Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Pinkston.
Hi Ryan, 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?
Thanks for having me. It all starts with the song. After my mom saw me sing and sound decent and really take a liking to it, she never let me accept a low bar for myself because I unknowingly set a high bar for myself at such a young age. I became a singer and followed that through to become an artist and entrepreneur. I grew up in the Bay Area, singing in the Baptist church and under the mighty hand of 90’s R&B and Gospel music, and by extension of that mainstream music. After a pivotal time during my teenage years at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, I went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston and eventually made it to Hollywood on American Idol a couple of times but never the top 10. Through it all, I’ve been a songwriter, and life has enriched what I do as a musician. I have a beautiful family, and I am blessed to still have the passion and aspiration to make a mark and share my work with the world. I’ve been around the country pursuing music and learning and growing as a human being and an artist.
In August, I was invited to the BeyGood Foundation’s Black Parade Route Impact Luncheon in Los Angeles because I am the founder of Omnisong Music LLC. This was a program for small business owners and was part of the movement of the Renaissance World Tour by Beyonce. For me, it was a breath of life at a time when I really needed a boost in morale personally. And so it’s really cool too because as a singer, I have always seen Beyonce like a big sister because she’s a singer. The enormity of the moment and the affirming qualities of the experience are still inspiring. I am releasing back-to-back music singles over the next several months — and I’m hoping to land some major deals and major music festival bookings with my new music!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been, and there are, and there will always be challenges. Things to experience, to learn and grow and evolve. Accepting what makes me different as well as what makes me the same, and how all of those things affect the life I make.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My gift, my calling, is the song. And that goes wherever the heart is. Doing work that is worth listening to and that can hopefully make people feel good, and inspire people, and bring good.
I’m a singer, songwriter, recording artist, producer and founder. Dr. Martin Luther King speaks about “content of character” so I’m trying to put the content of my character into my music as best I can. I’m a Black Millennial in America.
What sets me apart from other singers is that everyone has their own DNA. I am a freedom fighter and a love warrior, which I hope doesn’t set me apart because we want our singers to be that. I identify with the ideas of dignity and sophistication that people like Tyler Perry and Jay Z exemplify in their seeing beyond the self by fighting oppression and disenfranchisement on an economic level through intellectual independence and entrepreneurial vigilance that benefits community. And I hold myself accountable to that macro arc from the micro commitments.
I specialize in making songs and curating performances — those are complex processes that involve a lot of people, ideas and collaboration, and leadership for whoever is setting the vision. A big part of what I do is tedious and painstaking to ultimately arrive at a beautiful experience for the listener and a beautiful piece of music all inspired by the parts of our experience that cannot be measured outside of what we make to give it life. There are times in the creative process where I need alone time to hear the vibration of the higher power in setting the vision I’m trying to bring forth.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned is to be okay with uncertainty, this quote by Steve Harvey actually changed my life: “The road to success is always under construction.” There is a difference between uncertainty and confusion, a difference between chaos and indecision. This is really the crux that allows us to have peace. The things we may hold onto that we should let go, the people we may feel insecure around, the situations we loathe — our responsibility to be human. Accountability has stretched me in some ways, but it has massively freed me in other ways. The best parts of me are for serving others. Love is what we all strive for in the ways we know how and the best we can. My gift of music is a long-term relationship with my time on earth, and the people who love music and might like the music I make.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ryanpinkstonmusic
- Youtube: ryanpinkstonmusic
