As an artist it can feel awkward asking for what we deserve; and it’s because this industry often conditions us to feel as though we should feel honoured to get to do what we do. I mean, think about it, so many venues try to book artists expecting them to either perform for free or pay to do so, dangling exposure as the almighty prize. And sure, there are circumstances where that visibility truly warrants the hit, but often it is exploitative. And that’s why it’s so important for us, as creators, to have clear enough pictures of our business goals, and not just our artistic objectives, so that we can spot the lies posing as truths. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels / 🏢 @collective.studios.montreal #music
People singing your music back to you, there’s something truly special about that. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽 ‘The Audio Shock Therapist’, is now available across digital stores and platforms (link in bio). Interview by @photomackenzie 👕👖 @kuwallatee #music #interview
2 🇳🇬 Boys on a track! My Broski, @tdavidofficial, just dropped his latest song, ‘Ajo Uwa’, which I had the honor of featuring in and producing. ‘Ajo Uwa’ is available across digital stores and platforms. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽 #music #nigerianmusic #nigeria
Things don’t always work out as planned. There are times when I know exactly what I want and what precise steps I need to take to get to it; the path is laid out before me, clear as day. Yet, somehow life decides to swerve every which way but the one I intended to take. And at the end of it I find myself somewhere, not where I wanted to be, but where I need to be. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
The world will always be different from another person’s perspective; at the end of the day perception is unique to the beholder. And so we ought to at least try to understand where others are coming from, even if we don’t agree with what they believe. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
We all have our insecurities, our fears, our doubts. And I think, life is, partly anyway, about trying to navigate our way through this world even when those voices in our heads, the ones that tell us we aren’t good enough, the ones that try to convince us to give up, scream the loudest. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels / 🏢 @atelierqure #selfempowerment
I refuse to roll over and accept injustice. I will keep fighting for the artist community, for the artists whose music, whose blood, sweat and tears were so callously taken down from platforms this week, whose appeals have been met with cold templated rejection, citing excessive streaming fraud as the crime. In a world where artists have little to no control over where their music plays, where AI and bots run rampant, we need streaming platforms to give us tools to help us fight back, not punish us, the victims. So if you like my music, please help me keep it safe. Go listen to it on Spotify, follow my page there and “like” the songs you vibe with you the most (Link in bio). Let’s show them that real people like the music. And do the same for other indie artists whose work you love. Let’s keep our indie music community safe and empowered. Stay blessed y’all! And dear artists, be sure to check your Spotify for Artists frequently and see what playlists your music has been added to. If any of them seem suspicious, report them and inform Spotify support which of your songs you feel were compromised. Let’s stay ahead of this while we wait for these platforms to actually arm us with tools like, I don’t know, early fraudulent streams detection and the ability to remove ourselves from playlists. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels #music
This year I set a lofty goal for myself; more than anything, it’s a self confirmation that I have what it takes to make such an ambition possible. As for the whims of the universe, those tides that are beyond my means to control, they will come as they may. But I will bring all that I am to the proverbial table, that’s a promise I know I can make. As for what that lofty goal is? There are layers to it, but partly is to buy our first house fully and completely off of the success of my music career. And so it is spoken, and so it shall be. 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇳🇬👽. 📷 @adhdtravels / 🏢 @collective.studios.montreal #motivation
Those of you that have been following my Stories for the last few days know the rollercoaster of emotions I’ve been going through. If you need to get caught up, check out the post before the one promoting Jess’ new album (which is a masterpiece by the way!) Now that you’re all caught up, here’s the update: After waiting for a few days on the response from the music distribution company to my appeal to have my album reinstated on Spotify, I finally got my answer; it was denied! How can we as artists feel safe in a world where music streaming services, like Spotify, are filled with bots, when any music playlist can be overrun by them, and if your music gets added to any such playlist and your streams are ballooned by them, you as the artist pay the price of having your music removed from not just that platform, but all of them? Why aren’t these platforms instead actively working to eliminate these bots instead? Why doesn’t Spotify for Artists arm artists with fraudulent detection tools? Why doesn’t Spotify for Artists allow artists to remove their music from playlists? Nope, the response instead is to punish artists. This isn’t to say that some artists don’t actively seek out fake streams, but when platforms can’t discern between who is and who isn’t, why is this their security measure? It’s just wild to me. We live in a world where AI is now a reality, so dear music streaming platforms and music distribution companies, it’s time for you to find ways to keep our music safe. I will make it through this storm, but I am not done fighting for what is right! 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽
This week has been wild; and I’m still dealing, processing and fighting for what’s right. But all that gets put on pause right now because my beyond talented BFF @jess.abran just released her latest album ‘Diary of a Flame’, an acoustic masterpiece in my opinion! And yes, I guest feature on one of the tracks. So please, go support this wonderful being and her enchanting music. ‘Diary of a Flame’ is available across digital store and platforms (check the link in her bio)! 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
You’re not always going to be motivated, even when you’re doing the things that bring you the utmost joy; sometimes the drive just isn’t there. But life isn’t about waiting for the right time or the right place, nor is it about waiting for all the stars to align. No, it’s about mustering up the will to take steps forward, allowing yourself to get out of your own way. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @strictly_street_shots / 🏢 @leministere.ca / 🎊 @afroqueb
My beyond talented BFF @jess.abran’s EP, ‘Diary of a Flame’, drops on March 8th! I have a dentist appointment that day, sigh, but the rest of that Friday will be spent zoning out to her acoustic jams. Oh and I may or may not be featured on one of the songs… I absolutely am 😊. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 🎥 @adhdtravels & me.
It’s easy to lose yourself in a world that is hell-bent on seeing you be anyone else than you. But the way I see it, despite what is said, sometimes the right path forward is the one with the most resistance. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽 ‘The Audio Shock Therapist’, is now available across digital stores and platforms (link in bio). 📷 @terrie.reyes 🎵 ‘Angels Watch Over Me’ feat. @kaylmusic #music #photography #popmusic #rnb #popmusic
We are living through unpredictable, and often scary, times; it can all be so overwhelming. And so, I want to take a moment to remind you that it’s normal to feel anxious, encumbered by the weight of it all. I think we’ve normalized powering through everything, sweeping it all under the rug, so to speak, to detriment of our well being. It’s healthy to accept that you are not always okay, to accept that every once in a while you need a moment to just breathe, and that everything thing, and everyone else, can bloody wait. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels / 🏢 @atelierqure #mentalhealth
What most people don’t see are those moments when I don’t feel quite like myself, moments when I have a hard time getting passed my own cyclical thoughts, you know, the ones that sow fear and doubt in a seemingly endless monologue. But you always find a way to bring me back to life when I’m spiraling into myself; you find a way to guide me back to shore when I’m drifting in the deep. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @calasmico.eth #art
I was invited to take part in a panel discussion on March 11th, hosted by @yesmontreal as part of a conference they’re putting together to help artists develop strategies to thrive in their careers. So if you’re an artist or someone that wants to start their creative journey and you’re in Montreal, I hope to see you there. Check the link in my bio for details. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
Today I received an email stating that 2 of my songs had been taken down for Spotify Streaming Fraud. At first I thought, no, this is probably another phishing scam, so I was about to ignore it. But it became clear very quickly that it was indeed real. Two songs, fan favorites in fact, ‘Give into Me’ and ‘Blood on your Sleeve’ had been taken down most likely because one (or more) of the playlists they had been added to used fake streams to bloat their numbers? That’s the only logical explanation because heaven knows I don’t farm streams. And because those songs were part of my extended album ‘The Emancipation of Eze: Royal Edition’, the whole project was taken down from all digital stores/platforms. The original album is still there thankfully, but the 7 songs that added to it, and hence wonderful featurings by @clau_music, @swiftkidder, @tabi_yosha, @atoworldwide and @itsluckydinero have been taken down. As an indie artist, this really felt like a blow because how can we stay viable when so many roadblocks and scams are laid out ahead of us, even when you are taking legitimate routes? And all this while I’m working on finalizing my next album. To be honest I felt like quitting today, like trashing all the upcoming songs and just throwing in the towel. Honestly I’m still feeling beyond discouraged, but I’m still fighting. I’ve made an appeal to the music distribution company I distribute my music through, who has been kind and supportive of my career, to hopefully reverse the takedown. I will keep y’all posted. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling pretty fucking defeated right now. If you’ve enjoyed my music over the years and want to support, please continue to listen to the original version of the album (link in bio). I will continue to appeal to have the extended version restored, even if it means starting the streams from zero, because I don’t care about thousands of streams. What I care about is having my music heard by the people that genuinely enjoy it, that connect to it.
I was listening to music earlier this week when this song popped up, ‘Moment’, by @zenabjab3r, and instantly I was taken on a soulful journey. See I had the honor of co-producing this track with Zenab, and it actually dropped July last year. But with so many things happening in motion at the time I didn’t really get a chance to properly promote it, and I think it deserves so much more love. Zenab is an incredibly talented artist; every time we collaborate something magical happens. We’re actually going to be linking up soon to work on another collaborative song for my next project, which I am hella stoked for. All this to say, be sure to go check out ‘Moment’, by Zenab Jaber, across digital stores and platforms; and while you’re at it, listen to her other releases, she truly is one of a kind. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽
What’s the point of having a platform if all you ever use it for is to place yourself at the center of everyone and everything, only to been seen and adored? What’s the point of having a voice if after everything you’ve spoken nothing was truly said. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
Ever since I started working on my next album I’ve essentially been a creative hermit, only really leaving the house to get food or go to the gym. Occasionally I leave my neighborhood to see the rest of the world, just to, you know, not forget how to human. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels
We all wrestle with doubts, our own, those imposed on us. But we find a way to overcome them, to silence those harmful thoughts, to turn “What if I can’t?” into “I know I can”. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels. 👕 @kuwallatee #motivation
Back in 2018, when I released my single, ‘Summer Lust’, the song that propelled me to new heights (shoutout to @simonblazemusic & I Am Tobi who produced it), I was eager to see what doors it could open. My team, at the time, and I submitted it to various media outlets, and the reception was heartwarming… for the most part. We had been approached by a radio host for a very prominent pop music station, who really wanted to play it on their segment. But to make that happen we needed to submit it officially to their Music Director. And so we did. A few days later we got a response. The Music Director told us that they really liked the song but had to pass on it because it was too, and I quote, “urban”, for their station. And so in that moment I saw an ugly side to the industry, one that uses words like “Urban” when what they truly mean is “Black”, one that gate-keeps, one that gaslights. And so I stopped worrying if others would open their doors to me and chose to instead build my own, to pave my own way. Should my trajectory potentially lead others to reach their own successes, I vow to never block their paths but help push them along. We all can win. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽. 📷 @adhdtravels #music
My BFF @jess.abran just released her first single of 2024, ‘Undertones’, ahead of her upcoming acoustic album. I’ve had the honor of witnessing her creative journey over the last decade, and in some instances being a part of it. Her love for her craft is undeniable and it is felt in every one of her songs. Jess Abran’s ‘Undertones’ is available across digital stores and platforms. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽
@listen2jako was the first DJ to spin my debut single as Stephen Voyce, ‘Summer Lust’, back in 2018. Since then we’ve forged a wonderful friendship and have collaborated on songs like ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ and ‘Promise Land Remix’. And we continued that collaborative streak with ‘Disco Fever (Murder on the Dance Floor)’, off of my album, ‘The Audio Shock Therapist’. 🇨🇦🇳🇬🇩🇪👽 ‘The Audio Shock Therapist’, is now available across digital stores and platforms (link in bio). #music #popmusic #monteal #losangeles
