What led you to transition from pursuing acting to pursuing a career in music?

I think I realized how meaningful music really was to me through my acting journey. When I went to Los Angeles, I remember having made a few tracks before going and feeling as though I wasn’t able to put my all into the music the way that I was putting my all into acting. I always loved music, but I had been studying acting for such a long time that I felt that was what I was supposed to do. When I was dropped by my agents because of the accident that I had it really set me back and I was pretty depressed. I had a lot of downtime and during the downtime I was really able to realize that music was it for me and that I really hadn’t been putting what I should have been into it. It was kind of an ‘a-ha!’ moment.

Can you elaborate on the realization that music was the right path for you?

Sure! The realization was me kind of having to surrender to my circumstances and what I was experiencing at the time. I was staying with one of my best friends in Long Beach when I was at my lowest point and I would listen to old beats and music that I had created, looking back at it now they all sound terrible to me… but you know I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t make them. I knew I needed to go back home and really just put my all into music. It felt like it was my calling. I came home, started working on tunes and finding beats online, and I never looked back.

You mentioned your interest in Electronic R&B and blending various genres together. Could you walk us through your creative process when fusing these different sounds?

It really depends on the kind of project that I’m creating or what I’m feeling at the time and what is coming to me. I love Electronic, I love R&B, I love House, and while I’m creating I tend to make Spotify playlists based on each season. Once I have an idea of the sound that I want I end up creating a Spotify playlist of songs that really inspire me and feel like they’re meant to be something that I use kind of as a tool if that makes any sense. From there I start the concepts of what the genre is and how it will sound. The project I end up creating is usually based on what I’ve been working on and what works together. It usually reveals itself to me after a while!

Your most recent single, a remix of “Slow,” seems to have a deeply reflective tone. How does the remix alter the song’s original message, if at all?

Slow was the first song that I released on all streaming platforms and it was produced by a wonderful producer named Cheap Limousine. I found him on YouTube! I went to his beatstars page and purchased the beat, sent him what I was working with and he really liked it. I think the reflection of this version for me is the fact that this song was remixed by a very close collaborator of mine named Janelovesu! She and I have worked on a ton of music together, and she really reimagined the song and made it more-so of what I think I would create now rather than before. It really captures who I was as an artist then and who I am as an artist now. I don’t think it alters the song’s original message but instead adds a new story to it, if that makes sense.

When crafting your music, do you have a specific intention regarding how it will resonate with your audience? How do you balance staying true to your artistic vision while also appealing to listeners?

I think my intention is to always stay true to myself and to create something that people can relate to. Over the last few months I’ve been experiencing a lot of heavy things and I think a lot of these things people can relate to. For what I’ve been working on recently, I’m very intentional about making sure that it’s something that people can really understand and feel they could relate to, really playing into emotions and the brevity of life’s experiences. The music itself sounds pretty different than what I’ve made before and I think that is also very true to my artistic vision because as I grow both as a person and an artist… things change, I change, we all change. It’s important to note that in terms of the art that’s being created, it is always about what I’m feeling right now. Whatever that may be, I will most likely not feel that way in three, four years.. hopefully… so I think it makes sense to create based on what I’m feeling and dealing with in the present and work with what I’m given.

Many artists experience creative blocks. Can you share any strategies you employ to overcome these obstacles and reignite your creativity?

Yeah, honestly I get creative blocks pretty often, especially considering the kind of year that I’ve had. However, I think the best thing to do is to simply let it pass. A lot of songs that I’ve created that I’ve had some blocks with I usually just let it sit for however long it needs to and then something one day out of the clear blue sky will trigger some sort of memory or feeling, and I’ll start thinking about a beat and then all of a sudden everything kind of works itself out and it comes. In my experience it seems a lot of art is just divine timing and I think that we need to honor that. It’s a very intuitive process and I think these obstacles that we get when we’re creating are not necessarily an obstacle, rather a rest period to allow the right idea, the right feeling, the right framework, to come in due time.

You mentioned upcoming projects that you’re excited about. Without revealing too much, could you provide any hints or clues about what fans can expect from your future releases?

I’ve got some collaborations that I’m really excited about! What I’m most excited about is how much storytelling there is in a lot of these new songs. I think I’m veering away from trying to have a song simply sound and feel good and instead telling a story and I’m really excited about that. I’m also just excited about where I’m at right now, my music, and where I am going. You can expect the music to be a little bit different than it was before but still keeping it fun, funky and fresh and trying to stay true to me as best as possible.

Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals within the music industry? Is there a particular milestone or achievement you’re striving for?

I would like to make an impact on people’s lives through the music industry. I don’t necessarily want to be this person who is known as like this person who sells a ton and like”oh you know he’s just this best selling person” but rather an artist with substance who’s touched tons of people. I hope people are inspired and drawn to what I do and can relate to it. I think the best artists are people who have drawn from both personal and semi personal experiences and implement those moments into sounds that we love. I know a lot of songs, and artists really get to me when I find someone that I feel I can relate to what they’re saying and detailing.

Finally, how do you envision your music evolving in the future? Are there any new directions or experiments you’re eager to explore in your upcoming projects?

I definitely want to evolve to different genres and experiences. I would love to create a funk album at some point, and I would like to create a traditional R&B project too. I don’t think that I’ve done that just yet, I think I’ve just done electronic inspired R&B music. I would also like to veer away from solely digital tunes at some point and do all analog, all instrumentation, really bare bones… just straight up music from the soul. I’ve always loved funk music. It’s been one of my favorite genres of music for a very long time so I think it’s apropos for me to explore that. Maybe one day I’d wanna do a jazz album or a blues album… I don’t want to limit myself. I definitely see myself going multidimensional directions in terms of art, I’d love to put my visual art together. I’m very eager to explore what life throws at me in the future and how I will transmute that into my music and what that ends up becoming. I think that life is our teacher and art is a reflection of what we learn or what we feel and I’m really excited to see where that takes me in the future.