Breakdown the concept behind “No Issues” and how did this record come about?
No Issues is a song that celebrates the realization that life is meant to be abundant and rich, so there’s no sense in wasting time focusing on all the problems in the background. Your audience is always gonna have a mixture of people who love and hate you, but life is about focusing on the ones who love you. No matter how much another person hates you, it doesn’t become an issue unless you engage that hatred. This song is about staying locked in on the love and the light in your life.
The bars you are dropping on this track are true and real. How long did it take you to write this record and what message did you want to hammer home to the listeners?
It took a few hours to finish the song, writing included, I wasn’t trying to be complicated on this one. The track is super dope, the hook and lyrics came naturally because the beat made me wanna take a moment to appreciate being alive, happy and successful during these crazy times. It’s got that late summer feel to it.
How important are records like “No Issues” for today’s music listeners and do you think it will touch more people in today’s time vs the golden area of hip hop music?
No Issues is important because I’m the type of artist who works like a doctor on a subject, I put the medicine in the bars. “Every shoe can’t fit ya, everybody can’t go with ya, keep everything official, when a legend die they gon’ miss ya.” That’s a message to a youngin’ to be himself, even if its at the price of leaving people behind; if he does his own thing well enough, then he’ll be legendary in his own right. That’s an example of why this song is important, and that’s just one bar.
In your eyes, what are the pros and cons about the way music listeners consume music in today’s time?
I think there are pros and cons to every change in eras, and that’s what this new era represents, a change that we all just have to adapt to. One pro is that because of today’s technology and the speed that music travels around the world, messages are getting out there fast. An artist with a platform can easily affect the mood and movement of large portions of society, whether his goal is to do good or bad with that power. One con is that the balance of positive vs negative messages is out of whack. Just like any other industry, our culture has a dark side, there’s nothing wrong with that, some of us were raised in a way that makes that dark, gangsta shit feel like home to us even if we don’t engage in it, but as a people we are overfed darkness. Death and murder and degrading our women and children, that’s being overfed to us for a reason, whereas the majority of us want our children and our peers—people who engage in this culture—to focus on the light in life. It’s impossible to be a positive tool for our community if the culture is oversaturated with the darkest elements of our culture. I’m not knocking anyone, but if all you represent is darkness, then maybe you shouldn’t have the spotlight on you.
How do you keep yourself focused on creating music? What’s the end goal for you?
I wear a lot of hats in this life, I’m a father, a husband, a brother, a lawyer, a coach, and an artist. No matter what I have going on, I’m never leaving my artistry behind. Rapping, painting, poetry, those are just parts of me, I can’t be torn from them. The best part is that I take every other element of my life and put it inside my artistry, and vice verse.
How can people find you and listen to your other records?
You can find me on all social media platforms @willpowertheartist and my other two releases “Willie Lynch” and “Going Long” on all streaming outlets, but you have to checkout “No Issues” first.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05VNF1H4kM8VHOxyQg9CqL?si=sIQt_tg6SBiymF-E8gMuuw