By: burgundy bug
Side profile photo of Florida-based pop and R&B artist L’Suavo
Source: L’Suavo
Personable and down to Earth, Florida-based pop and R&B artist L’Suavo draws from his emotions and paints with his honesty to foster an open relationship with his listeners.
Following the release of his melodic and alluring single, “Deep End,” we spoke to L’Suavo via telephone to learn more about the track and his musical roots.
Summarize your sound in just three words. Why did you choose those three?
I’d say rap, R&B, pop. I used those three words because those are the three genres that my music derives from and have been highly influenced from, as well.
Me and my friends used to like rap – especially back in high school, we used to listen to [Isaiah] Rashaad, you’ve got Odd Future, Tyler the Creator, A$AP Rocky. It really derives from that.
My family, we’re really huge into soul, as well. That’s usually where that R&B comes from.
And really just pop all around, I’d say that’s where my music is sonically when it’s all put together.
Your Spotify bio mentions that you grew up in a house “highly influenced by music” and you just mentioned that you guys listen to a lot of soul. Could you tell me a little more about your upbring and the role music played during your developmental years?
Honestly, if I’m telling the whole truth, I have a lot of different experiences with music. I’d say my music personally derives mainly from the rap, R&B, and pop. But all-in-all, my upbringing came from all kind of genres [laughs].
As a kid, I’d say when I was about nine-years-old, I was on the keyboard just playing around, not even being serious. My dad walked up to me and said I should start taking piano lessons.
I started taking piano lessons, classically trained. But the beginning process wasn’t really that fun for me. I wasn’t really enjoying it and my teacher was having me play all of these “boring” songs, and I was trying to play something EVERYONE knows.
Not everyone wants to be classically trained as a kid. Especially in the beginning process, you want to play songs people know about.
I just kind of grew to fall in love with it with time. There was a time period where I struggled at it. I wasn’t the greatest piano player at that age. I had to go through those learning curves.
I had to go through those moments where even other people around me would go, “Why are you taking the time to do this, you’re not even that good.”
It’s really just trusting myself and the fact that I could benefit from this in the future. So I practiced for a while until I was able to actually find my own sound.
That’s where it came from, it also came from the church. I had a huge upbringing in the church. I went from being in the choir to playing in the actual band, singing in the band at one point.
Church as well as school. In 7th grade, I started going to Bak Middle School of the Arts. I was a vocal major at Bak and from there I went to high school at Dreyfoos, which is another school of the arts. I majored in the music department there, as well.
I wouldn’t say that I chose music, but that it was always around me. It started as a kid and always stayed with me.
L’Suavo
It just became this remedy for me. Through writing, I was able express my feelings at times where I had problems expressing them. That helped me out, writing about personal experiences through metaphorical ways.
How would you describe your songwriting and producing process?
I don’t have a specific format. Every single moment is different within itself. That’s where I believe it becomes special.
Through my upbringing, especially when I was in church, we had to improvise a lot because of the lack of practice that our band used to have with the choir.
Y’know, I’d end up playing songs that I never heard of, but I just had to anticipate what the next chord progression would be.
L’Suavo
When it comes to my creative process, it’s usually just on the spot. It’s whatever I’m feeling. I usually have a feeling that guides me through the process.
If I’m feeling a certain way about a decision I might make, that’s what I’ll go for. It’s been doing me well so far.
What are some of your core values, both personally and musically?
Personally, I do live by certain rules. I also strive to always be a better version of myself.
Usually [the rules] always revolve around love. My upbringing, especially around my home, my parents always taught me to love one another. They just have that type of energy. They’ve always showed that to me.
So love, positive energy, respect, as well as loyalty. I’m a huge loyalty person. If I really message you, unless you completely disrespect me, there wouldn’t be any reason for me to just abandon you.
Music wise, I just like to tell the truth from my perspective. I’d be doing wrong if I was telling stories or trying to paint a persona when in reality it’s not me. I can only tell stories from my eyes, but at the same time I do tell other stories that I feel other people can universally relate to.
Sometimes I find myself telling stories about a friend of mine that might’ve went through something. To me that still is the truth because I’m telling someone else’s truth.
Tell me a little bit about your latest single, “Deep End.” What’s the story behind that track?
I produced the beat in New Jersey when I was with family around Christmas time. It was weird because I wasn’t supposed to be working on music, I was supposed to be spending time with my family.
But I’d wait until around midnight, when everyone else was asleep, and I’d start producing ’cause I’m just a workaholic.
It started in my auntie’s kitchen at one o’clock, two o’clock in the morning. That whole feeling that I was talking about, it just led me to that moment to produce that beat.
I think the whole message behind the song is really about taking risks. When I was going through the writing process, I wasn’t sure at the moment what I was going to talk about, but for some reason the beat itself painted the picture for me.
It revolves around two people who dearly love each other and one person is basically saying, “Hey. Are you willing to take this big of a risk? Are you willing to dive into the deep end to be with me?”
The press release also describes the importance of the cover art to the track. What was the biggest source of inspiration for the artwork?
In reality, I was coming from the studio. I was rushing, procrastinating on the cover art, as I normally do.
I didn’t know where I wanted it to go. Design wise, stylistically, I knew what I wanted it to look like, but I couldn’t really figure out what vibe I was trying to go for.
I searched the internet and came across this one artist’s page, Anna Maghradze. She has this amazing graphic design page on Instagram. The way she does her art was exactly what I was going for.
So I reached out to her, we talked for a little bit to figure out what I was trying to go for. Then I was talking to my manager one night and he kind of helped me put everything together.
He was like, “What if it was a body of water and there was a human in the water,” I was like “Yo, I like that idea, what if…” It was just us bouncing ideas off each other.
I took those ideas and took it to Anna, she helped us paint that picture.
The illustration is what the song embodies, metaphorically and everything. That was the beautiful part of it. When she sent me the cover art for the first time, I was really blown away.
Singer-songwriter Dyna Edyne is also featured on the track. How did you two meet and what was it like collaborating with her?
It’s funny ’cause the first time we “met” was actually at a concert, but we actually didn’t meet in person.
It was me and my manager. I was supposed to perform that night, but she got on stage, never met her before, and she started singing, dancing. There was just something about her energy.
I looked at my manager, he looked at me, and we were like, “Yo, there’s something about this girl.” We didn’t know what it was, but she had a very strong aura around her.
That night, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet up with her ’cause then I had to do my set. It wasn’t until a couple months after I stumbled upon her page on Instagram.
I reached out to her, asked how much she charged for features. From there we developed a cool – I wouldn’t say friendship, ’cause keep in mind I haven’t had a full on conversation with her in person, but she just seems really down to Earth. And those are the types of people I want to surround myself with in the industry.
Even with her huge following, she still made sure she had the time to reach out to me. As good as my music is, I’m still the new guy in the music industry. I don’t have a huge platform yet, but I know that’s something I’m going to get to regardless because of the talent and my work ethic.
What was the most challenging part of creating “Deep End?”
I would honestly say the production. I went through three different versions of the production. The first version was good, but for me, I always want to push myself to be better. So I completely scrapped the beat and started again.
The second version was great, but it didn’t feel like it was going to affect anyone. I feel like anyone who listened would’ve been like, “Oh, this is a really cool song.” But I didn’t feel like it was going to cut deep.
Just to make the beat, it took me a good two to three days. I really, really wanted to see how far I could push myself to make sure the production was top-quality.
L’Suavo
And shout out to B.C., he was the one who did the mixing and mastering. He took it to such a higher level, the quality is just ridiculous on that one and I’m forever thankful.
What was your favorite part of creating “Deep End?”
I think the process as a whole was a beautiful thing to piece together. Through the challenges in production to flying back to Florida and finally laying down the vocals to it.
One of my personal favorite parts was the before and after reaction from everyone around me. The before was just me playing the beat and trying to sing over it, not really knowing how I’m going to execute my vocals on it.
Seeing people’s reaction from it being like, “Yeah, y’know, this is cool. It’s interesting.”
The fun thing about creativity is, for me, I know where I want it to go. But in order for everyone else to know where you’re going to take it, you have to lay it down for them first to finally understand.
The before and after was one of my favorite parts of this whole process because it showed how trusting in your own belief and gut feeling, knowing that, “Okay, this is where I can take this song,” right until you hear the final version… Oh man. The final version was just ridiculous.
What do you hope listeners take away from the single?
I really hope they take the raw, unfiltered emotion that I paint in this picture. As I said before, I just want my music to be true to myself.
I see music as a form of art. Art can be interpreted in many different ways, everyone can take it in their own reality or perspective. That’s how I want my listeners to treat my music.
I might be telling my story, but in a way, I want my music to be able to tell your story, as well.
Just through the supporters I have right now, they’re always commentating, they’re always telling me how they felt about a certain song. Even from the songs that I used to release back in high school!
Just the other day, this girl reached out to me and said, “Hey what happened to ‘The Come Up,'” which is my very first single. She said she used to listen to it back whenever she was trying to raise her self-esteem.
It’s moments like those that I genuinely do care about. I want to treat my fanbase and my supporters like a family ’cause that’s how I feel we are. That’s what drives me even more.
L’Suavo
What have you learned from your experiences in the music industry so far?
Double-backing on what I just said, staying true to myself. I feel like a lot of artists are so focused on the other man right next to them and trying to beat them.
But in reality, the only person I’m competing with is myself.
L’Suavo
It’s not something I say to try to paint this ego in your head, but it’s always been that for me. One of my vocal teachers back in high school, she was one of the couple teachers in my life, that was huge on constructive criticism – especially in the vocal department.
She was a phenomenal teacher. She taught me how to be able to take criticism without taking it personally. There’s a difference between someone who’s criticising you with bad intention v.s. good intention.
From there, I took that upon myself to be like, “Yes, my music is good, but it could always be better.”
I think it’s all about being a better version of yourself.
What’s next for you, L’Suavo? Do you have any new music in the works? Perhaps an EP or an album?
I can say during quarantine all I do have is food, the house I sleep in, and the studio I work at. All distractions are no more, so I can guarantee you there’s A LOT of music prepared for the next few months, probably years, if I’m being honest.
As for an EP, yes. You’ll just have to find out along the way. All I can say is there’s something in the works right now.
Do you have any additional comments or final thoughts to share?
Follow me on Instagram: @suavedrip. To my fans who already follow me, welcome to my journey. It’s going to be a long ride up but we’re going to get there.
Give L’Suavo’s “Deep End” a listen on Spotify now!
Be sure to follow L’Suavo on Instagram to keep up with his latest releases.
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