Part 2 of 2
MSR: Where do some of the lyrics to your songs come from?
LRD: A lot of them come from personal experience. When I created this album [Love Child], I wanted to speak to myself. I wanted to tell myself how to get out of my situation. Because like everybody else, we all have issues. We all have things that we deal with. I wanted to write something in the midst of it all. And look over it and say, okay, this is what you need to do. Sometimes we have the answers, but we just don’t follow through.
MSR: Did you write all the lyrics to your songs?
LRD: Yes, I wrote all my lyrics. All my songs, I wrote them. Butler composed the music. He gave me the tracks and I listened to them and then I just wrote on top.
MSR: Spiritually and musically speaking, who are you trying to reach with your music?
LRD: Myself (laughing). That was the number one goal. But then I wanted to touch everybody — anybody — that I can touch, whether it be a male or female, old or young. I want my boundaries to be limitless, so that when I get older I can sing these songs for generations. I don’t have to just sing these songs when I’m twenty. I want longevity.
MSR: Do you believe music to be a healing force?
LRD: I definitely believe that music is a healing force. I believe it is a reinforcement as well of emotion, and feelings. It can be a positive or a negative, but it does influence your mindset. Therefore I believe it does contain healing power as well. Just as much as it can hurt people, it can help people. I’m looking to help people. I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m looking to help people for generations.
MSR: Have you performed with any local artists recently? And if so, who?
LRD: No, but I look forward to it. I really want to do something with Margo Davis. She’s a singer locally. Definitely Ashley DuBose. And Breasha. Those are people I would love to collaborate with.
MSR: Where do you draw musical inspiration from?
LRD: Life lessons. Like things that I learn about me. When I start to evolve that’s when I write the best. With my last album, what really influenced me was the Lauryn Hill Unplugged album. That really brought a new me out. So I started living that out. Then when I started seeing all these flaws about my life, then I started writing things to help me come out of those flaws, really questions about humanity. When I draw a question that’s when I know I can write something, when I become more curious about a situation.
MSR: What other adventurous steps are you taking creatively these days?
LRD: Lately, I’ve been just really writing poetry, because that’s where I start. That’s where I started with Love Child, writing poetry and writing how I feel, and really getting in tune with my emotions because Love Child was more about loving myself and taking steps.
Now I’m working on a new project. I won’t tell you the title of it yet. It’ll be a surprise. It’s definitely going to be more expanding with everything, with my vocals, as well as my music, as well as the content. Everything is going to change. Not necessarily change as in a theoretical sense. The content is going to be the same but heavier, more in-depth. That’s what I’m looking forward to. That’s what you can look forward to on the next album. That’s what I’m working on now.
Robin James welcomes reader responses to jamesonjazz@spokesman-recorder.com.
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