Today we’d like to introduce you to Aquariuz.
Aquariuz, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a singer/songwriter from Detroit, MI. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about singing. My grandma taught my father and his siblings how to sing & carry notes at a young age. She formed them into a group and they would go to different churches and sing gospel hymns. Her voice was reminiscent of Mahalia Jackson, a thick contralto southern accent like molasses.
Warm and welcoming would stick to you. It always captivated me. And I think that same spirit carried into her children, into my father. He used to walk around the house & sing all day long, and no matter how old the song was he would recognize every classic that came on the stereo. Then would ask me “What you know about that?” lol, I always loved those moments. I always paid close attention then anticipated name-dropping the songs next time to show him what I know. I knew he took pride in music & I guess over time I adapted to my environment & became the same way.
But honestly, I’ve been somewhat shy for as long as I can remember too though. So I never really displayed my talent often because the vulnerability of it all gave me anxiety. As I got older, I started to get more and more inquiries on why I wasn’t pursuing a career in singing. I would say it was because “I like to sing but I’m not a singer singer” lol. I used to say anything that would help me escape my social fears instead of facing them. I was younger then though, and naturally, I later progressed in life when it came to my thinking so in 2017, I started to consider it at times. Then on Christmas of 2017, I finally let my father hear me sing for the first time. I knew that he wanted to hear me the most, and the thought of that always intimidated me because I felt a pressure. So getting past that diminished a lot of fears that I had. My logic & perspective changed, my guards simmered down, and my interest in entering the music industry increased. Fast forward to September 2018, after a bad breakup I spontaneously decided to start songwriting. I always wrote poetry but I never wrote a melody or crafted a hook or song so I was new to everything. But I’m heavily influenced by Jhené Aiko, Brandy, Jazmine Sullivan, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu & Sade Adu; all of whom are dope songwriters so I studied them and just went for it.
I put out my first song “Deja Vu” in October 2018, then my second song “Still” in November 2018. Spotify added me to a playlist of theirs and I got some buzz. Across streaming sites, there was over 100k streams on “Still” alone which was like 100 million to me lol I was super surprised. That motivated me to keep going so in 2019 on February 7th, my birthday, I dropped my first project self titled “Aquariuz”. My zodiac sign is an Aquarius, moon and sun; So I always registered with that and decided to let it define me as an artist.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
So far it hasn’t been a smooth road at all lol, my life is like a fantasy novel with little sprinkles of misfortune. Granted, I have met and connected with a lot of great people which I am grateful for. I’ve also gained a lot of fans who message me daily about new music, and I’m extremely appreciative & humbled by that. But I think majority of my challenges come from managing myself since I don’t have any type of team. So when I have family, friendship, relationship, self, and life challenges/issues that I need to deal with— I have to get it done. Simultaneously, I have to prioritize my time so that I don’t neglect my craft; As a result, my consistency as far as sharing pieces of me with my fans/loved ones have been affected and that’s a struggle. I didn’t start making music for money, I started because of my passion for it. And I think when you are passionate about something, you handle it differently. I don’t want to rush my writing process just for the sake of dropping something. I like to make music that people will feel & cling to, and I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t provide that. The space that I was in wouldn’t allow me to though, so I had to be patient & I appreciate everyone else for being patient because now everything is aligned.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
It has been a year since my last full-length project so I plan to drop another full-length ep very soon. My aura & energy is clear, and my mind is hyper-focused on putting out something substantial. I’ve been working hard on it & I’m anticipating the reaction it will receive. There are no big changes coming up but I do plan to put out a lot more music & visuals consistently next year so that’s something I’m looking forward to. I just hope to reach someone with my words in the same way that music touches me when I need it. I think I will.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.youtube.com/Aquariuz
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/aquarivz
- Other: www.genius.com/Aquariuz
Image Credit:
Adonnica Genon, Amber Aisha
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