I can say, like, my last big hit record was “Intentions” by Justin. And I think that just that right there for me. Just to be able to be a part of four decades of music and, like, to have success in the then have success in the 2020s, for me, is like, it’s just a blessing, and it allows me to stay focused and not do anything different, stay working hard. But I would definitely please say that’s, like, my biggest accomplishment in music is just still being my longevity and allowing my frequencies to stay relevant.

Digital Cover

Feature: Ray Garrison (Silos Band)

Ray Garrison is a writer, producer, and EDM DJ based in Los Angeles, CA. The multi-dimensional artist blends the genres of Pop, Heavy Metal, and Nu Metal. In 2022, the Garrison teamed up with David Rhemann, the drummer for Grandson, to create the Silos band.

The band includes members Philip “Proto” Nielsen (bass), Nick Dromin (guitar), and Ramon Blanco. They are currently signed to Judge & Jury Records and released their first single, “Flowers” – a new take on Miley Cyrus‘ acclaimed hit – on March 17, 2023.

Sound of U Live caught up with Silos frontman Ray Garrison to talk about his musical journey, upcoming projects, and more.

When did your music journey begin?

I wanted to be able to record myself playing guitar and uh like I was listening to Blink-182, and I wanted to like the guitar melodies that made me feel like I was high or something so I was like I wanted to be able to do that myself and make it home. Iit really just started with me wanting to be able to listen to myself and then later I was like, ‘oh it would be cool if other people listen too.’

Who are your top three inspirations?

Blink 182, Eminem and Bring Me The Horizon.

When did you begin taking it really seriously?

When I was 16. I would drive home from private school and there was this pro audio shop that was on the way home in downtown Atlanta. I knew that like all the big Atlanta producers got their gear from there, like Jermaine Dupree, Bush Walker, all these big time guys. I would just stop in there and look at stuff and then I would eventually show the guy at the front of my demos and he was like, ‘oh this is cool.’ That was where it started and then I learned a lot from them.

Were you self-taught from there?

Yeah, you know, I was a combination of self taught and then every time I went into the studio to record I like was a mutant fly on the wall. I was extra attentive and asked a lot of questions. Just like information.

When did you join Silos?

Silos was born in November of 2022. I was a solo artist, and then my friend David just parted ways with Grandson, and he wanted to be in a project that was more oriented around a band. And at the time, I needed a good drummer, and I really liked David.

I’d known him for years, and I always wanted to work with him. So we kind of had a meeting, a lunch, and then decided to start working on a new project. And almost instantly, I knew I was going to no longer do a solo artist thing.

And I was going to just mix. Just like natural chemistry.

Do you guys have any music coming out for the rest of the year?

We got a song coming out in June with DJ, with someone coming out in July with Escape the Fate. Nice. The title of the next one is ‘Hold Me Close.’ Right now, we’re putting out all singles from the album. So, I think that album is going to drop in the fall. It’s going to be on vinyl and CD.

Are there any dream collaborations that you have?

I’d love to do a song with Oli Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon. I’d say it’s a closer goal, within two years.

Is there anything that you think people should know about you?

Yeah, we have an awesome fan base emerging. We have a Discord where we’re in touch with our fans and kind of have a continuous conversation. So I’m going to plug that. “Silos Fandom.” There’s a link for it on our Instagram stories highlights.

Features

Feature: Devon Thompson

What are you looking forward to the most in 2024?

No bullshit. No bullshit 2024. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’m gonna like leave all the negative stuff behind and like try and change my mindset about certain things. So I feel like that’s, and also work harder and practice more. Just be more disciplined within myself, I think.

Can we say what those certain things are?

Yeah, practice sitting down and practicing my guitar every single day more. Because, it gets hard like when you play shows it’s easy to just like only play when you’re at shows or during band practice for me I want to sit down and be disciplined also not beat myself up over stuff that I can’t control.

A lot of people are really upset with themselves when they like especially living here when you feel like and you’re an artist and you feel like, ‘God, I wish I was doing more. I wish I could. Why don’t I have this, why don’t I have this,’ like you can’t control that the only thing you can control is your personal growth and what you put into it and like you know if if you got something like it you’ll get it out if you really work hard. You can’t just sit around, you can’t expect it to come to you. You have to work for it. I think that’s a really good piece of advice to give artists in general because you know we’re in a new game social media, and a lot of it is like creating content yourself, and I know artists are making a lot more of their own music videos in a way that I’ve never seen before, have you noticed that? – I have noticed that because, you know, TikTok did that. TikTok made like making your own mini music video a thing. So I actually think it’s amazing because it allows artists to have more freedom with what you do.

I think that’s really special and it’s really, but it’s also really, really hard to do that, because this is what you have to do. Every day, I’ve struggled with that. I used to hate it and now I’ve like changed my mindset we’re like no I’m gonna like do this and embrace it and really show people like what I’m about.

I think everything is easier when you have a team of people and people who just really like add to your circle as time goes on. They see your mission and your vision.

Has it been easy for you to find your team?

It, surprisingly, has been easy. It’s because I’ve been putting myself out there. It’s been easier. And I have a wonderful team that I’m working with right now already.

But I’m always looking for, like, expansion. We need more people involved. We need all the people involved. You know, your fans are your team. You know, you are your team. Like, everyone a part of it is important.

So, like, that being said, I’m always looking for new kingdom. to work with and being over minded So like I feel like it’s easier now.

What other goals do you have for the year?

My goals are to be be more social. I can easily double down and just just be by myself and working on stuff, but my plan this year is to make more friends and to be more social with my family, friends and with new people. I push myself further this year. My music breaks down barriers and standards for female guitar players. It’s a big one, because we’re still it’s still really stigmatized.

Talk to me about that stigma that female guitar players face.

So many women are scared to play guitar, and a lot of them tell me they’re like I am too scared to get up there and play it or even if they do play if they’re like, um, ‘I’m the rhythm guitar player,’ or whatever. You don’t see a lot of female guitar players out there because it’s so stigmatized. If they’re not like an insane shredder people are like you got them stuck it happens so much and i’m a Gibson sponsored artist, so i they saw something in me that gave me hope to keep pushing myself so now i tend to only play in three pieces. I’m the lead guitar player and lead vocalist this year. That’s what I’m going to push on people because I have some really not that good like okay like that’s fine.

It used to get to me and now I’m like just use that to practice practice and be disciplined and safe off it just do it you know that’s what I’m doing.

Do you think that female artists in general also get that sort of stigma and is it coming from the butthurt men?
Absolutely. Yeah, no totally. It’s the main the main thing like I get comments online that are like, you know They can be really really derogatory and and it’s you know what it’s Generally men or very jealous women who don’t like themselves and hate their lives. And I’m like, ‘why do girls girls hate me? Why do certain men hate me?’

And it’s nothing that you’ve done. It’s just you have to remember that there are people that just love to hate you out there.

They love it, especially because you’re doing what they want to do. They want to do what you’re doing. And you just have to, like, you literally just have to understand and recognize the personality traits. They’re like, no, that is not a person who is cool or, like, wants to help or even knows what they’re talking about. about, you know what I mean? Tell us a bit about the music that you have dropping this year though. Do we have anything to look forward to in the first few months? Actually, I have a new single coming out in like a week and a half. And my goal for this year is to have a songwriter and I want to be a part of it. really, really creative with what I’m doing this year. All my music videos are like mini movies type situations, like the Twilight Zone kind of, and I like creating… I really just want to pay homage to the universe and a whole… I mean, to put it simply, a sort of vibe on everything.

Like with my branding, with my merch, like this is… is I don’t know if you can see it – oh I have a lot of teeth in in like my merch stuff like that and in my songs just like really Really visceral and really guttural, but also have been also with an imperial edge And I want my music videos to translate that it’s gonna mean soon So I want to be cohesive so new singles out and then we’re gonna have and I have a lot of music dropping this year. And I’m playing a lot of shows shows and that’s what’s been happening this year So yeah in January 17th.

What’s are you releasing?

It’s called I love you, but it hurts like hell.

Who are some of your favorite musical inspirations from Los Angeles?

Well, I don’t don’t sound anything like her, but I love Phoebe Bridger’s ability to be anti. So like what LA is not, and I think that’s really cool.

So I like that she can do that. How about some of your most influential artists that you listen to growing up that have really kicked yourself? Yeah, growing up. Blondie is a big one for me.

I have a lot of 80s music and 70s music. has really shaped what I do. So Blondie and then a big big goth like inspiration to me, Suzy and the band she’s really big and then some newer stuff like or kind of newer some like some deftome stuff some my bloody Valentine stuff and it’s harder for me to find newer inspirations just because like I don’t know it’s just it’s it’s hard it’s hard for me and then uh yeah so

those are some of my inspirations for sure. Dice was there anything else that you want to grab about before being grabbed? Yeah I think that a lot of people don’t talk about again what I said before about how disparaging this can be and how how much self -doubt can be involved with this um and I have been my worst enemy base in doing this and um you know my I think a lot of that has to do with people you surround yourself with. You can tell who really supports you and who doesn’t and who are out to get you, who poses your friends, but they’re not. Make sure you surround yourself with loving people and people who value you really.

Some talk about it enough here, especially with people who aren’t from here and who are from here. It’s just like both. So find the right people who lift you up. Both of you guys are in a relationship sort of thing. And also, just walk out of the bullshit. It’s what I’m going to do this year and I’m going to work on it.

So for everyone who’s struggling out there with, you know, artist identity, sort of the like, “What am I doing?” You’re here for a reason, you’re here for a reason. And just believe in yourself. Believe in yourself.

Don’t talk but thank you for your time. Thank you so much.

Features

Feature: Leonte

Leonte here! Tell us a little bit about the different things that you do.

Yeah, so I mean, first and foremost, I’m a person. And I like to be that way. I come with a lot of emotions and a lot of ideas and feelings that I bring into my art and my work. I’m a model. I love to create very vivid images and stuff with posing and stuff like that. I’m also a creative director for a magazine called Lex Style Mag. It’s about creating a vibe between fashion and music, and really creating a home for that to collaborate and become real is something important for us.

But I also make music. I’m a singer. I make like alternative R&B, pop and rock vibes. I’m really just taking all of those and really just adding my own spice into it, adding a little bit of me and really my goal with that music is to create an environment and create an environment where people can feel emotions that they may not you know be privy to or may not have understanding of but you know they can empathize with the pain, empathize with the joy, empathize with the yearning, love, right? I want to create an environment that you can experience those things safely amazing so how long have you been doing modeling yeah so I’ve been modeling for 10 years I’ve been singing all my life I started off in my church choir shout out yeah so for like most people that started off in the church like singing was a big part of my life it was a big part of my life I expressed myself. I started making my own music physically about a year and a half, two years ago, is when I actually started that.

How has your journey in fashion really impacted your journey into music?

Honestly, I think the fashion in the music industry is so interwoven that it was like a seamless transition. I went from, you know, trying to figure out how to… create very vivid pictures and, you know, how to do really crazy poses to, like, saying, “Well, how do I create a vivid sound with my voice?

If I do this type of movement while I’m singing, will the sound come out differently from this?” Right? So everything just kind of translated differently, right? Saying like, “Okay, well, when I do this performance, I want to wear this type of outfit so that it conveys this message while I’m performing this song.” Right? Really aligning the fashion with the music and the tone with the environment to create a full image and a full picture is kind of where that fashion piece really really locked me in.

As you said, you are now involved in the magazine. What has it been like going from being the model to being the subject and actually having that creative control?

Honestly, becoming the creative director of Lex Style magazine is one of my biggest accomplishments today. I think being in charge of the visual outlook of a project such as Lex Style Mag has put a huge weight on my shoulders that I’d love to take on. It’s really giving me the opportunity to take my wildest dreams and put it out into a visual medium and share it with the world is something that I don’t take lightly. I think it’s something that takes a lot of time and effort, it takes a lot of attention and I think because of that I’ve been able to take all of my years of modeling and understanding what poses look good and what poses don’t.

Kind of the energy behind the photo and what clothes will look good and what poses. I’ve been really able to create really detailed outlines of like this that I want to create and I think that’s something that you know I’m looking to bring out the best in myself for this magazine and for others. I also do freelance creative direction for other brands, so it’s like always fun to be able to express myself in this place.

All of the work that you do is truly so inspirational and incredible. What do you think is the hardest part about continuing that?

Thank you so much for joining me. Being a artist and how you feel. I think the hardest part about consistently releasing creative pieces is understanding your value but also understanding the value of the people around you.

I think as, when you’re the model, everything’s centered around you and how you’re feeling and what you’re getting paid, like you’re, you know, the experience. you’re getting, but when you’re really the creative director, when you’re really at the top of that situation, it’s more about, okay, how do I make sure these people that are helping me create this vision that I have feel valued and feel, you know, I see the best of our abilities and feel comforted in these aspects. I think that’s one of the hardest things because, you know, obviously in this world, you live in and you want to cut down on costs as much as possible, but also it’s like, you want to pay. people what they’re worth, so they pay for what they’re worth. I like saw that, it’s like trying to get people with disabilities.

What has been like your biggest inspiration, both in fashion and music?

I played football in college. And so a big inspiration in my fashion sense was Odell Beckham Jr. Like, he was getting big and popular in football. His outfits on and off the field were always the same. The field outfits were always icy and dripped out with the signed sneakers, the custom likeness, you know, how he used to do it.

But then off the field, it was also him showing up to events drippy, showing his style off. I think things like that really pushed me to actually work towards being more creative with my outfits on and off the field. In terms of music, I think somebody that really inspired me was Juice Wrld, I think I will say “Lucid Dreams” came at a time that I needed it.

And I think, you know, just that being his day… debut, like, hit that popped off for him and that was the one that caught me and then ever since, like, I listened to every single song that he put out like, that was someone that really inspired me to be more of a leader, but he also inspired me to just be creative, I don’t think you could ever say, “Oh, Juice Wrld’s gonna rap like this on this flow.” It was always something completely different than his last song, something completely, you know, new but it had the same feel, the same environment around him, right? And, you know, he had a way of talking about like really hard subjects with a light tone that made him want to party while you’re listening to it, right? Which is something that I want to create, but also different. So for mine, like, I definitely don’t take as much of the drug abuse and alcoholism into my music. It’s complex idealist, you know, abandonment. Heartfelt pain. The concept of, like, where you’re supposed to be and, you know, like flirting. I want to do, like, really, like, take those archetypes and really create stories in my music. I think that’s really what I’m focusing on right now.

I think that’s really the beauty of music. You’re able to take inspiration, and take ideas, while also interacting with your own personality, your own blood, which is so incredible and great to see from you.

And what are we?

So what I’ll say right now is there’s going to be an influx of art, an influx of modeling and an influx of music. Right now my goal is in this 2023. year are to get three good releases and build up a catalog behind them so that I have a lot to push out for everybody, as well as create four really good covers and magazines to release out to the public and to collaborate with as many talented artists as I can. Like my goal is not to get up there by myself, my goal is to bring everybody out here at 50 and I think that when we create a community of people that support each other and uplift each other in this fashion and music space, that’s when we really drive, right? Because you’re only as good as your network, and it’s only as good as how many people you have with you in your team, right? And, you know, what they like to say is network federally, don’t network forward.

Because you never know who in your circle is going to be the next one up, and you’re all riding together. So that’s going to be good. there. So, it just supports people around you, it supports the day one, it’s going to come the day zero, it’s going to rock. Well, I am so very excited to see what’s next for Beyonce. Everybody should be on the watch for what’s coming next. He’s going to be hitting us with new music, have sure new books, new shoots. So please be on the lookout for him!