Features
Feature: GOVAN
![GOVAN](https://soundofulive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Pre-Show-Photo-5-26-23-21-scaled.jpg)
GOVAN is a Bay Area-raised and LA-based artist steady on the rise that creates an energetic and rhythmic sound blending the silkiness of R&B, the bubbliness of pop, and endless bars to emulate a sound unique to himself.
In May 2023, GOVAN dropped his first EP, The Pretty Boy Show!, featuring five tracks that paint the progression of emotions felt when navigating relationships and life as a young adult. His latest single, ‘Caught Up,’ has garnered over 150,000 streams on Spotify since its recent release.
Maralize Carreon sat down with GOVAN to speak about his musical influences, how other forms of art arise in his music, favorite superheroes, and what it means to be a “pretty boy.”
Okay, so for my first question, what was your earliest experience with music and what made you love it? What made you want to become an artist?
I think it was pretty much my parents. My dad was a local rapper and he would come home from the studio and would throw on the mixes from these songs he would make and stuff like that. And then in the meantime, me and my mom would sit at the computer in the Limewire days and download a whole bunch of songs. She would put me on like, you know, music from the late 90s to the mid 2000s, and then a few deep cuts from like the 80s and 70s. Those two experiences combined drew me into music.
So you said your dad was a local rapper. Did he ever take you to the studio?
I’m so mad because he never took me to the studio. I’d be like, “Dad, I want to go to the studio with you.” And he’d be like, “Ah, next time, next time, next time.” But he’d stay coming home with songs. But it was just like, it was really cool, seeing him come home and they were well produced. They were quality songs and it’s just like crazy. Like, my dad sounds like the people on the radio lowkey. It was just crazy to hear that and see this constant creativity coming in. It definitely stuck with me. There’s a few of his songs that I’m like these were bops that I think about from time to time and it’s just like when I think of, you know, my roots and where I come from, I definitely think about that and how that influenced me.
So wait, so he had some bops. A lot of artists like to pull from their roots and like sampling is really big so, have you ever thought about sampling his music?
You know I thought about it, but a lot of [his records], I don’t know where it is right now. He has a couple of things on YouTube, but he would keep them to himself. There’s one in particular that, oh, it’s so good, I would sample it. I’ve thought about it so much, but it’s literally in the ether. I don’t know where it is, but I would love to.
If you could name three artists that inspired your sound, who would it be and why?
That’s a hard question, but I would say right now if you took Childish Gambino, sprinkle in a little bit of Kehlani, and then like the pop-iness of Charlie Puth, I would say those are the three that are influencing me right now. Like Childish Gambino, he has that switch between rapping and
singing. He has this beautiful R&B voice, but he can also spit some fucking bars and I feel like that’s the vibe I’ve always been on. But then, you know, Kehlani has this very mature, soulful, pop and R&B like tone to her voice and also she’s from the Bay. So, she has that cadence, that energy that she brings to the track. And then Charlie Puth, he’s a great pop artist and a pop musician. I just feel like whenever I do my pop shit, I very much want to channel that type of energy into my work.
So if you could pick out of the three for a collab, like with how your sound is now, who would you collab with?
Man, as much as I wanna say Kehlani, it might be Charlie, especially with ‘Caught Up.’ But I’m definitely torn between Kehlani and Charlie.
Speaking of ‘Caught Up,’ your latest single that just surpassed 150,000 streams on Spotify, I’m sure you must be very elated about that. If you could choose one word to describe how you felt seeing the numbers surpass what you’ve seen before, what would it be?
Amazed. Bamboozled. Flabbergasted. Gagged. Gooped. No, but for real, like this is something that I’ve been working towards for so long. I hate to say it, but it does bring a little sense of validation. It’s like, “Damn, X amount of people are seeing my work and vibe and connect with it.” It’s just so wild to finally see that come to fruition and I’m just so grateful at the end of the day. My inner child is like, “What the hell is this?” So, it’s taking some getting used to.
The cover art for ‘Caught Up’ is very different from your other covers for your last EP and your past singles. It has you as a superhero. What was the concept behind that and why did you choose that?
Yeah, so I mean it’s a bunch of different influences. I wanted ‘Caught Up’ to be a post-credits scene of The PRETTY BOY Show! so I still wanted it to keep that same aesthetic. I wanted it on a TV to keep that symbolism in there. And then I have a really good friend who I grew up with back home in Antioch. His name is Rio. He’s an amazing artist and animator. He drew an art piece for me in the past for The PRETTY BOY Show! and I just really love his style, his aesthetic, and how animated and bubbly it was. I always kept that in the back of my mind and so for this one, I was thinking of ideas of how I could showcase The PRETTY BOY Show! in a different form. The PRETTY BOY Show! was very much influenced by Wanda Vision and how each episode was a different genre, a different style. And I saw Across the Spider-Verse and I liked those intros where it shows like all the comic book covers. So I told Rio, “Could you make me like a comic book character, like a superhero?” and he was like, “Say less.” I wanted to put it in the TV as like a commercial or something like “We interrupt this broadcast” type thing.
It sounds like you like superheroes and you like Marvel. Do you try to incorporate other types of art that you see like film? I know you have a theater background. How do other forms of art translate to your music and also who’s your favorite superhero?
Yeah, I feel like I definitely try to take a cinematic or film-like approach when it comes to my music and for the visuals and stuff because I gravitate towards film and cinema so much as well. Like, I’m a movie buff. I’m an actor. I eventually want to write and direct my own film. So, I very much like to keep that integral to my art, especially when it comes to the visual aspects. And I think of each song like a short movie. I think of my songs as cinematic pieces to accompany the overall vision. I grew up watching a lot of Marvel, a lot of DC. I always gravitated towards that. Like, I am a superhero nerd at the end of the day.
Favorite superhero? The one and only, Miss Wanda Maximoff. Miss Scarlet Witch can do no wrong in my eyes. I will always be there for my queen, especially in the Multiverse of Madness.
So earlier you said in The PRETTY BOY Show! each track displays a different type of genre which obviously, you know, shows the range of talent that you have. You can blend different genres really well. Is there a particular reason you didn’t want to stick with singing or you didn’t want to stick with just rapping, why did you decide to do both?
Yeah, I feel like the fact that music is so fluid nowadays attributes to that a little bit, but also one of the earliest artists I was put on as a kid was Lauryn Hill and she was a singer and a rapper and an actress. I love to sing, but I also love to write. And again, my dad was a rapper so it’s like I would hear these bars and these raps. He put me on a lot of rap music like Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Kanye and you know what I mean? I always gravitated towards that. You put on ‘California Love’ by Tupac and I will spit bar for bar, word for word. So, I always wanted to keep that integral. And where I’m from, a lot of people, we’re drawn towards rap and rap music. When it comes to my roots, I just want to keep that in my art as much as I can just to kind of showcase like “Hey, I’m down with this too.” But it’s like, I grew up doing musical theater and choir. And you know, I’d always be drawn to R&B and pop and these are very singy type genres and I love that shit. I love to sing. I love to hold a note. I love to hold a tune. I also like to spit too. I want to talk my shit, but I also want to be sultry and silky and sing out my emotions as well. I like to hold them hand in hand, especially when I’m making a song and I’m singing most of it and then I drop a rap verse in there. I want it to feel like GOVAN featuring GOVAN.
Earlier this year you released your first EP, The PRETTY BOY Show! and it kind of explores the complexities of relationships and loving someone else, experiencing that and losing it. So where did the inspiration for that come from? And where did the term Pretty Boy come from for you? Because I know it’s a theme in your artistry to be the “pretty boy” on stage.
Man, so the project was definitely just inspired by my world expanding. Once I moved out to LA, I went to college and started exploring myself, started falling in love and having crushes, started feeling myself and being more confident and coming into myself. So, I really wanted something that explored that range of topics and emotions when it comes to finding yourself as a young adult. At the end of ‘PRETTY BOY,’ it’s like this rap freestyle and I wanted to attribute that to me kind of breaking out of my shell as I left my hometown; being like this is who I am, but also like I’m gonna remember where I’m from at the end of the day.
We have ‘HEARTACHE,’ which is about falling in love and being in situationships. ‘LOVE ME DESPERATELY’ is about the dating scene as young adults, hookup culture, dating apps and stuff like that and I never really gravitated towards that. I was like, “What did our parents do when they were our age?” They didn’t have no apps, they didn’t have social media and nothing like that, so it’s like I really wanted to explore the question. Like what did our parents do? ‘Cause this shit is wack. This shit is wack as fuck.
And then ‘SIDELINES’ comes and it’s like, you know, you’re wasting your time on these people. But also that was an ode to my inner teen because just growing up, I was always a shoulder to cry on for people, especially the people that I had crushes on. I was just always a shoulder to cry on. And it started taking form in my young adult life as well. And I was just like I’m tired of wasting my time on these people.
And then, I ended up falling in love and I met somebody and that’s when ‘STAY AWHILE’ came into play as the last track. Cause it’s like, throughout all this, all these journeys, all these adventures, you know, as much as I want to be a “pretty boy,” I’m a “lover boy” at the end of the day. I just want to be loved. I want to love and be loved. And that’s what I wanted to kind of say with this project.
But the term “pretty boy” comes from growing up. I never really felt like a “pretty boy.” So, I kind of created this alter ego to reclaim myself and be my most confident as kind of a middle finger to the rest of the world. Like, the “pretty boy” is here, the “pretty boy” is here to stay. That’s who I am and that’s what it be. And I feel that energy, this like confident energy taking over me as I embrace the “pretty boy” into myself. Like, there’s a lover boy who’s a simp, but there’s a pretty boy who’s all confident, who’s the shit, who’s like, [raises finger] “ah, ah, ah, ah,” you know what I mean? I feel like throughout this journey of The PRETTY BOY Show! I ended up embracing myself even more by reclaiming that.
OK, but like for a fun question, who would be in your dream rotation?
Snoop Dogg is definitely in there. I don’t know why I want to say Martin Scorsese. I don’t know why. He just seems like a cool ass dude. I just feel like he’d be chill and he’d put us on some game in terms of the state of the world. I would say Snoop Dogg, Martin Scorsese, and Miley Cyrus.
Wait, why Miley?
I don’t know. I grew up watching a lot of Disney Channel and I think that also contributes to my artistry as well. Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and the Cheetah Girls, bro. That was the three. Those was the top three that made me want to be a performer. So, yeah, I would say Miley and one more would be Donna Summer. Disco queen.
If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing about the future, what would it be? Or give yourself some advice.
Fuck these hoes. I’m just playing. I’m not. Um, but nah, I would just say don’t trip. And when I say don’t trip, I mean, like don’t let your fears consume you. I know it may feel like shit might never change, but it will. And it will in the best ways and it will in some of the not as best ways, but just embrace that and know that you’re solid and that you’re good. And that you’re going to start making your dreams come true and it’s going to feel insane. It’s going to feel scary and it’s going to feel exciting, but at the end of the day, you know what you got and you know the passion in your heart and you know the talent that you have and the person that you are at your core and the love that you have in your heart for everything.
So just stick with that and know that. You’ll be good and continue spreading that love and joy at all times.
What do you have in store for the new year since you’re ending the year off with a really strong single and you just had a recent performance at Breaking Sounds with a band for the first time. You’ve got a lot of things rolling, what are your goals for 2024?
Man, I’m just so excited thinking about it because it never stops, like the process never stops, but I’m really excited to continue growing, expanding, and exploring my craft. I’ve been making some of the best music I’ve ever made with my producer, Nick Smith, and we’ve just been messing around in the studio and really creating my sound and creating the energy that I’m really excited to start sharing. We’ve made some bops and I’m really excited to just put them out in the world. I’m also excited to expand my live performance aspect as well.
I had my first show with the live band and I want to continue building upon that. I want to do more shows with a live band and kind of make that energy grow and grow and grow and manifest in different places. I grew up being influenced by performers like Beyonce and Michael Jackson and I want to start incorporating that energy into my live performances. And yeah, I’m just excited to live life and have new experiences to write about. ‘Cause you can’t be inspired if you’re not living life. I’m really, really excited to see what 24 has in store.
And I just wanted to ask, like in my old organization, back at UCLA, we always used to say our song of the week. So, I wanted to know, what is your song of the week this week?
Hmm, hmm, hmm. Song of the week. I’ve been listening to ‘Poison Poison’ by Renee Rap.
All right, so before we end, when is your next single gonna drop and all that good stuff?
Next single is coming out very soon. I’m really excited to share it with the world because It’s just about love and it’s celebrating love. So, at the end of January expect that and stay tuned because we got a lot more coming.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/govan.mh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088481724079 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@govan2300
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tk25RPBLirImQApoGnNzp
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/govan/1531943457
![](https://soundofulive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Logo-web-small-e1703126127382.png)
Digital Cover
Feature: Ray Garrison (Silos Band)
![](https://soundofulive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/silos.jpg)
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
![Devon Thompson](https://soundofulive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Devon-Thompson-cr.-Kelly-Walsh-1-1020x685-1.jpg)
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](https://soundofulive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BAD9A27F-5E2A-4B76-B7A2-8CCEFE7BA2BF.jpeg)
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!
-
Music2 years ago
Ethika Music Releases Compilation Mixtape ‘Ethika Music: Volume 1’ – Out Now!
-
Music4 years ago
6ix9ine Drops New “ZAZA” Video
-
Features2 years ago
Feature: An Evening With TA Thomas
-
Music2 years ago
Young Money Signee Drizzy P Drops “Hard 2 Believe” Single
-
Features2 years ago
Feature: JetsonMade On Being A Hit Record Magnet and ‘Boy Meet Beats’ Academy
-
Features2 years ago
Feature: Is0kenny On His Comedic Genius, Music, Going Viral and Self Discovery