Daily Inspiration: Meet Desmond Roberts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Desmond Roberts.

Hi Desmond, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Orange County in a family of five. I began singing at age three (according to my mother) and playing piano at age eight with my father’s help. After learning the basics, I began going to YouTube looking for piano tutorials, which is where a lot of my early repertoire (and my love for Sara Bareilles) was built. I honed my singing skills at my church in Santa Ana by singing in the children’s choir. I began writing songs in the eighth grade, drawing heavy influence from Sara Bareilles and the multitude of gospel artists I was exposed to in my childhood (which was a skill I practiced on my own all the way until I got into Berklee College of Music, where it became my major). My goal is to write music in every known genre due to my attraction to multiple styles of music. While my music currently swings between pop, hip hop, and Neo R&B, I have been delving more into rock music and wholly plan to write/release a rock album within the next two years (especially with decline of COVID).

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have struggled on and off with depression to varying degrees. I rarely, if ever, write happy songs. Everything that I’ve written lyrically has been a way for me to figure out my life situations. From friendships to relationships to loss of loved ones, my music serves as a cathartic release for every emotion I feel. As of now, I’ve essentially mastered love songs and sad songs; however, I’m now learning to use my music as a way to pull myself up instead of capturing/ sometimes amplifying my lower points. One of the other main struggles has been finances, as it’s been a constant struggle for my family to keep up with the multitude of bills that flood in monthly. As an artist, one of the other hard choices has been marketing myself, as I am constantly writing things that don’t sound even remotely close to each other in terms of genre. It’s hard to build an audience when everyone is here for different styles of music.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a singer/performer and songwriter for hire. I currently specialize in pop music, ballads, and sad songs that sound happy. Currently, I’m most proud of my graduation from Berklee College of Music as a songwriting major. One of the things that separate me from others is my ability to mimic a wide variety of genres and timbres, which I developed by copying the styles of artists I’ve listened to when covering other music. At Berklee, certain production students are tasked with recreating a track of their choosing and sounding as close to the original track as possible (they’re called “soundalikes”). I was constantly called to sing on these projects and every one of the students I’ve helped has raved about how close I sound to their respective artists. From Jason Mraz to Yuno, to Miguel, to James Brown, to Justin Bieber: every one of them came out sounding almost exactly like the artist even before the producers did their work.

What are your plans for the future?
I plan to continue writing and dropping music as well as videos on my YouTube page, playing live shows and eventually working my way up to an arena or festival gig within the next three years (maybe win a Grammy or two in the process). Beyond that, I plan to continue aiming to be the best and most versatile artist in the country while hoping that I never reach it; because if there’s nothing to learn, then there’s no more room to grow and a life without growth is bland.

Contact Info:

• Email: musicman1429@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adorkableinstrumentalist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH5NKFCTtLcwaHLZiE7yxbA
• Other: https://linktr.ee/desmondroberts

Image Credits:
Performance Pictures: Saul Echegoyen Selfies: Me