Name: Kirby Lauryen
Visionary Class: Music | Artist
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Bria: Where you are from and what is your current classification as an artist?
Kirby: I am from Mississippi and I am currently unsigned.
B: How was music introduced to your life?
K: You know I can’t remember a moment when music was not in my life.
My older sister, played piano & had every popular R&B CD known to man.
So she was a really big musical influence. She helped me fall in love with
music.
B: At what moment did you decide that you wanted a singing career?
K: I’ve always wanted to be a singer, but I didn’t know the path I
needed to take to make it happen. Around the time I was in high school, I
decided to become a pediatrician. I visited some medical programs during my sophomore and junior years, and I
realized "I don’t love this.” I actually performed a song while I was there,
and it was in that moment that I realized I was a singer, not a doctor. I
haven’t looked back since.
B: Which artist has had the most influence on your music and why?
K: I would say Erykah Badu & John Mayer. Erykah Badu in college,
and John Mayer my senior year of high school. Badu introduced me to a part of
my voice that I didn’t know existed. She has a softer-jazzier tone that I love, and she has
really influenced my vocals in that way. John Mayer, his songwriting literally
made me a better writer. I personally believe he sets a standard for great songwriting.
B: You're a quadruple threat when it comes to your artistry. You're the songwriter, vocal arranger, producer [as a pianist], and of course, the artist. Describe your creative process behind those roles when you're creating a song.
K: My biggest role as a writer is to articulate the moment, as an
artist I must verbalize that moment, and as an artist I must become that moment.
For me all three of those things require me to be selfless. So a lot of times the music
rewards that moment of “I don’t care what people think” and it comes forth. So
the process begins really by me letting go, and allowing what’s in me to come out without
boundaries, without fear. Of course, I want to make music that people like but
creatively that can’t be my initial goal. Creativity doesn’t come from popularity, so you cant
seek that first. Some things I do to help that process of being free enough to create is no phone messages, email, Twitter, or Facebook before I write. I always meditate
before I create the Song for the Day.
B: If emotional integrity had a sound, it would be your music. Why did you decide to keep to a lane of honesty, instead of conforming to the industry standard of sex-crazed, club-pop music?
K: I really appreciate you saying that. Thank you! Honestly my music
reflects my personality. I remember talking to a colleague of mine and he said
when you wake up everyday you want to be able to go on stage, and be yourself.
You don’t have to put on a persona, or a costume, or become something
you’re not. People want to know who YOU are. And every since that moment, my
songwriting and my vision for myself as an artist has completely changed. I was always
waiting to “turn into an artist” until I realized being yourself is the best
form of ART. I’m committed to truth at this point of my life, I have no room
for dishonesty from myself or in my music.
