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GRAMMYs

Victoria Monét 

Photo by Brian Ziff

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Victoria Monét's GRAMMY Dreams victoria-mon%C3%A9t-jaguar-working-brandy-having-grammy-dreams

Victoria Monét On 'Jaguar', Working With Brandy & Having GRAMMY Dreams

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After years of songwriting for marquee music names—Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and Nas, just to name a few—the singer/songwriter is ready to step into the spotlight on her debut project
Emma Madden
GRAMMYs
Aug 5, 2020 - 8:46 am

Victoria Monét didn’t realize her connection to the jaguar until after she recorded the titular song for her new project. A powerful, rosetted cat, the jaguar camouflages itself well. And, although it’s a present, integral part of the jungle, it’s seldom seen or registered. Monét, who's been a requisite part of the music industry for the past decade, having worked as a songwriter for Nas, Fifth Harmony, and most famously, Ariana Grande (for which she received two GRAMMY nominations), is finally getting her opportunity to be seen. This is, as she sings on Jaguar, her motherf**king moment.

On August 7, she releases part one of the Jaguar trilogy, with part one and two due to follow sometime in the near-ish future. This introduction to the new, uncamouflaged Monét, is a melting pot of sounds from the ‘70s and ‘90s, which she sops up and repackages into a sexy, kaleidoscopic trip. It’s filled with natural highs (the psychedelia of seeing your dreams come true) and boasts some of the year’s tersest and most dynamic songwriting. GRAMMY.com spoke to Monét about her anti-ego approach to music, her love of Beyoncé, and her future GRAMMY dreams.

You've been promoting for a while now. When was the project itself completed?

The album was pretty much done in February 2019, so I've had a majority of the music for a really long time. With some songs, I'd go back and add harmonies, but the vocal bit has been done for a minute. Only one song and one interlude were new this year, and I think that’s just me trying to finish the parts that follow part one, part two and part three—to be prepared for the next wave and have new music. But also, since I’ve gotten so used to these songs, I’ve gone back to them and added some things to keep them fresh.

So did the Khalid feature come after the project's initial completion?

Yeah, that was something that was recent. He joined maybe three or four weeks before we put it out, but I also had that song done in 2019, so he just added his verse. He was such a great feature and a perfect vocal for the song.

Did your team put any pressure on you to add a feature?

No, I actually planned to put this album out without features, but I also just looked at this as an introduction to a new version of me—giving people a chance to just hear me was fine with me—but Khalid ended up being the perfect fit, and became the only feature on the project.

Since you completed the project, has your time mostly been spent trying to figure out how you're actually going to present this project and the "new version of you" to the world?

Yeah, I’ve been just giving myself time to develop and go through different ideas creatively. I started filming things for the project in September of last year, so I had a lot of time to live with the music and see what it would mean visually, and to kind of rebrand. I know I was still doing the same color scheme—I've been wearing brown for the past two or three years, so it was just really easy for me to incorporate more '70s elements to match the music and really fall in love with that era. I've really been going into the style and the rhythm of it—how people were feeling and dressing [in those decades]. 

The project feels really psychedelic. I'm curious to know whether you ever took psychedelics to help with the creative process?

"Psychedelic" was one of the words I used to describe the music I wanted to make before I even made it, so I'm really pleased that comes across. I wanted to make something trippy that would take people into this other world. But I haven't experimented with any psychedelics myself. The furthest I've gone is weed, so some of the songs are marijiuana-enhanced. It's a really cool way to just relax and have some sort of freedom, to just release anxieties and be honest. If people are listening to this album on psychedelics, I wonder how it will sound to them. And also I hope sober people can listen to this and get that same feeling

Why did the date keep getting pushed back?

Initially, the album was supposed to be released on my birthday—May 1. When we were talking about that date it was mid-March, and we'd just entered the pandemic and believed that we'd probably be out of lockdown by then—we could do the release party, we could travel to New York and London by then. But seeing how the world was playing out, we thought it seemed a little insensitive and premature to release an album then, so we decided to take our time. And I'm glad we did that because that allowed us to release "Experience" with Khalid. And this most recent pushback from July 31st to August 7 is just me being a real Beyoncé fan and realizing that the internet is going to want to give her her flowers, just like I do. [Editor's note: Beyoncé's visual album Black Is King was released on July 31.] I want to be able to enjoy that day too. It's just a Beyhive respect move. I was also thinking about how Beyoncé’s album is animal-themed because of the lion king, and mine's called Jaguar. Plus, I also have releases as a songwriter on [July 31]. I have a song on Brandy's project. Then mine will come out the following week.

Something I love so much about your songwriting is how ambiguous it is. The songs on this project could either be about sexual and romantic success or your specific success as a musician. Do you see a link between the two?

Yeah, I do. I think it all comes into manifesting something for yourself. When something you've dreamed of comes true, there’s nothing but positive vibes. I think developing success and envisioning who you want to be, and being unapologetic in that process, while getting to put something out there that influences people and has an affect on them—makes me feel really, really good.

Did you write poetry before you started writing songs?

Yeah, I did. It was really brief, but that's how I got into writing. I used to love reading out loud in class, I think that was early proof of my love of performance—performing the lyrics, performing words that mean things. I definitely carried that into the songwriting.

I ask because there are millions of songs about sex, but I've never heard it being described the way you describe it on this project.

I feel that might be because I'm an only child and have a really big imagination, just being able to compare certain things—that's where it comes from. It’s not a planned thing, I just say whatever I’m thinking, then i realize that it’s something interesting after people listen.

How do you know when you've written a great song?

It takes a long time, after listening to the song over and over. If i really can’t stop listening to it then I think it’s a good song. But I also have a hard time deciding, because I’m really hard on myself too. I’m my worst critic. It’s hard for me to know when a song is done and if it’s better than I think it is. Maybe that’s a good thing, that I’ll never get big-headed about it. I just have the urge to make things better, and to always keep working.

As someone who writes songs for other people, you must be used to bringing out people's best and most interesting assets. Can you do that with your own music?

Yeah, and I think maybe even a little harder. I'm in my own brain so I'm thinking about my own thoughts—processing those thoughts. That's a part of art—figuring out what you love and what you don’t love, and making the best art from both of those places. I critique myself and try to make myself better, but I also give myself self-love and affirmation. You don't have to speak to yourself a certain way. All of it is about developing and becoming a better human.

Does asserting yourself come naturally to you?

I think, growing up I was more passive. If other people wanted to do a certain thing, even if I wanted to do something else, I’d be the one to sacrifice my own desires. But now, I've become firmer and more assertive with what I say. I'm strong and outwardly opinionated, but also willing to listen and to change my perspective. I'm more willing now to just be honest and say what I feel.

Do you know what your purpose is as an artist?

I feel like there's purpose in being an artist. Just having your experiences as an individual become something that the world can see and relate to, I feel like that's a purpose. Just giving people the opportunity to learn from your own experiences, or be inspired by them, or even join you in the feelings that you have through music. Music really has a certain influence over people that we don't even realize, from the slang we use to how we feel. We listen and it makes us wanna move. It's a language of its own. That's a way that musicians and artists and songwriters have purpose, just by communicating that language to people through song—the things that you can’t really express with words or actions.

When and how did you learn about songwriting, and all the technicalities therein?

I really just learned through trial and error. I didn't go to a music school. I mean, I took piano lessons for a really short amount of time when I was young, and at a point I could read music a little bit, but then I forgot all that and started out from scratch. I guess I just learned by listening and collaborating with other people. I've been watching and learning through touching. I could have gone to school and heard about the ways in which music is made, but I think I went to school in life instead—going through it and making things happen.

How does it feel to now work with your influences, like Brandy?

I didn’t go into the studio with her to make the song, I recorded the song at home and sent it to a friend of mine who is a producer who was working on the project. Then when she cut the song, she had me come to the studio to help record. It was a really beautiful full-circle experience, because when i first moved to L.A. I was in this girl group that was being produced by LaShawn Daniels, and he wrote all the songs for us, as well as "Full Moon" by Brandy, so just to hear her now recording something that I've written feels really beautiful. I'm so thankful because she has one of my favorite voices.

I love your mix of influences on Jaguar. You've got the wide space and textures of '70s soul couching those ‘90s Janet harmonics. How did you bring those two sounds together?

I brought some of my influences to the producer—specifically ‘70s influences—and was like, let's try and dig into this sound, by suggesting horn lines and string melodies and stuff. But i don't really have a classic ‘70s voice so i think that's where the ‘90s, the era I grew up in, is most prominent. You can hear my direct influences. I heard Janet growing up, I heard Beyoncé all the time. Not that i didn't hear ‘60s and ‘70s music too, because that's what my grandmother was listening to, but as far as vocalists and performers, ‘90s artists were the ones I was gravitating towards. I try to explore through melody choices as well, but I think that's where the combination of influences comes in. I like that. I don't think I’ve ever heard that combo either—a really on the nose ‘70s reference with a classic ‘90s R&B sound.

Is that how you assert yourself as an artist in your own right, by taking a little bit from all your influences?

It’s not something I even think about. I think of those artists as my parents. They’re in my DNA, because I’ve been so absorbed in what they’ve done throughout my entire life. It feels like a natural thing. Even when I just think I’m being myself, people are like, "You sound like Janet, you speak like Janet." I’m really not thinking about the mathematics of how to put stuff together, it just flows out that way because it’s what made me. I just want to be myself and let other people decide what they hear that’s familiar, because I think that lets people relate. I'm fine with all the comparisons, but in the studio, I'm not calculating what I'm going to bring to the table.

Are you going to take a backseat from writing songs for others to focus more on your own art and more projects like Jaguar?

I'm always in the middle of writing stuff for other people, while keeping my mind open for myself too. I already have a Jaguar part II and Jaguar III. The tracklist is already there but I'll probably be adding or changing things, because for me, nothing is finished until it comes out. So now I'm thinking about and working on the projects to follow that, so I just wanna be extra prepared, and really advance the timeframe so i can always have the next thing ready, while putting out new releases, so that there won't be a huge lull.

Do you ever take breaks from music at all?

Oh yeah. This pandemic has been the break for me. It's really forced me to sit down. People aren't making as much music and there isn't as much studio time, so there's a lot more in between time to just be a human, which I appreciate. I’m taking this as a refresher, then I’ll be back when the world comes back, although i don't think the world will ever be quite the same.

Do you feel hope for the future and your success as an artist in your own right?

Yeah, I do, and I feel really excited to just be able to share these parts of myself with the world, while not trying to put too much pressure on expectations, but of course I do want the accolades. I have GRAMMY dreams, I have award show performance dreams, I have world tour dreams. But really just being able to make music a career, and doing what I love—it’s a privilege. I think I’m just trying to keep that perspective, because you can really become wrapped up in this.

If your expectations fall short, is there a chance you might become cynical?

No, I dont think I’ll feel any kind of spite. This already feels like a dream and an opportunity to celebrate, considering where I’ve come from and how long it’s taken for me to get to where I am today. I’m not taking any of the current success for granted and I’m definitely not comparing my artist career to anybody that I’ve written for. It wouldn't be fair to me. I'm just really happy to be where I am. That's the kind of fulfillment that I want—not constantly comparing myself to others, and looking at where I am on the charts. If I get that kind of success I’ll be happy of course, but I won’t define my success on those things. I'm just trying to find the success in happiness.

You're clearly a very nice person, but have people in the music industry treated you as kindly in return?

Well, I try to surround myself with people who I really feel connected to, so I think I’ve been pretty good at protecting myself from any of the darker energies. As a person, I run from that—whether that’s friendships or professional relationships. I separate myself from that darkness quite naturally. So I think that everyone I do surround myself with is very nice, but I’m also very aware that I am in the music industry, which is kind of like a mafia, with the contracts and how things work. You know, contractually speaking, I've definitely been through the wire and have had hard times getting myself into certain deals, just because I love to do this. So, I've learned my lessons and I think on a day-to-day basis, I’m surrounded by a really great team. I love that most of them are women, by the way, but every single person on my team is someone that I really love. I feel surrounded by light, and maybe other people can’t say the same, but this is after years of trial and error. Now, I think I have the perfect group of women around me to take this thing where I want it to go. We’re all good people, so it makes me really excited to do this with them.

Oulala, It's Mannywellz: The Nigerian-Born Artist Talks New Music, Jesus And DACA

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Tayla Parx

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Records

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Tayla Parx On Ariana Grande Album, Solo Work thank-u-next-chapter-grammy-nominated-singer-songwriter-tayla-parx-writing-ariana

Thank U, Next Chapter: GRAMMY-Nominated Singer-Songwriter Tayla Parx On Writing With Ariana Grande, Going Solo & More

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The songwriting powerhouse, who has also penned tracks for Jennifer Lopez, Janelle Monáe and Mariah Carey, is nominated for her contributions to Grande's 'Thank U, Next' at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards
J'na Jefferson
GRAMMYs
Jan 13, 2020 - 12:01 pm

At 26 years old, Tayla Parx has solidified her spot as an industry force, thanks to her songwriting accomplishments on the pop, rock and R&B fronts. She began penning hits for superstars like Jennifer Lopez, Fifth Harmony and Mariah Carey as early as 2013, and since then, she’s added Alicia Keys, BTS and Anderson. Paak to her roster of clientele. When it comes to thematics, she's not a one-trick pony—her songs feature concepts pertaining to following your dreams (Panic! At The Disco's "High Hopes"), relationships and trust ("Love Lies" by Khalid and Normani) and female empowerment (Meghan Trainor's "Woman Up"), to name a few.

In 2018, she garnered recognition from The Recording Academy for her contributions to Janelle Monáe's Album Of The Year-nominated project Dirty Computer. Her work in 2019 with close friend Ariana Grande on her smash-hit LP Thank U, Next resulted in another GRAMMY nomination for the 62nd annual ceremony's biggest honor. She provided her lauded songwriting assists on "Needy," "NASA," "Make Up," "Ghostin," the album’s title track and "7 Rings," which is also up for Best Pop Solo Performance and Record Of The Year.

2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees List

A triple-threat by design (many may remember her as the spunky, scene-stealing Little Inez Stubbs alongside Queen Latifah in 2007's "Hairspray"), Parx released her debut studio album We Need To Talk in April 2019. Encapsulated by addicting production that plucks inspiration from pop, R&B, reggae and more, the 15-song project finds Parx stepping into the light and developing her identity as a sweetly ferocious vocalist. Aside from being a steadily rising figure in music, Parx works tirelessly to assist other songwriters and creatives in their self-care journeys through her latest venture, Camp Burnout. 

We recently caught up with the GRAMMY-nominated artist to hear more about her songwriting successes, her solo project and more.

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

How did growing up on the acting scene help you approach music and songwriting? 

Well, coming from the world of acting taught me two things. First of all, it taught me work ethic, you know what I'm saying? It was instilled very young because the schedule of an actress is completely different than the schedule of a musician. There is no being "an hour late" or "30 minutes behind," because it obviously costs a lot more money. [Laughs.] So, it taught me that type of work mentality first. 

The other thing that I learned, later on, was the fact that, when I listened to these artists' stories, eventually it [would] become my own story. It was like you were kind of acting, and you were becoming them. It's like method acting, and when you take every emotion that [the artist] has and break it down, it's like, "Okay, if I were you, I would say it like this," which is essentially what acting is. I realized later on that [this is] the way that I connect to artists. Any time you're writing for somebody, you want to make sure that you're being authentic to them. You're saying you love somebody the way that they would say that, versus how you would personally say it. It's all about getting out of your head and really paying attention, and soaking up this other person. 

From my understanding, your songwriting gifts weren't really discovered until later—​after the acting, after the singing. When did you realize for yourself that this was another gift that you possessed and something that you could take far? 

I think the writing portion of my career kind of started off out of necessity. I was so young and was so wrapped up in the acting world, that [songwriting] was something that I had a lot to prove when I came back with it. I [had] to come back around and prove that I deserved to be in these studios, and show that music is where it all started for me. I [didn't] want to act anymore outside of voiceover, I really wanted to find myself as a musician. 

My dad used to always tell me that I should never want to be an artist that had to rely on somebody to write their songs for them. So, he encouraged me to pick [songwriting] up. I started off like any other kid—writing in my bedroom. I would literally be engineering and writing and was this one-woman show until I was able to get into the different rooms and start to learn from other people. 

What does it feel like to have a nomination for the biggest award of the night for what was such a therapeutic project for your friend, Ariana Grande? 

It feels incredible, simply because [Thank U, Next] is more than just a song and album at this point. Anytime you're helping somebody go through their history and it's something so genuine to them, I think it's more than the numbers that it does in that way. It becomes this moment in history for you—when do you remember making that song? Why did you make it? Why it was necessary for that artist? That's more of an experience. 

When Ariana started to discuss some of the things she was hoping to do with this project, did you have a feeling that it was going to be different than her other projects in terms of content? In terms of impact? 

I definitely assumed that it would be something different and unique because of the fact that she just seemed like she was in a different mindset. We hadn't worked in years before that, and to see her from a fresh perspective as somebody that that wasn't as close as some of her usual collaborators, I think that it allowed us to just approach the project differently and have fun, and she was already approaching it in an unconventional way. I think that it was a recipe for innovation. 

For her to approach it in that way of saying, “F**k all of the rules, it doesn't matter that I just put out a project, it doesn't matter that I might be considered a "pop star…'" The only thing that mattered in that time was getting out authentic music in the studio. She wasn't like, "We're gonna make an album," she just needed to get it out. The best way to do that for her is through music.

From a personal standpoint, did working on Thank U, Next help you in any way?

I think the best part about this project is [that] it reinforced how I always approach music: work with people that you enjoy working with. I think that sometimes, a lot of writers and producers will get caught up in what everybody else is doing, whatever hits that everybody else [tries to] achieve on the radio. It becomes this frenzy, and you forget the type of music you enjoy making and the people that you enjoy making it with. [The title track] really became one of my favorite songs, one of my favorite experiences in my entire songwriting career, and [the album] is one of the biggest albums that I've worked on. That proved to me that I could have my cake and eat it too—I can have success doing the things that I want to do as a writer and producer. 

You have a new album out called We Need To Talk. When you're working with so many people behind-the-scenes, there are a couple of apprehensions that come with stepping into the spotlight as your own person. Did you have any fears about putting out your first project since your 2017 mixtape?

When I dropped the Tayla Made mixtape, it was my first kind of opportunity to say, "Hey look, I’m either going to go for it, or just stay behind the scenes as a songwriter," because I really enjoy that. After the tape, there was something about me that was like, "I still have more of a story to tell, and there's still not a way that I hear this perspective to these types of beats and in this type of language." I feel like We Need To Talk was something that came so naturally. 

At first, it was very, very scary. Obviously, [songwriters] are this muse that people don't see, it’s like the curtain is being pulled. I think that's probably the biggest fear that most people have, but once I got over that fear and anxiety and just said, "You know what? I'm not going to be afraid anymore," I just started to be more open about discovering my story. You can listen to [the album] from the front to the end, but you can also just bump whatever song relates to you. I'm telling you my story, this is what has happened in the past few months or a year. We Need To Talk was me really discovering myself in a way that I hadn't before. It was perfect timing for me because I'm also allowing myself—somebody who’s been working since I was nine years old—to live my life. I've been just living my best life these days and really discovering who I am. 

You also have a tour coming up to support the album. So what are some of the things that you're looking forward to? 

The most exciting thing is getting my own vision out there on that stage, and really being able to create my world. It's different when you're opening up for artists because I have to respect that that's somebody else's show, and you're here to also to be a part of that, which is amazing in its own right. But now this time, I get to say, "This is how I want my stage to look, and this sound, the lighting…" and I'm really excited to show people how it adds to the experience of listening to the album.

You have a camp for songwriters and creatives that focuses on self-care called Camp Burnout. Burnout is not just with working and writing—​burnout can mean feeling like no one is really paying attention to your work or valuing your effort, your time, and your talents. How are you able to nurture yourself and focus on making sure your mental health is on point? 

It’s just self-accountability. It should be easy to say, "Hey, I deserve to take care of myself." I started to discover myself and really reassess my own life... I find new hobbies all the time. I find new ways to keep inspiring myself. I learned how to bake a cake one day, or I cook a few times a week. There's a million different things that you can find that will inspire you. [Self-care] became something that went from "I enjoy doing it," to me realizing that this is a necessity amongst the entire creative community. 

What is the importance of being multifaceted and having the gift of working with so many people regardless of genre? 

[Laughs.] I think that the funny thing about this is that all music comes from around one or two genres if you really know about the evolution of music, right? So, once you become a student of music, you realize that you can allow [yourself] to be open to not being put into a box, a genre box. That's what the evolution of music is: a mixture of genres that just happen to lead to a new one. It's definitely interesting to be able to go on that adventure and continue to break these boundaries.

I've kind of gone away from saying "What is mainstream?" and "What is cool to other people?" to "What is cool to me?" Genre does not matter, it never has. If you're really pushing yourself as a songwriter, you can write any genre. You can be a sponge and you can co-create, and write anything bigger than a genre. It's all lyric and melody. 

What are some of your biggest aspirations for 2020 besides getting that GRAMMY win? 

Besides the GRAMMY win, My biggest aspirations for 2020 are killing it on tour, and really getting to see each and every one of my fans, vibe with them and perform live with them.

Then the other thing is that my publishing company (Parx Publishing) has been doing really well. My writers and my producers are killing it, they have so many records coming out that are changing their lives, and for me to be a part of that is beautiful. I want to continue to instill what I'm instilling with them: that publishing and the music industry in general is going in a new way. If you can be creative enough, it can work in your favor. 

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Ariana Grande To Perform At 2020 GRAMMY Awards On Jan. 26

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Yellow Days

Photo by Frank Felber

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Yellow Days Finds The Funk (And Gets Out Of One) yellow-days-george-van-den-broek-finds-funk-and-gets-out-one-day-yellow-beat

Yellow Days' George Van Den Broek Finds The Funk (And Gets Out Of One) On 'A Day In A Yellow Beat'

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GRAMMY.com talks to the indie-funk pioneer about his sprawling sophomore effort, which features generation-spanning guest appearances from Shirley Jones, Bishop Nehru and Mac DeMarco
John Norris
GRAMMYs
Sep 22, 2020 - 8:44 am

"They don’t want you to say what you want to say…but you got to be free!"

George van den Broek doesn’t mince words. Right out of the gate, on "Be Free," the opening track of A Day In A Yellow Beat, his second album as Yellow Days, the 21-year-old U.K. singer and songwriter makes it clear that he’s going to do things his way, and more than ever, he has. The result is thrilling.

His musical gifts are no news to anyone who’s followed the soul prodigy since his come-up four years ago, when, as a teenager working out of a garden shed-turned-studio in Haslemere, Surrey, he crafted Yellow Days’ debut EP, Hidden Melodies, and a first album, Is Everything Okay In Your World? Marrying a love of jazz, soul and the blues—Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, and personal hero Ray Charles were early influences—with a Gen Z teen’s honest, poetic bouts with depression, anxiety, heartache and ennui, songs like "A Little While," "The Way Things Change," "A Bag of Dutch" (weed was a recurring muse, too) and "A Gap in the Clouds" resonated with disaffected youth. With R&B legends as inspirations and voice that often sounded well beyond his years, Yellow Days offered a fresh take on classic sounds. It was something to hear, and see—as sold-out crowds on several continents did. At the end of the day, though, save for a few players and producer Tom Henry, the project was, creatively, George, alone. But a new vision for Yellow Days soon developed—something more ambitious, collaborative, and as George began to discover the grooves of 1970s Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Weldon Irvine, funky. 

Which brings us to A Day In A Yellow Beat, a sprawling sophomore full-length that in scale, sound and mood is on an entirely different level to those moving but modest garden shed creations, and will challenge any notions of Yellow Days as an unassuming indie-soul project, forever caught up in melancholy feels. The new album is being released on Columbia Records, partly because it takes behemoth Sony Music’s money to make an LP as ambitious as this one: 23 tracks recorded over two years in two cities—London and Los Angeles—with dual teams of seasoned musicians bringing the funk and soul heat, plus multiple engineers and production collaborators, all overseen by a musician who only this year turned 21.

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That a major label allowed a Zoomer who in the digital age really ought to be sitting at a computer making cost-effective music and staying in his lane to instead sow his musical oats like the old cats did half a century ago, at considerable expense, is a testament to Columbia’s faith in George's talent, a faith that has paid off beautifully. A Day In A Yellow Beat is an expansive ride that is not pastiche revivalism, but rather George's own modern addition to the legacy of funk, disco, jazz fusion and soul. There’s romance (the breezy "Let You Know," the wah-wah of a "drugged up ballad," "You"), a sexy, spacey jam ("Keeps Me Satisfied"), a dancefloor gem (“Love Is Everywhere”) and generation-spanning guest appearances: Shirley Jones, of '70s R&B trio The Jones Sisters, on three tracks; Bishop Nehru, on "!," an unlikely stoner rap track; and George’s do-anything inspiration, indie-rock everyman Mac DeMarco, playing guitar on highlight "The Curse."

Most of all, though, the new album delivers positivity. Even as he explored funk, George also emerged from one. That "Gap In The Clouds" he sang about through dark times in 2016 has given way to full beams of sunshine: you won’t hear a record this year that is more start-to-finish unrelentingly upbeat. The song titles alone are those of a man on a mission of optimism: "Keep Yourself Alive," "Let’s Be Good To Each Other," "Open Your Eyes" and "Love Is Everywhere." "It’s bout time I broke out this funk," he croons on "The Curse"; on "I Don’t Mind" he carries a "little bag of sunshine / just to keep those clouds away"; and the most full-throated statement of peace of mind comes in "Getting Closer": "It’s been a long time/ It’s been a while/ Since I spent the whole day/ With a smile," he sings. George calls it a track about "getting over a hump in life," and an "unapologetic ode to positivity and better days ahead."

There may be cynics greeting all this cheer—there always are—and George acknowledges as much on "Let’s Be Good To Each Other." But Yellow Days, for here and for now, is about peace, and offering something to hang onto. "You have to give them hope," the late, great Harvey Milk famously said. And in a year in which hope has often seemed in short supply, we’ll take it—especially when it’s delivered in as fun and funky a musical package as this.

George and I talked at length about A Day In A Yellow Beat, over two Face Time calls—one found him at an airport in Berlin and a second at a studio in London where he and his band, along with U.K. soul singer Lynda Dawn, were rehearsing a soon-to-be-filmed gig showcasing this electrifying, inspiring new album. 

George, I was gonna start by asking what is different about this impending release as compared to the last two. But then I thought—between the sound, the size, the expense, the guests, the locations, this COVID year, no tour—I guess pretty much everything is different?

Definitely. I would agree entirely. It’s been a transformation for me! I mean, I have now had a few years to write and to travel and to tour, and to be inspired. And I think those two years had a big effect on me, and I think coming back with this record, I think that people can hear that. I’ve signed my big deal, I’m hooked up with all these players, and I’m coming at it from a slightly older perspective. And my writing’s got better, my playing’s got better. I’ve been listening to Marvin, to my Curtis, listening to Al Green! I’ve just been so inspired by '70s fusion acts like Don Blackman and Weldon Irvine. And so all those things cumulatively have kind of caused this kind of change. But I think you can still hear me within it.

Doing something of this size, coming from a mostly D.I.Y. situation before—had you always had dreams of something on this level?

I toured the first two records for like two years, and we were just kind of surfing away having fun. And I think I became very ambitious from touring. I think maybe sitting and watching other acts, in their headline slots, and sitting back and thinking, "You know, I could write songs that put us up there." You know what I mean? I think I was sitting up there and I got very hungry, and ambitious. And I think you can hear that on this thing. I think that I am kind of amping myself up, firing myself up for something in a way that I haven’t done.

So the record began in London?

Yeah, with this fantastic producer called Blue May, he’s worked with Kindness, other people. He's a great guy, and a real gear head, knows analog gear in the studio. It was at Konk Studios in London, which is actually owned by The Kinks. I can’t remember which one of The Kinks, but so I used to see him kind of wandering around the studio. We would kind of bump into each other, and yeah he’s a real interesting character…

Ray? Or Dave?

I think it was…Ray? But anyway that was incredible, and it was his studio so we were using all his kind of stuff. And I mean he didn’t know who the hell I was—I was just that goofy kid smoking weed and running around the studio!

So you did the Konk sessions and is that kind of how it went, and then Blue moved to L.A. and then you ended up migrating to Los Angeles?

That’s correct. I love Blue, but he left me in a fairly sticky situation, moved from London to Los Angeles, which definitely added six months onto our plan, you know?

And so we had to re-approach. And funnily enough we ended up going with an American producer called Mike Malchicoff. And me and Mike just kind got on like a house on fire. I think it’s important to note that Blue and Mike, both of them took a very like old-school engineer approach, which I think really helped anchor the whole thing.

There's this beautifully designed booklet that comes with the record, and the care you take to actually offer some nice thoughts in there about each and every person on this near-30-person production, down to the engineer's assistant. It’s very thoughtful and, I think, too rare.

Definitely, man. You know, one thing for me—I am a self-taught musician. I’ve kind of come out of nowhere. I didn’t go to school for it, I didn’t train or anything, and I’m sitting with these amazing jazzers, and they respect me for what I do, because they know I can write. So, we kind of complete each other, and we had a great time. And I think I’ve been introduced to the L.A. community, a bit of London, a bit of New York. And I just love these people, and respect them so much. And they inspire me massively. And I am trying to do what other people don’t do right now, and kind of put them out there

Was there a difference between the London players and the L.A. ones, in terms of performance?

Definitely, I would say the U.K. players are incredibly authentic, incredibly vibe-y, and they have a great sound. But I would say there is something about the L.A. players where there is just a funkiness. That’s what I would say is the difference. I would say my U.K. players bring hold down such a warm, authentic, almost like maybe a '60s sound, or '70s. But the guys in L.A., they’ve just got the funk. It’s as simple as that. They’ve got the pocket and the feel—cause they’ve been playing on like, disco and stuff.

I imagine you learned a lot.

Oh yeah, I am a bit of a sponge. Just being around people like that, who’ve played with Kanye, Nas, Frank Ocean, Mark Ronson—they just change things. Just spending an evening playing with these guys, it’s something else. Because they come with so much authenticity, so much passion, so much talent. And for me, who’s a young musician who’s just progressing, they have helped me unlock so much and see beyond so many hurdles.

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It’s not every 19, 20-year-old who can get Columbia Records to sign on to a project that is this ambitious. How did that happen?

So the story is, my A&R from my very first deal [Scott Jason], he got a job over at Sony/Columbia, and we definitely were looking to sign a big deal and all the rest of it, but he came through and said, “Look guys, I’m here. Why don’t you come hijack the system with me, and we can take this thing for a ride? See what happens?"

So did you go into Sony and say, "Look, this is the kind of record I want to make. I am not going back to the garden shed, folks." Were you that blunt about it?

Definitely! Yeah I think I had to be, there were times when I had to say, "Look, this is it," you know. It kind progressed, honestly, though. It kind of was a long journey, to doing it. And really as things became clear exactly how it was gonna go, I’d say it was about one year before everyone was booked in and they were with me on this funky thing. I had to work harder as well. But I think musically, and in terms of production, I think the extra work has paid off massively. Because I’ve been doing this whole thing based on trying to pioneer something. That’s been the bottom line for me, is trying to bring a new sound. I’m not trying to recreate something that exists; it’s more an idea of trying to pioneer, trying push a genre in a new direction—to continue the story.

I mean you pretty much lay it all out there in "Be Free"—it’s kind of a shot across the bow of anyone who’s gonna try and tell you what to do.

Exactly. That was the most important thing for me was making that statement, straight away. You know, to them and to everybody, because creatively, you have to be free. There’s no two ways about it.

There are some amazing guests on here: Shirley Jones, kind of an unsung R&B legend; and you’ve got Bishop Nehru on "!" which, I have to say, I wasn’t prepared for a rap track in the middle of this funk 'n soul album!

Well, Shirley is just such an amazing lady. I started digging into The Jones Girls a few years ago, discovering them, and she is carrying the torch for her sisters who sadly have passed away in the time since they stopped making records. But Shirley has  been a huge inspiration to me. And then Nehru, we actually haven’t met because of this crazy lockdown—that was all done online. But there is such stamina to the way he raps, a young guy, but another one kind of carrying the torch, for hip-hop. And I just wanted to bring some Cypress Hill-type stoner beat, some "green energy" to the record.

And then of course there's Mac [DeMarco], who turns up on "The Curse" and who I know to be one of the nicest dudes in music. He was also a longtime hero, right?

For sure. I remember when I was a kid, like 11, watching the family computer, I was on YouTube, and there was a video for "My Kind Of Woman" [2012] and he was running around naked, and cross-dressing, all this stuff, and I was just a kid but I remember looking at it and thinking, "Wow, yeah, this is incredible. This guy represents everything I want to pursue in life." Like, he cared so little what people think and he was so sure of himself. And I remember thinking, "Yeah. This is it." And that was my moment with him. So to think that years later we’d become friends, I’ve opened shows for him, and to think that I would be sitting with him making music with him is just crazy.

Apart from the musical shift, I think some people who kind of thought they knew what Yellow Days was about will also be surprised at the happiness and positivity that kind of radiates from the record.

It’s definitely just a peaceful time for me, and I think it’s funny—you know, you talk about people not expecting this to be what Yellow Days is about. I think Yellow Days is whatever the hell I do! And I think anyone who says different is crazy, you know? But it’s funny, there is a real thing about that with kids at the moment, where they just can’t get their head around that someone does one thing and then they want to do another thing. You know you hear artists saying that all the time. You know, "I just wanted to try this, do that, and the kids are like.." with Mac they’ll say, "Where’s Salad Days?" or with Tyler [the Creator], "Where’s Wolf?" You know? It’s always the same. But yeah. I took inspiration from The Beatles, you know? Where on every single record they would reinvent themselves and progress and be inspired by a new thing.

For me there’s nothing more kind of blissed-out than "Getting Closer." And I love the way you described it as "an unapologetic ode to positivity and better days ahead."

That’s right.

So my only question about that is, why you use the word "unapologetic"? To me that suggesst that you anticipate there might be people going, "Why’s he so happy all of a sudden? What’s he got to be so happy about?"

Yeah yeah—that’s exactly the crux of it. It’s, you know, the expectation that people won’t be enamored with it. But no, I think "Getting Closer" is, to date, one of my most positive tracks ever. I was having a conversation with my manager, we were talking about it and looking back, and I think probably "Baked In the Sunshine" and "Gap In the Clouds" were maybe the only kind of feel-good tracks I had ever written to date, before this record. But to me, I’m not concerning myself with those kinds of things. The truth is, I’ve gone through spouts of depression and mental illness, since I was, you know, 14, 13. It’s just who I am. And I’m lucky to have had a girlfriend—we’re best friends—who has been there with me this whole time. But this is a good time.

Your honesty about that depression obviously connected with a lot of young fans. In 2018, you told VICE about a girl who told you she didn’t kill herself specifically because of Yellow Days music. That’s a lot. Are songs like "Keep Yourself Alive" meant for those people?

Definitely. It’s a message to them, and I think it’s a message to uninspired musicians—you know, those musicians who can’t quite finish that EP, or musicians who really need to work on stuff, or feel like, "Oh I really want to do this, but I just can’t write that song"—who are having trouble writing. And also to people in my life—to my girl, as well. You know, like saying, "Keep yourself alive, life’s just begun" kind of thing. You know, like, "Don’t get disheartened. You’ve only just started."

That’s a sentiment echoed by Shirley at the end of “Getting Closer” when she says, "Life may be tough, children. But don’t give up now! It’s only just begun." And I know you’ve said before that Yellow Days is a project for the youth, but as someone who is, let’s say, no longer a youth… I can tell you that your messages resonate with older people as well!

Yeah, I would genuinely say it’s for anyone who’s alive right now. Because we’re all subject to the craziness of this 21st century world, you know? No matter how old you are. And I think my crowds—they vary in age. We see all kinds of ages come through. Because we’re all living in a world where there is a camera looking at us on our phone all day long, a world where celebrity culture and reality TV is more prevalent than ever, where there’s a synthesis of everything, and corporate greed? There’s a lot to be worried about. And people are full of thoughts and anxiety, and nothing to do with them. I think we’re all in the same boat, you know?

I think the mind is an incredible thing. I think we’re all really lucky to have the most complex thing known in the universe, sitting inside our skull. And we live in a world that is completely overstimulating this beautiful organ, and we’re all struggling. But I think you have to express mindfulness, and there’s no better way to do that than to listen to some soul music. So that’s what I’m here trying to do.

Yellow Days’ A Day In a Yellow Beat was released Sept. 18. George and the band will tour the U.K and Europe beginning in March, and, COVID permitting, North America after that.

With A New Single, "Freckles," And Upcoming Album 'Pity Party,' Curtis Waters' Year Only Gets More "Stunnin'"

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Curtis Waters' Year Only Gets More "Stunnin'" new-single-freckles-and-upcoming-album-pity-party-curtis-waters-year-only-gets-more

With A New Single, "Freckles," And Upcoming Album 'Pity Party,' Curtis Waters' Year Only Gets More "Stunnin'"

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The TikTok-famous performer reflects on his smash-hit year and looks ahead to what's next
John Norris
GRAMMYs
Sep 1, 2020 - 9:04 am

Four years ago, a heavily depressed 16-year-old Nepali immigrant living in Calgary named Abhi Bastakoti was told by his grandmother to hang in there, because she had looked at his future, and had a feeling his life would take a turn. She even made a prediction: that her grandson's best year would come at age 20.

That’s the kind of woman you want picking your lottery numbers. Because four years later, only months after turning 20, Bastakoti’s ship came in. Under his artist name Curtis Waters, he became one of this challenging year’s breakout stars. When most of the world had gone into COVID quarantine, he expertly employed the viral powers of TikTok to tease out the impending release of "Stunnin'"—a sly, raunchy, hilarious and insanely catchy two-and-a-half minute collaboration with Canadian pals Harm Franklin and Declan Hoy that has, no cap, changed Waters' life.

The star-making powers of TikTok were on full display when those teasers caught fire, priming the pump for the May release of the song, which was a monster. "Stunnin'"s numbers lived up to its name: 700,000 streams a day by early summer; 70 million plays on Spotify alone as of late August; hundreds of thousands of TikTokers have posted their own clips to the song, including platform superstar Dixie D’Amelio; and an irresistible D.I.Y. music video featuring a tux-clad Curtis busting some moves and a cameo from his younger brother Albert has, to date, 11.6 million views.

To borrow one of "Stunnin'"s lyrics, Curtis busted quick, and sure enough, the labels came circling. Even before the song's release, based solely on the TikTok buzz, industry players waved lots of deals with lots of zeros. But rather than opt for a quick payout from people who, Waters sensed, were more interested in a dozen more "Stunnin'"s than in the totality of what he wanted to do as an artist, he and manager Chris Anokute (an industry vet, former A&R for Katy Perry and Joss Stone, and the founder of Young Forever Inc.) opted for a more artist-friendly license-only deal with BMG.

Waters soon proved himself much more than that one viral hit, with two summertime follow-up singles, each dramatically different from "Stunnin'"s horny flex. In June there was "System"—a pugilistic, electro-punk indictment of both music biz commodification of artists and the cancer of racial injustice that America was once again confronting with the killing of George Floyd; followed by July's "The feelings tend to stay the same," a shimmery, sentimental pop reflection on a college romance that had to end, with a misty, Wes Anderson-worthy video to match.

Now Curtis, who says he loves upending genres and "pushing boundaries," adds yet another chapter to an eclectic image, in the new single "Freckles." The first taste of Waters' upcoming album Pity Party is a bright and tender ode to a survivor, and it was the first song that made Anokute interested in working with Waters. The manager happened across it via an algorithm in February, when both "Freckles" and the entire album were briefly online (Pity Party was soon taken down, but gets its official release next month).

"I think it probably says more about me than 'Stunnin'' to be honest,” says Waters of "Freckles," which was born out of a friendship with a girl he met when he was in a mental hospital, and her determination to carry on in the face of numerous traumas. The artist's own mental health struggles have long informed his music. He's been making beats since he was 14, started making songs for himself a few years after that, and a visit to his Soundcloud page reveals plenty of earlier songs that vary wildly, from trap to straight pop-punk—including a first album, 2018’s Prom Night—which, despite being consistently upbeat and often funny, mine themes of depression, anxiety and inadequacy.

Waters was born in Nepal, moved to Germany at 4, Canada at 10 and North Carolina at 17, where in 2019 he was diagnosed as bipolar. That led to a slippery slope of over-medication and a sabbatical from college—a chapter of his life that will be chronicled on Pity Party. He hopes his candor about those struggles will reach other young people in similar situations, and it’s one topic we touched on with him over Zoom in mid-August. Also discussed: his conservative parents (academics with multiple degrees) and what they make of his rawer lyrics; the glory of the Smashing Pumpkins’ "1979"; the complexity of Curtis’ musical hero Kanye West; and Waters' challenging musical ambitions, which go far beyond "Stunnin'."

Congratulations, man! What a crazy last few months it's been for you, and what a year for it to happen in.

Thanks! It’s only been I guess, six months?

I saw you tweet the other day, "Usually I wake up so anxious but lately I have felt so f**king good, waking up every day excited to make music."

And I have been making a lot of music too!

In one of the Nepali papers this summer you said, "I see myself as more of a producer who knows how to make myself sound good," rather than a great singer or rapper.

Yeah. I only started making music for myself when I was 17, with vocals? But I’ve kind of finessed my way into knowing how to produce really well over the years. And I’m getting better at singing. I want to challenge myself to make more acoustic, stripped-down almost folk-type songs too. But so far it’s just been like—I wake up every day and I make like five beats a day. I’m just always working on stuff. So I don’t think I am an amazing singer by any means, but I think I’m—I kind of know how to write songs, and I know how to make cool stuff. You know what I mean?

Having a breakthrough year in this crazy pandemic year—it’s got to be great and a little weird. But you said your grandma predicted this would be the year for you back when you were 16?

Yeah. I was going through a really difficult time. I had left high school because of my depression. And I was just looking for hope. And I was talking to my mom, and my mom told my grandma without really telling me, and my grandma went and saw a fortune teller. And for years I wasn’t religious or superstitious, so it was hard for me to be like, "Oh, things are gonna work out one day.” But she said 20 will be the year where I start finding happiness, and things will really start looking up. It was always this like self-fulfilling prophecy where I was like working really hard to making sure something would happen by the age of 20. But then also knowing something would happen because my grandma said so.

Since "Freckles" is the new single, tell me about that one first and we'll work our way backwards. It was the first song Chris [Anokute] heard and made him want to work with you?

Yeah, a hundred per cent. I don’t think Chris ever really cared for "Stunnin'," to be honest. It’s not his type of song. Honestly, even for me "Stunnin'" is—it’s a fun song? But I don’t really listen to music like that most of the time. I mean, of course it’s been awesome for me because I get to live out my dreams. But "Freckles" was a song that I had my heart in.

You had posted "Freckles" online early this year, before "Stunnin',” along with the whole Pity Party album, and then took it down?

Yeah, from the very beginning I was like, "Okay I don’t have any industry connections, but I know my music and is gonna get slept on and I don’t know what to do about this. I made this entire album in my bedroom, mixed and mastered, everything, but I just don’t know how to get it out there." And you know I would send it to these A&Rs, these label people, and finally I was like, "F**k waiting." I knew in my heart it was amazing, thought people were gonna love it and whatever happens, happens. And it kind of did happen. Chris found me randomly, just really naturally because of a Soundcloud algorithm, he heard the record and just loved it so much.

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"Freckles" is sweet, but there is this intense line about "Band-aids on your arm/ Your scars they remind me/ All that you’ve been through/ But you’re still here smiling." Is there a story behind it?

Yeah the whole album kind of started because I was in a mental hospital and I was diagnosed with bipolar [disorder], and then I came back home. And it relates because this girl I met in this mental hospital, I reconnected with her, maybe like six months after I came back home? And she was just telling me about traumatic things that were happening, but like the whole time we hung out, it was such a pleasant conversation. She was just so strong, and so happy. And so much happened in her life, but she still had such a positive mindset. She was like, "I’m gonna become a flight attendant," and she was just excited about her future.

And another girl was at the heart of your recent single "The feelings tend to stay the same"—which may be the most sentimental thing you’ve put out. Definitely a world away from "Stunnin'."

What’s interesting is for me, now—I’m sort of playing catch-up. Because people are finally hearing the stuff from the album, and I’m already thinking about what’s next, right? So people are discovering "The feelings tend to stay the same," whereas really that’s what I was feeling back like a year ago, when I wrote it. But that song is probably the best look into where I am most right now—emotionally.

And it’s got this great video out on a lake, in a field…

Yeah that was in the park around where I live. My brother’s in it, and my friend Fallon that I went to prom with in high school, and my friend Jailyn from college. So it was easy, because it was all friends.

Speaking of high school friends, I actually retweeted you recently when you talked about your love for the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979"— which is truly one of my favorite songs of all time.

Oh, I love that song!

So great. It’s such a quintessential teen-years song. I told [Billy] Corgan years ago that as far as I’m concerned that song is so perfect it would be like "Drop the mic, I’m done" after writing that.

I love that video too. I want to capture—that’s what I want my music to be. Like, what I feel when I listen to that, that’s what I want. It’s like—I know how to make beats, I know how to do this, right? But I’ve been making more stuff like that recently, for sure. Regardless of sonics and stuff, that’s the emotion I want to really hone in on.

You’ve been really open about your mental health and being diagnosed as bipolar. Do you still have high highs and low lows?

This year I’ve controlled it. I’ve controlled it way better. I mean I am a stable guy, for sure. But like when I was younger, it was really hard. Even when I was writing this album it was really hard. But at this point—I hope nothing goes wrong where I go completely off the track again? But I am in a good spot for sure, at this point.

No celebrity has been more open in recent months about his own bipolar condition than one of your personal musical heroes, Kanye West. What are your thoughts on his artistry, his openness about that side of his life and his more divisive political involvements?

It's hard. You idolize certain people, and then at the end of the day they're just like you. And that can sometimes be good, and other times you can realize they’re just as flawed, or just as incoherent, or they’re just winging it. I don’t know. All I can really say is I hope he finds happiness. I hope he finds stability. Sometimes I just feel like, none of this shit matters. Just be with your family, be happy, be healthy, you know? But he’s changed my life, with his honesty. And the thing about honesty is, you’re not always gonna like it, right? I don't agree with everything he says. I don’t support a lot of things he says. But I can’t ignore how much [he] impacted my way of thinking and my life, and how it liberated me, creatively and as a human, growing up.

Who knows if we would be here talking if it weren’t for "Stunnin'." So much has been said about the TikTok campaign. But what do you remember about that song coming together? It was your friend Declan [Hoy] who did the beats?

Yeah he sent me the original beat, and I played the chords on it, and I rapped on it, and I did the chorus and I rearranged it and all that stuff. Usually I make the beat, and finish everything myself. But this time I took what he sent me, made my version of it, and at first I—I kind of hated the song. [Laughs.] I sent it back, he was in the same city with my friend Harm Franklin, and he sent me his version back. I put Auto-Tune on it, mixed and mastered it, finished the song. And I just didn’t know what I was gonna do with it, because I was really trying to do songs more in the realm of "The feelings tend to stay the same," just reflecting all this stuff that I had been going through emotionally, right? And then I had "Stunnin'," which felt like a detour from where I was trying to go artistically. But, then corona happened, and so I was like, "Okay, no more sad music. Everyone’s already sad. Let’s cheer people up." So I teased it, saw the response, and then I was like, "Wow, okay. This is not a bad song. People love the song." It got such a crazy reaction. 'Cause usually the people who react to my music are a certain demographic, you know? I mean, I know who likes sad, emo pop-punk, whatever you wanna call the type of energy I’m on usually. And "Stunnin'" was a different energy, and it was like—not to say "normies," but the casual listeners were really in for it. So, you know, when it’s reaching the casual people that’s when you know, it’s like, "Okay. This is not just for me."

I thought of your now-infamous "Good p*ssy sound like pasta" line when Cardi B talked about hers being like "Macaroni in a pot" in "WAP"! You guys were in sync there!

Yes sir! Known fact! [Laughs.] But the thing about that is—the shit that I say in "Stunnin'"—that doesn’t have to be me. You know, I could be an actor in a movie and do all this crazy shit, and no one’s gonna be mad at me, because I’m acting, right? So I can just take on this dickhead character in a song, where I just say vulgar stuff. You know what I mean? But sometimes people message me like, "I can’t believe you said this!" And I’m like, "Why would you believe that—I'm not…! It’s just a fun song!" It’s entertainment.

But lines like that one, or "I can go slow or go faster, if I bust quick that’s a bastard"—you can play that stuff for your parents?

I don’t think they even understand most of what I’m saying. Uh…which allows me to get away with stuff? But there’s like an unspoken rule where, if there’s some lyrics that are questionable, we don’t talk about it? You know, they listened to "The feelings tend to stay the same" and they read the lyrics and they were like, "Yeah this is amazing" and they loved it and we talked about it. But we’ve never talked about "Stunnin'" lyrics and I hope we never do. [Laughs.]

This year alone you’ve shown a lot of variety. You think it’s reductive to call Curtis Waters just a hip-hop artist?

I don’t think any label is accurate. I don’t know what I am—I’m finding out every day. Some people will tell me "You’re a pop artist" or "You’re a hip-hop artist," you’re this, you’re that. I’m just a dude making stuff that I like every day. I mean the way I think about my albums is like, eras of Kanye, or eras of Tyler, the Creator. You know what I mean? I mean I am already thinking, "What is the next era?" And not even albums—even just songs. Those three songs—"System," "Stunnin'" and "The feelings…"? For me, those are completely different songs. I don’t know what genres they are. And I love that. You know, I want to keep doing that. I want to keep challenging, pushing myself, pushing whatever boundaries there are already. I feel like my music is not even weird enough right now. I want to get weirder!

Curtis Waters' "Freckles" is out now. His album Pity Party is set to drop Oct. 9.

Read more: Dua Lipa Talks 'Club Future Nostalgia,' Working With Madonna And How She's Navigating The Music Industry In The COVID-19 Era

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Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz in 'Clueless' (1995)

Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz in 'Clueless' (1995)

Courtesy Photo: CBS via Getty Images

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How 1995 Became A Blockbuster Year For Soundtracks 1995-soundtracks-film-batman-forever-clueless-waiting-exhale-whitney-houston

How 1995 Became A Blockbuster Year For Movie Soundtracks

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From 'Clueless' to 'Dangerous Minds,' soundtracks were big business in 1995, but the year's hits offered no clear formula for success
Jack Tregoning
GRAMMYs
Aug 9, 2020 - 4:00 am

Mariah Carey, Alanis Morissette, 2Pac and The Smashing Pumpkins all had No. 1 albums in 1995. Despite such hallowed competition, four movie soundtracks also topped the Billboard 200 chart that year. Two were family-friendly Disney behemoths: Pocahontas and The Lion King, the latter still powering from the previous year. The other chart-topping soundtracks, for the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle Dangerous Minds and the stoner comedy Friday, were no one's idea of kids' entertainment. 

Beyond those No. 1 spots, 1995 marked a fascinating midpoint in a soundtrack-heavy decade. According to a New York Times report, a new release CD that year typically cost anywhere between $13-$19. At that price, a soundtrack needed major star power or an undeniable concept. 

For movie studios and musicians alike, the format was rich with opportunity. However, there was no certain formula for success. Some soundtracks were guided by a single producer, while others drew on a grab bag of then-current songs. Several featured one clear hit that eclipsed the soundtrack, or occasionally the movie itself. For all their differing approaches, the soundtracks of 1995 epitomized the energy and audacity of the decade, while also establishing tropes for the next 25 years. 

The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992) set the bar high for the decade. With a 20-week reign at No. 1, it remains the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time. Whitney Houston performed six songs on the album, including the titanic power ballad, "I Will Always Love You." (At the 1994 GRAMMYs, the track won the GRAMMY for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, while the soundtrack itself earned the Album Of The Year award.)

While The Bodyguard magnified their commercial potential, movie soundtracks like Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) framed the medium as an artistic showpiece. Throughout the '90s, Tarantino and fellow indie auteurs Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater and Spike Lee made music a key character in their films. (The latter continues the trend on his latest movie, Da 5 Bloods, alongside six-time GRAMMY-winning composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard.) Both instincts, for commercial returns and artistic validation, were well-represented in 1995. 

Read: 'The Bodyguard' Soundtrack: 25 Years After Whitney Houston's Masterpiece

Batman Forever (1995) epitomized the big-budget, mass-appeal mid-'90s soundtrack. Spanning PJ Harvey to Method Man, the 14-track set employed some tried-and-true tactics. First, only five songs on the track list appear in the movie itself, ushering in a rash of "Music From And Inspired By" soundtracks. Second, its featured artists largely contributed songs you couldn't find on other albums: According to Entertainment Weekly in 1995, U2 landed a reported $500,000 advance for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," an offcut from the band's Zooropa album sessions. 

Most significantly, Batman Forever backed a surprise smash in Seal's "Kiss From A Rose." Originally released as a single in 1994, the ballad blew up as the movie's "love theme." In its music video, Seal croons in the light of the Bat-Signal, intercut with not-very-romantic scenes from the film. Outshining U2, "Kiss From A Rose" reached No. 1 in 1995; one year later, the song won for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 38th GRAMMY Awards.

Both Bad Boys and Dangerous Minds had their "Kiss From A Rose" equivalent in 1995. Diana King's reggae-fusion jam "Shy Guy" proved the breakout star of Bad Boys, transcending an R&B- and hip-hop-heavy soundtrack. Meanwhile, Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise," featuring singer L.V., the key track on Dangerous Minds, became the top-selling single of 1995; it won the rapper his first, and only, GRAMMY for Best Rap Solo Performance the next year. 

Other soundtracks from 1995 endure as perfect documents of their time and place. Clueless compiled a cast from '90s rock radio to accompany the adventures of Alicia Silverstone's Cher Horowitz and her high school clique: Counting Crows, Smoking Popes, Cracker and The Muffs. Coolio, the everywhere man of 1995, contributed "Rollin' With My Homies." 

From the same city, but a world outside Cher's Beverly Hills bubble, came the Ice Cube- and Chris Tucker-starring Friday. Its soundtrack took a whistle-stop tour of West Coast hip-hop and G-funk via Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Tha Alkaholiks and Mack 10. True to the era, the music video for Dr. Dre's "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" is half stoner comedy, half cheesy action movie. 

Waiting To Exhale, the 1995 drama directed by Forest Whitaker, boasted a soundtrack with a clear author. Babyface, the R&B superproducer with 11 GRAMMY wins for his work with the likes of Boyz II Men and Toni Braxton, produced the set in full. Following Babyface's co-producer role on The Bodyguard soundtrack three years prior, Waiting To Exhale featured two new songs from the movie's star, Whitney Houston. 

Read: 'Score': Soundtracks take us on an emotional ride

Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" led a track list that also featured Aretha Franklin, TLC, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige and then-newcomer Brandy. A powerful showcase of Black women across generations, the soundtrack has prevailed as a standalone work, going on to receive multiple nominations, including Album Of The Year, at the 1997 GRAMMYs. In a crowded year for soundtracks, which also included Dinosaur Jr. founder Lou Barlow's work on Larry Clark's contentious Kids, Waiting To Exhale demonstrated the power of a singular vision. 

For the most part, the soundtracks of 1995 tried a bit of everything. The previous year, The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack went all-in on covers, including Nine Inch Nails overhauling Joy Division's "Dead Souls." That trend continued into 1995, from Tori Amos covering R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" for Higher Learning to Evan Dando's update of Big Star's "The Ballad Of El Goodo" in Empire Records to Tom Jones gamely taking on Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way"' for The Jerky Boys movie. (Is there a more '90s sentence than that?) 

Elsewhere, the Mortal Kombat soundtrack blended metal and industrial rock (Fear Factory, Gravity) with dance music (Utah Saints, Orbital). For every Dead Presidents, which zeroed in on '70s funk and soul, there was a Tank Girl, which threw together Bush, Björk, Veruca Salt and Ice-T to match the movie's manic tone. 

Continuing from their '90s winning streak, grown-up soundtracks have proven surprisingly resilient. In an echo of Babyface's role on Waiting To Exhale, Kendrick Lamar oversaw production on 2018's chart-topping, multi-GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: The Album, uniting an A-list cast under his creative direction. On the same front, Beyonce executive-produced and curated The Lion King: The Gift, the soundtrack album for the 2019 remake of the Disney classic, which spotlighted African and Afrobeats artists. In 2016, Taylor Swift and One Direction's Zayn recorded "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)," pitching for the movie tie-in bump enjoyed in 1995 by Seal and Coolio. (The millennial stars stopped short of including scenes from the movie in their music video.) 

Like Batman Forever back in the day, the DC Universe continues to put stock in soundtracks. Both Suicide Squad (2016) and its follow-up, Birds Of Prey (2020), are packed tight with to-the-minute pop, R&B and hip-hop. Each soundtrack reads like a who's who of the musical zeitgeist. In 1995, Mazzy Star, Brandy and U2 grouped up behind Batman. In 2016, Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex and Rick Ross powered the Suicide Squad. In 2020, everyone from Doja Cat to Halsey to YouTube star Maisie Peters form Team Harley Quinn. 

As 1995 taught us time and time again, nothing traps a year in amber quite like a movie soundtrack. 

How 1995 Became The Year Dance Music Albums Came Of Age

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