INTERVIEW: Wordsmith is ready to make his ‘Statement’
Baltimore musician Wordsmith had a banner year in 2017, and he shows no signs of slowing down for 2018. In July, he released his new album, Perspective Jukebox, which features the single “The Statement.” In the coming days, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will also feature his hip-hop narration for Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of Animals.
His journey to releasing Perspective Jukebox, which comes from the artist’s own label, NU Revolution Entertainment, took six months of hard work. Its inspiration came during his tour of Israel and Africa in 2016.
“I was on tour in Israel and Africa last year, actually funded by the Department of State, and I wrote some of my records over there, actually debuted some of the records on the album overseas,” Wordsmith said in a phone interview last year. “It was a way for me to get instant feedback, to see what people liked and so forth. … The type of artist I am, I don’t write any music unless it has a purpose or message behind it, so I wanted to make a fun project that was commercial and had radio qualities, but also for people that like lyrics and storytelling, aspects of hip hop and want to listen to music that does has a message.”
Wordsmith said he grew up as an “Army brat,” and he watched his father serve in the military for 27 years. Because of this background, he always wanted to collaborate with the military on a project. Two years ago, his goal was achieved when he joined a tour that sent musicians to different parts of the world to perform for troops on military bases.
“That was kind of my start getting into the government system as an artist, and then there was this program called American Music Abroad that the Department of State does,” he said. “They reached out to me about that, and next thing I knew I was in three different places in Africa and a couple places in Israel. And the great thing about it was it wasn’t just me performing; it was teaching and teaching music theory and teaching people songwriting and teaching people different instruments. Some of these places were very poverty-stricken areas, so it was a blessing to do it.”
Those experiences informed his musical decisions on Perspective Jukebox. For example, the single, “The Statement,” deals with many different issues that Baltimore and the United States are currently facing. In many ways, the song serves as a reality check of the tough times his beloved city has endured.
“The cops got a tough time with the homeless situation and the opioid situation killing a lot of our youth out there, so I wanted to make a record that spoke for my city,” Wordsmith said. “I wanted to make a record that’s also a commercial record as well but also a statement. … [The song] talks about our current problems with politics. It talks about the struggle and the differences between poverty and middle-class America, rich America. It talks about our refugee issue of letting refugees in the country and how we treat them and how we should treat them, just a lot of issues that you see in everyday news that people have opinions on. I tend to write about real life and relatable life that blue-collar people live every day.”
Wordsmith headed in this socially conscious, motivational direction after his 2012 album, King Noah. While crafting those songs five years ago, he realized the lyrics were taking him down a new pathway in life.
“I think all artists go through that self-discovery stage where, you know, you can write music or make music, but you don’t really know what type of artist you are or what type of music you want to write,” he said. “So I think when I wrote that project, I knew I really wanted to talk for average, everyday people. I wanted to make relatable music. I didn’t really want to talk about stuff that, you know, the hard-working people that get up at 5-6 in the morning really can’t relate to, but I also wanted to make fun music as well because it can truly be a grind every day when you’re out here taking care of your family and so forth. So you’ve got to have those moments where you go to happy hour or you go to a party or you celebrate a birthday or a promotion or things like that, and you could just celebrate and have a good time.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Wordsmith’s new album is Perspective Jukebox. His hip-hop narration will be included in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Click here for more information.
