DREW LIVE
Music has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother was and still is a piano teacher and my older brother is an incredible song writer and guitarist. Growing up in a small town, in a secluded area, I had a lot of alone time, so i gravitated towards listening/ performing/ writing music. It was something that brought me a sincere and pure joy, a sense of accomplishment and identity.
What gives me the motivation to continue with music is the fact that I don’t really know how to exist without it. My favourite part about creating music is it gives one the ability to be as open, authentic and genuine as they choose to be, there are no limits. Any mood, thought or feeling can be encapsulated in the things we create, and this form of self expression has often helped centre myself, give me perspective and a lot of times be my therapy.
This is a tough question because I find it hard to separate myself from my art. I feel as though being original and authentically myself in my music has always been very important to me, so I think I’ve naturally developed a personal style and continue to add to it, thus creating music that sounds unique to myself regardless of my influences.
The majority of the content in my music in regards to message and theme are fairly universal topics exhibited through my personal lens and experience. To me they come off as deeply personal and feel almost memoir-esque but the human experience has so many links that I feel people can relate to a lot of the central themes of love, life, growth, decay and introspection.
A feeling. I don’t know if there’s a particular finite, tangible thing I can express that consistently makes me want to create. For me, I’ve always had a natural inclination to express myself and music has been my outlet.
There’s so many brilliant songwriters and musicians that my answer will change everyday but for today my answer in no particular order is: Andre 3000, Erykah Badu, Phonte, Donny Hathaway, Sean Price, Stevie Wonder, Blood Orange, Smino, Chance the Rapper, Anderson Paak, Bilal, SZA, Choker, Frank Ocean, Toro y Moi, Freddie Gibbs, Kanye, The Roots, Saba and Young Thug
I’m an absolutely huge basketball and baseball fan. I follow closely and like to play as often as I’m able. I love being outside, going for walks whether it’s city walks, nature walks/ trails. Solo or with quality humans. Love spending nice days in parks and love taking advantage of nice weather when it comes. I’m a strong a proponent of seizing opportunity when it’s presented.
Setting deadlines has always helped me a lot. However I tend to be more stringent on meeting these deadlines when other people are relying on me to finish in a timely fashion. The vision tends to sort itself out.
Don’t be afraid to believe in yourself and your capabilities. People will always doubt you, there will always be people who reject your sense of self. Follow your instincts and your intuition and become the most authentic version of yourself that you can be. Don’t let outside forces dictate things about yourself that you know to be true.