Your newest album Sunset Visionary, Vol. 2 just dropped along with a headlining concert in your home state. What has this been like for you and what have you been most excited for your fans to experience with this album?
I just want them to hear the fucking music. You know what I’m saying? Because I think there’s a perspective of the artist that I used to be that’s still out there. And I like that because nobody really knows what to expect with this album. I’m really just excited to move on and go further into the alternative space. And being able to have my own show—I’ve never had that before, it’s super dope. I really don’t go out much, especially with the pandemic, so I don’t know what my fanbase looks like in real life. It’s crazy!
How does SV2 serve as a follow up to SV1? How are they connected?
More or less SV2 is showing progression. But, the SV saga started randomly. I wanted to try a different style of music and I wanted it to be straight acoustic. I guess what I consider to be rock or pop music. It’s just very fun, upbeat, and heavy in emotion. It was really just supposed to be an acoustic project though. And then I never planned for volume two, but then I was making a lot of music at the time and I was like, “Damn, this could be the follow-up.” It just came together.
Throughout your discography we’ve seen you shift more from rap and hip-hop to a more emo, punk rock, and pop sound. How did this transition happen for you? Was it a natural progression?
I think I was just inspired. It’s funny, like three years ago, I got put onto Falling In Reverse, Panic! At The Disco, and My Chemical Romance. Everybody grew up on that music, but I’m just now getting hip to all of it. And then it’s really Ronnie Radke who inspired me to go in this direction. And while I was in the middle of making SV2, I listened to Olivia Rodrigo’s whole album. That changed the direction that I wanted to go with it too. And then also MGK has been putting out some really fire songs. I don’t know, I’m not an MGK hater! I fuck with the music. I’m just here for the music. Mod Sun is also fire. KennyHoopla also really fire. I think I’m just inspired by seeing other artists do great things.
Mod Sun had really amazing things to say about you and your music in a joint livestream a few weeks ago. How does it feel to get positive feedback from other artists you respect?
It’s just a surreal moment to be noticed, if that makes sense. Because being an independent and a somewhat underground artist you don’t know who really knows who you are or if anybody knows you at all. So it’s crazy to have someone say, “Oh yeah, I’ve been watching you for six months, dude you’re sick.” Saying this publicly and using your platform to show me love, that’s crazy. I appreciate that.
Would you consider any of your songs to be “party” music?
I didn’t know if anybody else got that vibe, but “Over,” that’s like a party song. I want people to dance. Watching early ‘90s videos and seeing how people used to be back in the day, it seemed like people actually danced and had fun and were really moving at social gatherings. That’s how I want my shows to be. So, I have to make the music to make them move physically, you know what I’m saying? Bring that energy. That’s what I want.
You started out as primarily a rapper and developed into more of a singer. Was there a moment where you became comfortable singing? Was that a struggle for you or an easy adjustment?
I was definitely always singing it in private. Publicly, I tried to do a little video when I was in college and that got received as well. I still didn’t really believe that people thought I could sing. Then “Come Over’’ came out. Everybody was just like, “Oh my God, he’s a singer.” And I’m like, “Wait, I’m a singer?” Then coming to this project, I had more confidence. The whole project is basically singing. I got a little bit more confidence, but I honestly thought my voice was shit. It’s a process.
Do you have any advice for people who are lacking confidence in their art?
More people need to talk their shit. That’s the energy I like to carry out. I would like for people to try to embrace being more confident. Even me, I have an issue with that myself. If you’re good at something and you’re confident in it, talk your shit. It’s okay. It’s not offending anybody, you’re not talking shit about nobody else. You’re just talking about what you think about yourself and taking pride in it. Do it. Do it. Talk shit more.
You’ve sampled the Foo Fighters, Studio Ghibli soundtracks, movies like Paid In Full and more. What’s your process for finding and incorporating samples?
For the Paid In Full sample, that was from a very crazy speech in that movie. It was just a movie that I grew up with. And then for the tone of the song, both things completely meshed and it made sense. It’s like bringing two loves from two separate things and trying to see if they fit together.
If SV2 was the soundtrack to any movie what would it be?
Nobody’s going to guess this. I would hope not. But for this specific album it’s The Wolf of Wall Street. I say it because there’s highs and lows. It’s a hell of a lot of different feelings throughout that movie. Leo is fire.
With songs like “Death Note” and “Evangelion,” it’s clear anime and manga have had an impact on your music. How has your love of anime affected your music and added to your imagination/storytelling process?
A lot of what I do musically just happens naturally. And I try to lean towards things that I actually like. Anime is so good at bringing out the emotion in things that real people can’t do themselves.
Like if I go on the stage and start crying and being super genuine about it, most people will say, “You look like a bitch.” But, if I say it on a song poetically, and then I put a cover with a character expressing the emotions, then the message is received that way. Way better than me having a HD album cover of tears going down my face. It’s not the ‘90s, I’m not Trey Songz. This is not that.
So your art is like a characterization of yourself in some ways?
Yeah. There’s a lot of metaphors in the art. For example the bears [on the cover], I haven’t really said much about that. They’re both called Leo, there’s a blue bear and there’s a red bear. The blue bear is more of a representation of my innocence and my childlike side. In a lot of the covers you see, I’m wrapping myself around the bear, trying to protect him.
So Tom the Mail Man is the outer shell that gets the beating, gets the bruises just to protect the innocent. But on the SV2 cover he’s holding Leo upside down like in a threatening way looking beaten and bruised. SV1 was like a kid that was hopeful, with a full sense of justice and a strong will. And then SV2 is real life. I’ve been beaten. I’ve been fucked up. This is how I feel now. I’m not going to listen to the angel on my shoulder anymore because I’ve been hurt already and I want revenge.
Anime is like that. It has so many layers to peel back that I just want to bring that into my own music. For instance, Demon Slayer is not just a happy, go-lucky anime with pretty colors and beautiful animation. There’s some, really dark, gritty stuff in there, and it brings light to a lot of people’s real life situations.
For instance most people look down on thieves. Anime has taught me not to look down on thieves because you don’t know what their situation is. Have you ever been put in a situation where you really had to steal something? I like thinking about things like that. What I want my music to do for others is the same as what anime does for me.
What’s your favorite anime right now?
Right now I’m going to just give it to Attack On Titan because this is the last season. That last episode was godly. It’s a masterpiece. And Demon Slayer is right up there. They had a phenomenal season just in terms of full quad, full animation story, pacing and everything. It was fire. It was amazing.
You’ve said you also enjoy Shoujo anime. What draws you to that genre?
I love it. I’m a nerd. I just love romance. I love the little butterflies. I get it when the character’s crush gets a hint that they might like each other. My friend just got me a manga book for my birthday, this Orane series. This is the most gut wrenching romance. It’s amazing.
A while back you sent your video for “Lil Tommy” into a No Jumper livestream. What made you decide to do this?
Well, at that time I had to find a way to market my music by myself because I didn’t have a manager. That was just one of the tactics. I’d go in there and save up money at whatever job I was working. Roughly it comes like $100, $150 to put your video out there. So I would go to channels that I watch with big audiences, and then pay every time.
I would go to Lael Hansen. I would go to imdontai. I would go to No Jumper. Whoever had a live stream and a decent amount of people in it. That was on the goal with the No Jumper thing. Other people saw it and that’s what I wanted. Other people really got to judge it right there, decided they like it and then go back, and then turned it into a moment. That’s why I did that a couple times.
You’re in Atlanta right now, what’s that like as an artist in an area that has so much musical presence?
Yeah. I’m like 40 minutes away from where my friend stays in the center of Atlanta. I’ve been on the scene and I’ve been around all the Atlanta rappers that are really from the city like Wiley from Atlanta, Kenny Mason, Daniel Novello. There’s a lot of super talented guys out here. But, I’m not really out there. I just stay in my little bubble and just exist. I don’t bother anybody until I’m out there, unless I have a show. I’m not really super social, honestly. I just stick with my little group of people and then make music.
We’re not in high school no more. I’m just trying to make good music. I’m trying to make music that lasts years and years and years and become a household name for life. I want to be in music history. I can make friends in music if you’re a dope person in real life and it’s not just like, “Hey, I got a persona and I’m this guy.” I don’t give a fuck about that. If you’re dope as a person, that’s it.
Do you feel like being different from the typical Atlanta sounds as an advantage or disadvantage?
I definitely use it to my advantage. A lot of people don’t necessarily make the type of music that I make. If you make niche songs, it’s easier for people to get behind you. My position works for me. It works because I’m from Atlanta, but I’m not really that typical Atlanta guy.
Are you excited for Atlanta [TV Show] Season 3?
That shit is about to be sick. That shit is about to be sick as fuck. Gambino is an amazing writer. He’s an amazing actor. He’s an amazing comic. He’s an amazing singer. He’s everything.
If you could have one artist or or director create a music video for you, who would it be?
I’m going to give it to Tyler. Visually, he’s fucking insane. Lil NAS X is up there because he’s amazing with his videos. I’m going to give it to Ronnie Radke too. Really, that’s the order. Yeah. I go Tyler first.
You speak about having this dark and light duality in your art and music. How did this begin for you and what’s the reception been like?
I like mixing very dark with very beautiful imagery. I get called a Satan worshiper so much! It doesn’t make sense. It’s just the type of art that I’m into. And you have kids that are on the internet hearing a lot about symbolism. And they think if it has a cross, or if it has horns, or if it’s black, it’s scary devil shit.’” I’m just like, “Bro, it’s just art. Shut up.”
Artist development takes time. We’re in this super microwave era, where it’s just like artists are just supposed to pop out and be fire.
You’ve been independent for years—do you have advice for artists trying to do it on their own?
In my opinion it’s about if you can play the long game. It seems like everybody’s blowing up every week and you’re still not going anywhere. You got to be able to weather that storm and build a strong discography before you start messing with labels. Have a vision and care about every aspect.
Before I started reading books on this, I listened to a lot of Russ and a lot of his interviews explaining things about the music industry that you might have not known. People don’t know just because you signed to a label doesn’t mean they’re going to be able to get you playlisted. You have to have direct relationships with people at Spotify. A lot of labels these days are like “Hey the way we do marketing is TikTok.” All you’re doing is putting money into TikTok to hopefully get a blow up moment? And that’s your marketing strategy?
Artists can market on their own. There’s people that do posts for $20 or $100 dollars. Save up money and make calculated decisions. That’s really it. And then find your style. It took me a while. I feel like I’m in my pocket now more than I’ve ever been in my entire career. And it’s been almost 10 years of me doing this, me really actively trying to be an artist. So weather the storm and really figure out yourself and educate yourself.
Artist development takes time. We’re in this super microwave era, where it’s just like artists are just supposed to pop out and be fire. There’s so much you have to learn. Even like getting stage presence. What are you going to do? Are you going to build sets? Are you going to be a dancer? How are you going to do to entertain a crowd?
People just need to take their time and enjoy what they’re doing rather than feeling like they need to blow up. It feels good to know my parents can’t say shit to me, the people on the block can’t really say shit to me, because there’s proof [of the work I put in].
There are things that come with just instantly blowing up. I had a deal offer when I was really fresh, around 2020, 2019, and it was for five or six albums or projects. And it’s like “Damn bro, I would’ve still been with you right now.” I got flew out for the first time to L.A and L.A is like all sparkly and pretty to me because I’m from the country. They were paying for everything. I didn’t have to spend a dime on food, we went to fancy restaurants. They buttered me up and then gave me this contract and I could see a lot of people falling for that.
When did you know that music was the path you wanted to take?
I’ve been writing for almost a decade now. I think I’m seasoned enough as a writer at this. I really figured it out when I was 16. And then made this promise to myself. I was in the back of my class, not really paying attention. I was like, “Yo, if I died trying to pursue this music, I think I would be fine.”
Worst case scenario I’m homeless on the side of the street playing on the guitar, doing whatever to get money. And I think I’d be okay with that. I was Christian and I was a sports kid growing up. So I was very straight edge. A lot of my friends are older and they’re just now getting out of college. I still feel like I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I just got fortunate. My lust for music was just crazy.
I’m in this game for longevity. I only want to do music, and I don’t have to go pick up some side job when I’m 30 or 40 or 50 because I got washed up and I had one hit. No, I want to be around this for a long time doing whatever I want to do.
How does it feel to be back in London?
Oh man, I love London. It feels like a full circle every time I come back because it’s the first place I ever recorded in a studio. I learned a lot in the first year that I lived here; how to become the captain of my own ship. Right out of high school you’re just following all of these things you’re told to do, and I’d dropped out of music school. When I came to London I was in this in-between phase of my life where I wasn’t making money doing music.
My Dad was like, “what are you doing?” but I knew that I had to be here. And I fell in love with someone. I left to go back to America and really focus on the music, and now every time I’m back it’s like being home again. It’s like a home away from home and I think I’m going to move back at some point.
How does London and its culture compare to other places that you’ve lived in, for instance New York and LA?
It just feels totally different actually, it’s hard to compare. I don’t like LA. I like working there but if I have a day off in LA I am sad. When I lived in New York I always babysat all of the time and that was my focus, and then I would play music in my stairwell and run around all full of electricity. I’d just feel so energetic there and like you’re just a little cog in the machine.
But London is a nice mix. When I land in LA, suddenly I feel like I’m having this big identity crisis. But then I realize that everybody who lives there is. London is just more chill. Also I feel like the London culture is just a little bit more at peace with the negativity of life naturally, which is kind of a relief because you don’t have to hide. You can complain and not be fake positive.
Are you excited for the show tomorrow?
I keep having to remind myself! Because when you’re in a mode of rehearsal, you’re just so in that headspace. I just feel like wherever I am I’m totally absorbed, and tomorrow I’m going to be shitting my pants.
My first show ever was in September, and people were singing [my songs] and I couldn’t believe it was happening. It’s just crazy. It is terrifying, but that’s why I have to remind myself it’s literally for all of us in a room together. I’m not trying to impress anyone. I’m just giving an offering and they’re giving me an offering, and it’s just this exchange of some mysterious beauty.
Can you remember the first record, or artist, that you really fell in love with and why they resonated?
Yeah, it’s a mix of things. Foo Fighters were the first band that I ever fell in love with. I got the chance to see them live at a benefit concert that was to raise money for my sister’s school for kids with cerebral palsy. She was in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk or talk her whole life. And we both were just obsessed with the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl in particular. We were in love. When I learned guitar I would just YouTube tutorial Foo Fighters songs and then make up my own songs over the chords that I would learn. Because I would never have the patience to learn someone else’s song, I always wanted to get my own thing out. It felt more personal and also it felt like Dave was teaching me how to play guitar so that was a big one.
Also Outkast with ATLiens! That changed my life. I was a bit cynical when I was young; I was like why is everyone singing love songs all the time? And then Outkast was talking about things that I didn’t understand but using words that were like, “cooler than a polar bear’s toenails, oh hell.” That opened my mind to the possibilities of what words could be and how fun it could be to do poetry.
Can you remember the first song you made?
I’ve always been singing. I remember actually taking my mum’s tape recorder and recording a jingle. I was really young, 5 or 6, and I remember thinking, “This is going to be a jingle for Raisin Brand, the cereal.”
Was there a moment further down the line where you felt that making music became a more serious possibility?
This year. I was always just frustrated, wondering how is this ever going to happen, what is the industry, who are these people that control these things? And then I realized that it’s not really like that, it’s just human connection and people with passion just intertwining. Meeting my managers really changed the game because I’d had this belief that no one wanted to help me and I was like I can’t do this by myself. All I do is write songs and I don’t know what else to do.
I know there’s a whole thing where they say that all pop stars are high on the narcissism scale because you know it’s all ego and personality. And I’ve always felt this funny thing about attention. I didn’t want to ask for attention but then I realized that it was a part of myself that I had to accept. Really what wanting attention is is wanting connection, and so finding a way to be at peace with that takes a minute.
I read that you went to that you went to a religious school as well as a boarding school?
Yes I went to an Episcopal school. Every day we went to church for 45 minutes, which was actually amazing. Think about it; you get to school and rather than go straight into have you done your homework or not, you’d get to go to chapel and sing. It’s dark and cozy and smells like incense, the organ is playing. That was always so dramatic and filled me with this otherworldly sense. So I don’t know, I wouldn’t consider myself a Christian now but I respect the stories. I find that there are many truths in the world and we just have to respect each other. But the school was tiny, there were 19 kids in my grade for 10 years.
Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?
Yes. I had a breakthrough with meditation when I was 18 where I realized that if I close my eyes and breathe, my heart stops racing and I feel like I’m more capable of feeling love for myself and other people. I also really believe in being honest with yourself because for a long time I wasn’t. In high school I had a lot of trauma that I hadn’t dealt with and because I had all of that inner trauma to work through I couldn’t write, I couldn’t be real. Maybe I was fun to be around and I had a good time, but that didn’t have any lasting power. So, through meditation.
I didn’t believe in myself for the longest time and it wasn’t that I knew that I didn’t believe in myself but it was like this law of honesty. If you’re not accepting that you’re hurting, you’re lying to yourself. And how can you believe in yourself when you’re not believing in what you’re feeling and owning it. I think it’s what this past EP came from too—being comfortable with the pain, comfortably in pain. Yeah, it has to go there.
I watched this interview where you mentioned seeing life as a performance for angels. I’ve kept thinking about it since. Can you share more about that idea?
Cool, I love that! I think it came from a way I coped with being lonely in my past, in childhood sometimes. At first it started kind of spooky, like are there ghosts around me? Am I being watched? But then I was like wait, I don’t feel like there’s anything menacing watching me, I actually feel like there’s something encouraging… Maybe it’s just space. But then I think with meditation I’ve come to realize there’s just so much mystery and magic works when you believe in it and doesn’t work when you don’t believe in it.
So, if I believe in something that makes me feel comforted, like if I’m alone in my house singing and I know that I’m not just singing for myself, that feels good. And my sister is alive all around me all of the time and I know that she’s laughing at things. Maybe I’ll mess up and I’ll get frustrated and she’ll chuckle, and I know that’s she’s like I see through your bullshit and that’s such a grounding relief for me. So yeah, it always goes back to that and I’m glad that you think about it too. It is motivating! And I always do better work when someone’s watching me so I might as well believe that I am witnessed.
There’s been a frenzy around your music on the label-side, and I’m curious what it’s been like to navigate the music industry as an independent artist?
I think the cute thing about it is you realize the industry is just all of these people that love music, and that’s really sweet. You also hear horror stories about the ones that give you bad deals. With any profession there’s going to be scumbags, but I don’t want to focus on that. But also there are new demands, like now it’s not just the music. Now it’s like photos, promotion, interviews…
Last night was a funny moment. I got this great thing where I had to say “thank you BBC for playing my song” and I had to send in a voice note and video so they could play it on the radio and it took me like half an hour to say it. [Laughs] At first I was in the craziest voice and it was never going to work. I just kept going back to when I was in middle school listening to the radio and it was like, “Hey I’m Lady Gaga.” And that’s what I mean about the ego thing—I find it so hard to take myself seriously. It just makes me overthink shit, I’m like okay whatever I’ve just got to say it and sound stupid.
You mentioned the new demands and I feel like a lot is expected of artist in 2022. What has your experience been like?
It is. I used to post things on Instagram just because I felt like it. If you go way back on my Instagram, you’ll see. I’m very pun oriented. One time I put an onion on my ring and it was like, onion ring. Dad jokes forever. I am a dad at heart. But now I have to post because I have a show coming up and I need to remind people. It’s this practical thing, it’s a tool now, which is cool and I like how it’s useful but I also want to maintain the realness and… Whatever it is.
Did you ever imagine you’d be in this position?
I always knew I wanted to be a singer. I even wrote in my journal when I was seven: I want to be a famous singer, but my Mom says fame isn’t good. So that was an idea that I had in my head, that I don’t need to be famous as long as I’m a singer. And then I realized that was my deep want for attention when I was young.
There are a lot of layers to your sound and various influences which come through. How would you describe it?
My sound is like a house with a lot of different rooms in it which are decorated totally differently. One room is wood, one room is metal, one room is glass, one is marble. It’s everything I love in a collage, and I find it really hard to define. I just feel like it’s all truly my imagination having fun.
Actually I was really energized by this one critique of me before I had released anything. This guy who’s a big manager came to listen to some of the songs I had and he said, “Well you’re still trying to find your sound.” And I was like, “Huh, b*tch?!” I have my sound and you don’t get it so. I kind of went even further into the nothing is the same after that.
My sound is like a house with a lot of different rooms in it which are decorated totally differently. One room is wood, one room is metal, one room is glass, one is marble.
Going into the new EP comfortably in pain, what was the core idea that you wanted to get across?
I think that idea of pain and accepting it and finding comfort that we’re all in our own different kinds of pain. We don’t always have to try to relate to each other through how we’re similar, but be interested in the differences in what causes our pain and connective vulnerability.
Your writing style is very vivid. Where do you find inspiration?
Disney films are major. Me and my sister would watch one film for a month straight, over and over again. So I’ve downloaded all of the Disney movies and so many strange things happen in those, like Pinocchio is a puppet who comes to life who gets eaten by a whale who builds a fire inside of the whale which is impossible but they make it happen to make the whale sneeze and come out. And then there’s the cricket who’s his conscience. So crazy. Anyway I find a lot of inspiration from that and literally just melody itself and how much emotion I feel from listening to beautiful melodies. I’ll work on a melody for like an hour in a hallway—six notes—and I’ll rearrange them as many times as I can just so that it feels perfect. And usually it’s the simplest thing that’s the most perfect so that’s the lesson I’m learning.
Do you have a dream in particular that’s always stuck with you?
Oh so many, so many. But one in the past year really stuck with me. It was a koi fish and it was hugging me really tight. And I was looking down and thinking, wait this fish is going to stop breathing because it’s not in the water, and so I was worried and trying to pry it off so it could live. But then I saw the boots of this fisherman wading in the water, and he said, ‘don’t worry, they like to hold on’. And then in the moment he said that I felt so much love for the fish, I was like what is going on. And I woke up so happy and then I made “Polly” that day. So, some nice blessings.
What are you excited for next?
I’m excited to make the lyric booklet and I really want to spend time on making it personal and sending it to the people who really want it. Excited for more shows and getting more theatrical with them. I love the circus, like Cirque Du Soleil, and I want to make my shows feel like you’re in a Leonora Carrington painting. She’s very dream come to life type artist.
Do you have ideas for how you’d bring that into your live shows?
For example in the ”Multiply” video I was really inspired by a dance performance where there’s a woman with rope tied around her waist and she’s attached to a boulder and she’s continuously running away from it and getting stuck. And so I used that concept in the “Multiply” video where I tied myself to a tree and kind of did that. I’ll tie myself to something during a show, and I want to hang upside down in a trapeze and play guitar. I don’t want to just walk around, I want to do things with height.
I’m an air sign, I’m double Libra with a bunch of air, and I have no water in my chart which is really weird. I think it’s my overcompensation, I need aquatic themes and I think about the ocean a lot but I’m not made of it I guess. I want to just float all of the time.
LIZA’s double life as a recording artist eventually led to her buzzy EP release, Done Is Done, which was entirely conceived and completed during the pandemic with a tight circle of collaborators. While working on the project, even LIZA went as far as renting and living in an Airbnb with her producers. Since then, she’s received numerous accolades, and was evern selected for ASCAP’s “Songwriters: Next Generation” 2021 program. She has also opened for Kyle Dion, Raveena, and Lauryn Hill. “Honestly, I really have to give it all to coffee. That’s been my number one support source,” LIZA jokes.
Some may say it’s LIZA’s optimism that has helped her persevere—after all, to be an emerging musician and have all opportunities somewhat indefinitely on hold because of the pandemic is a hard reality to swallow. “It really forced me to sort of sit with myself and reflect,” LIZA says of her canceled performances and sessions and postponed releases.
“It’s really tough [because performance is the] main way I communicate and connect with supporters and [how I] introduce my music to new people. Shows are the most electrifying thing, especially when you have a crowd that really vibes with your music. There’s nothing like that. So one thing I really forced myself to learn was to focus on the things I could control and a lot of my emphasis went towards writing as much as I could,” LIZA says of her proactive response to these limitations. “It’s seeing what you can do with what you’re given and how you can overcome any obstacles that you have by just changing your perspective,” she adds.
When I ask LIZA if her creative process brings its own set of mental blocks—for instance, reliving painful memories through songwriting is surely exhausting—she says it’s moreso an opportunity for her to reflect. “I think of every song that I write, whether it be released or unreleased, as a chapter in my life. I can go back and listen to that song and remember exactly how I was feeling, where I wrote it, when I wrote it, and who I was with,” she says. “Those moments allow me to look back, especially when I moved on from the situation, to see my growth and overall evolution. I’m so grateful for those moments, even though those emotionally taxing moments can be really burdensome—which is why I really, really try to emphasize the importance of self-care and overall mental health.”
For LIZA, being consistent in daily rituals is how she takes care of her mind and body, even if no two days look alike. This includes waking up at 6:30am or 7 every day (“I’m such a morning person,” she says), meditating, drinking coffee in the sun, and writing in notebooks. “I had a really bad pattern of working really, really hard and burning out and then taking a couple weeks off and then working really hard and then burning out and repeating that cycle,” LIZA says of the time she felt least in control. “The important thing that I learned was that self-care isn’t only when you burn out—it’s every day. It’s waking up in the morning and meditating consistently and not looking at my phone and doing things that make me happy for my overall emotional wellbeing.”
As a Black woman stepping into the precarious and sometimes toxic recording industry, practicing self-care also offers some sort of mental protection. “I don’t even know if I can simplify the complexities of racism in a couple of words—and, it sounds cliche, but Black women have to work twice as hard to get half as far. That’s just what the reality of the situation is,” says LIZA. “I think we’re making strides, but we definitely have a long way to go.”
For now, LIZA looks forward to working on a new music project (“I think it’s the best stuff that I’ve written yet,” she says with pride) and to finding a place to live. And though big changes can be difficult, she works hard to view her life through heart-shaped lenses. “Sometimes I think of my life as a real-life rom-com, which may be unhealthy at times, but I really do love writing about love and happiness and everything related to it,” LIZA enthuses. “My favorite movies are basically every ‘90s Julia Roberts movie—one of my favorites is My Best Friend’s Wedding, where Julia Roberts’ character is named Julianne Potter. The first track on my project is actually named after her.”
From her nursing career beginnings in Toronto to becoming a rising voice in R&B, one could even say that LIZA’s life has always exuded main character energy—and to this day, she confronts all her ups and downs like the protagonist that she is. It shows in all of her work. In essence, every song of heartache LIZA writes also honors the optimism of what can come from the other side. It seems like an ideal place for LIZA to be, mentally, even if everything around her is in flux. “I think I write songs to manifest the love that I want or how I picture love being,” says LIZA. “I really love to capture the essence of good wholesome love.”
*The information contained in this program is not intended to dispense medical advice, and is not intended for self diagnosis or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, and/or before starting or stopping any treatment or acting upon any information contained in this program, you should contact your own medical physician, or health-care provider.
“I think I’ve attempted to shield the public or whoever from seeing parts of myself that I felt were not consistent with whatever I was trying to put forward.”
“That experience was brand new to me. Historically, I actually haven’t been as forthcoming,” Jones tells Complex. “I think I’ve attempted to shield the public or whoever from seeing parts of myself that I felt were not consistent with whatever I was trying to put forward. That really led me to a place where I felt very misunderstood. I think I realized I was creating a box for myself, rather than just expressing [myself] openly.”
As previously mentioned, choosing to put yourself out there opens the floodgates for trolls, judgment, and unnecessary chatter that could throw even the most confident human off their game. However, once the musical storyteller learned to accept himself—flaws and all—he had an epiphany that not using his talents to share his story (musically or visually) would be nothing less than “hypocritical.”
“After writing an album that was specifically about this radical self-acceptance and nurturing that inner-child to heal [my] past traumas and experiences, it would be hypocritical for me to hold back in the same way when it came to the visual aspect of it,” says Jones.
“[My team] pushing me to really be more open and give more of myself … was sort of an act of faith and of belief in the gospel that I was preaching: not hold back as much and be more honest and forthcoming and authentic.”
But don’t get it twisted, bearing his soul via his latest sonic declaration was “scary.”
“I did have to mentally prepare for people who watched this film to get to know a lot more about me than I was immediately comfortable with,” he explains. In fact, releasing the first project was a bit nail-biting for the rapper as well.
“I just felt a lack of control. I wanted to control. I was so concerned about controlling my image and people’s understanding of me and trying to make sure that everything I did explained me in the most perfect way,” the rapper explains.
While living up to the perfect projected persona may seem like nothing, it’s almost always impossible to maintain such a pristine facade forever.
“The idea of every major decision you have to look at [is] are you being guided by fear of love?,” Jones shares. “It’s been a long five [or] six year process of me trying to slide myself toward the scale of doing as much as I can out of love and as little as I can out of fear.”
“The idea of every major decision you have to look at [is] are you being guided by fear of love?”
To keep a mental and emotional balance, Jones has embarked on several self-care routines over the years, the most recent including daily yoga, “which is pretty new to me,” he tells us.
“I’ve been through a lot of different routines …[but I’m] three to four months in on a new one. It feels like the most concrete thing I’ve done,” the East Coast lyricist explains. “I’m waking up, I’m working out, and doing yoga every day. [I’m] also getting out of bed earlier.”
According to Jones, boundaries and focus are the keys to survival.
“I’m creating limitations on when and for how long I write. I’m trying to read a little bit every day,” Jones says. “I’m not necessarily successful at these things one-hundred percent of the time. In entertainment, opportunities will come up [and] different curve balls will be thrown at you.”
He continues, “You’ll be in a session and it’ll go [until] four in the morning unexpectedly because you’re chasing that feeling. I rebelled against technology in the beginning of trying to find a routine, but now I’ve incorporated an app that tracks how on top of things I am. I try [to] walk a decent amount every day, about 8,000 steps and that’s probably where I do some of my best thinking. It’s sort of like walking meditation.”
Of all his self-care routine tactics, the New Jersey emcee says yoga is the most vital part of his day-to-day life, because he wants to take care of his mind and body from a holistic point of view—something Jones believes allows him to “make better art.”
“I just have not been as active, especially in the last couple years due to the pandemic, as I’ve wanted to be. Part of that is I was so focused on creating something sustainable in my career and finding this solid ground,” Jones says. “But I realized in the lead up to making the album that I was neglecting a lot of the other parts of myself. I’m now coming into the understanding that focusing on myself more holistically allows me to make better art, allow[ing] me to be a more thoughtful and reflective person that’s able to make the things I want to make. In the past, I was just burning myself out almost as a badge of honor, but it wasn’t really getting me anywhere.”
“I’m now coming into the understanding that focusing on myself more holistically allows me to make better art.”
Aside from yoga and other daily rituals, Jones says therapy is another method he wants to tap into (once he finds the right person for the job).
“I [went to] some therapy when I was much younger, [but] it didn’t last for very long. That’s one of the things that I’ve kind of been lagging on,” Jones shares. “I do this thing where I go on online and have all these tabs open of therapists, but I haven’t quite found the person yet. That’s on the top of the list of things I need to accomplish this year: find the person I’m going to talk to and start to open up more in that way.”
While Jones may not have the right therapist just yet, he does have a support squad, better known as The Summit. The Summit consists of Jones and two of his closest friends. They’re a come-as-you-are, no-questions-asked, we-always-have-your-back pack who keep each other afloat through life’s challenges. And yes, entertainers do have challenges.
“When one of us is going through something, we float it to the group chat and try to drop what we’re doing and hop on a call [or] FaceTime [or] meet in person and just discuss those things.” Jones explains, “it’s a little bit different from therapy because it’s not this sort of unbiased, opinionless figure that you’re talking to, but it is very helpful to just speak out some of your frustrations … out loud and have it resonate and have people be there to support you.” And let’s be honest, support is hard to find when people assume you always have it together, especially in entertainment.
“We’re not always encouraged to go to those places,” Jones says. “[There’s] a lot of partying and a lot of talking about the victories and successes, but not the struggles.”
So no matter who you are, always remember, the struggle is real, for everyone—rappers included.
*The information contained in this program is not intended to dispense medical advice, and is not intended for self diagnosis or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, and/or before starting or stopping any treatment or acting upon any information contained in this program, you should contact your own medical physician, or health-care provider.
