The 22-year-old singer-songwriter who grew up on the West Side has generated a buzz for his recent single and video, as he continues to work with a Grammy-winning recording engineer in the Windy City.
It’s as though he is carefully dipping a toe into the unpredictable waters of the music industry, testing the temperature, observing the effects his music has and calculating where and in what direction to step next.
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Consequently, the ripples made by Grand Rapids singer-songwriter and rapper LOUIS are growing – stretching to reach more fans and gaining more attention.
The 22-year-old, who just earlier this year started his musical endeavors as LOUIS (pronounced Loo-ee), began releasing his debut material this spring.
With little promotion, he released his first single, “The Strip,” in May, and a music video for the song following in June, one which garnered more than 38,000 views on Youtube in only two months. He has performed regionally, including appearances at Hip-Hop HoleShot 6 in Stanton, showcase performances in Chicago, and played a host of open-mic shows in West Michigan, from Grand Rapids to Holland to Sparta. He’s also been featured in an edition of Hip Hop Weekly in the magazine’s Indie Grind Spotlight.
“I’ve used the term experiential with him and his music,” said manager Michelle Anzivino. “That’s one common thread in all of his songs. Each piece, whether it’s a pop ballad, or hip hop, rock or rap, when you hear his music you feel it … and you see it. It’s something you don’t just listen to, you experience it.”
Growing up on Grand Rapid’s West Side, LOUIS said he was raised in an environment where music did not play a big role.
“I wasn’t raised in a home with music at all,” he said. “I had no music around the house. I always hear interviews of people saying how their parents played records around the house. That wasn’t me.”
Kanye West’s “Late Registration” was the first piece of music he could really sink his teeth into, coming across the album in middle school, during which he was listening exclusively to rap and dabbling with the craft himself.
Though prevalent on the first single, the rapping element of his songwriting may, however, be slowly on its way out the door, replaced by singing which “comes more naturally.”
“I love singing way more. Rap was my first love, then I started getting older. I was like ‘Man, there’s this kind of music, there’s melodies.’ Artistically, I’m moving towards melodies and pop music … and rock,” he said, something he hopes to convey with a smooth transition and “cohesive change.”
One incident in particular that helped inspire his trajectory as an artist came during a week-long music camp at Berklee College of Music. During a songwriting workshop, the instructor was conducting an exercise that called for a rough draft of an original song.
When his peers failed to produce any material to the instructor’s liking, LOUIS brought up a song idea that — earlier in the day during a one-on-one encounter — had been rejected by the same instructor. This time, the teacher and entire class took to the idea and embraced his song. It became a defining moment in his musical journey and sparked the realization he wanted to pursue music as a career.
RELEASING SINGLES, GROWING HIS AUDIENCE
Prior to “The Strip” release, LOUIS spent about a year in and out of the studio while simultaneously attending McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minn. Working with Chicago Recording Company’s Jeff Lane, a Grammy Award-winning engineer who has spent time in the studio with well-known hip hop artists R. Kelly, Jerimih, and Chance the Rapper, LOUIS recorded a “batch of songs.” Not necessarily in a rush to make an album, his plans for the material depend on how each release is received.
“It’s just depending on the reaction of the fans. Right now, I’m just releasing singles,” he said. “People want consistent music. I don’t want to make an album and throw some songs on there just to make it fit the theme, I want my music to be a constant stream that connects to me.”
Inspirations for “The Strip” were derived from experiences of “toxic relationships,” personal and peripheral. The song opens with layers of delayed keyboard samples and a bass-drum loop that sets the foundation for lyrics that bounce between rapping and singing, as well as lines that are a mixture of both. The track builds in intensity to a passionate, extended second verse before dropping back into the pocket of a catchy chorus.
In his second single, “Waiting on You,” released Aug. 22 on Soundcloud, a shift in sound is evident. Retaining instrumental and compositional similarities, and featuring effect-laden vocal tracks, the song still feels like it’s in the neighborhood of hip hop but without any rapping.
Looking forward, LOUIS plans to continue making more music, engaging with fans online through his Facebook page and elsewhere, and growing his audience.
“In a year, I wanna have a really strong fan base. I want dedicated fans,” he said. “I wanna turn this into something we’re all apart of. I just wanna make good music and I wanna to keep making music and I don’t want anything to get too complicated and I wanna stay grounded.”
For his next release, LOUIS will be working on a video for “Waiting on You” that will be shot in Grand Rapids and he is “excited to bring to life” a concept that has “never been done before.” The video is slated to be released in the fall and the single will follow.
VIDEO: “The Strip,” LOUIS (Explicit)
Copyright 2015, Spins on Music LLC