We introduce our members over here are HyperTribe and this week it is Lánre to celebrate his latest single Somebody New.
How did you start out in music?
I feel like music found me vs. the other way around but technically I started singing and performing since I was 8 years old. I was classically trained in vocal performance at a middle school for music and stayed with learning about the arts in high school and did musical theatre. I learned how to write and record songs when I developed my first demo when I was 15.
What is your ultimate goal as a musician?
My ultimate goal is to reach people and to make them feel loved and accepted when listening to my songs or watching me perform. Of course, I want to model my career after my inspirations like Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake & Chris Brown and become as iconic as they are. But if I were to really look at what my goal is, it’d be to give the people around the world the magical feeling music gives me when I need it the most. If people can experience even a drop of that feeling through my music, then that will make me the most accomplished musician in the world.
What was the inspiration for your latest single?
My latest single ‘Somebody New’ is the first real love story I’ve ever written about. It’s a story of two people who are tired of the way their lives have been going and are looking for something or someone to change that for them. In a way, it’s a product of things we’ve seen during COVID where people are demanding more from life now that we’ve all had so much time to self-reflect. I’m not sure where the song came from, to be honest, it certainly doesn’t reflect my current love life, I just heard the instrumental and immediately felt drawn to this story of two lovers. What do you believe your key milestones in music have been so far that other can learn from? Even though I’ve been singing/performing my whole life, I’ve only been releasing music professionally for about a year now so everything still feels very new. One of my singles, Beautiful Lies, recently broke 130k streams on Spotify alone (which still feels surreal to me while I’m answering this question). It’s such a blessing and I’m so grateful for it, but I constantly have to remind myself that this is just the beginning and to stay as hungry and passionate about my career as I was when I got my first 1,000 streams. I think some people can get lost in their early success and think that they know everything – and as a result, get in their own way. As up and coming artists we have to celebrate each milestone of course, but treat each one as a ‘stepping stool’ for the next big milestone that’s coming!
Is there any issues you are particularly passionate about in the music industry that others can learn or relate to? E.g. Mental health, Streaming inequalities. And why?
I think every artist who calls themselves a musician should be constantly working on getting better at their craft in some capacity. I may be biased because I’ve been in vocal and performance classes since I was a child, but I think there’s a lot of ‘artists’ in the music industry who do the bare minimum when it comes to perfecting their skills. I’m not saying every artist needs to be practicing how to write, sing or perform all the time, but it should be part of their routine because it really does affect the quality standard of the music industry as a whole. I’m constantly working on my craft in and out of the studio because I want my fans to see me live and have an even better experience with my music than how they heard it recorded. This may be an old-school way of thinking but that’s the type of artist I am and I think anyone who calls themselves an artist should have that same standard.
What is your best advice for those who are starting out?
My advice for a musician starting out would be to take it one day at a time and enjoy the ‘here & now’ moments. This industry can move so fast that you can forget to appreciate how far you’ve come. I sometimes have to catch myself when that happens, because that’s when the anxiety of the future can set in. I start questioning everything, thinking I’m not doing enough, if I have what it takes, etc. But if you focus on the present and doing at least one thing every day to benefit your career, you’re on the right track! True greatness takes time, so enjoy the process and savor each step of this beautiful journey you’re blessed to be on.
What do you think it takes for a musician to get to full-time creating music?
There are obvious things like having a solid fanbase and a solid financial support system that can fund your craft. But while those aspects are vital it’s even more important that you want this more than anything. This is a very hard career to pursue and even harder to maintain. There’s a lot of work that goes into this that your friends, family, and fans will never see and you have to keep doing this day in and day out. This is a realization I came to terms with over the last year or so of releasing. I’ve known that being a singer is my calling my whole life, but even knowing that doesn’t make it easier. I just have to remind myself of what and who I’m doing this for, and that I need to step up to the occasion every single time. All my inspirations needed their resilience and work ethic to become icons, and I know my journey will require the same. You have to love it and put in the work to achieve it!
Have a listen to the recent single here: Somebody New
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