Albums and song preferences aside, the first four notes of Everything in its Right Place is the most beautiful second of music I've ever heard.

Up until a few years ago, I thought Radiohead was kind of mid. I was underwhelmed by OK Computer, which didn't stand out to me as much as everyone seemed to think it would. When I heard Kid A for the first time, I had no idea who it was, and Radiohead would've been my last guess, but even so, this album completely rewired my brain. The icy synths, eerie melodies, and weird effects were unlike anything I'd heard, and Thom Yorke's vocals sounded like they weren't from this dimension. The album feels so immersive, like being bathed in pure sound waves, and despite how weird, off-putting, or even dystopian the album can sound, it still finds a way to be unspeakably beautiful. From the ominously pretty first four notes of Everything in its Right Place, to the franticly dissonant jazz solos of The National Anthem, to the chill and dreamy psych rock of In Limbo, to the transcendental harp and strings at the end of Motion Picture Soundtrack, every instant of music on this project is magical in its own way. Most importantly, each of these musical moments compliments the experience of the album as a whole. Whenever I listen to individual parts of the album it feels like I'm missing something, as if Thom Yorke encoded a secret message that I've been trying to decode this whole time.

After falling in love with Kid A, I fell in love with Radiohead. OK Computer didn't sound mid anymore, and I realized just how many great projects they've released. In Rainbows, Hail to the Thief, Amnesiac, and The Bends have all become some of my all time favorites. My music taste is very phase oriented, and my Radiohead phase was the most I've ever fixated on a single artist's music. 

There are plenty of artists I loved three years ago that I cringe and roll my eyes at nowadays, but Radiohead is not one of them. Radiohead's music is always fresh in my mind, and Kid A hasn't lost any of its magic or mystique. I've mentioned Everything in its Right Place, which besides being my favorite Radiohead song and possibly even favorite song of all time, was also the key inspiration for the intro to my project. I recorded numerous Radiohead inspired drum parts for this project, most of which didn't make it, but are still a reminder of how much their music continues to inspire me.

The first time I heard LUCKI in 10th grade, I remember thinking it was some of the most grating, substance-less, and uninteresting music I had ever heard. Today, he's pushing my top 5 favorite artists of all time.

Usually, if I have this type of initial reaction to an artist, I just won't bother to keep listening. With LUCKI, the difference was that all my close friends absolutely adored his music. Because of this, I just kept trying and trying to like LUCKI; to hear what everyone else was hearing, but for the longest time I just couldn't see what the hype was about. I liked the beats he chose to rap over, but his rapping just sounded terrible to me. Vocally speaking, he's monotone, slurs his words, and usually just repeats the same flow for an entire song. Lyrically speaking, he talks about drugs, sex, money, fast cars, you name it, often while sounding so intoxicated that he can't even finish his sentences or stay on beat. Many people would hear LUCKI's rapping and instantly dismiss it, with a comment like: "I could make this crap". When ignoring the vocals, however, I noticed that LUCKI's beat selection and production choices are genuinely exceptional, which is by far the least challenging and most approachable part of his music that I think almost anyone will appreciate; even if you can't get behind him vocally or lyrically. This aspect of the music is obviously what you'll actually hear influence from in my project (because I'm not a rapper). In particular, the song "Newest of Me" is heavily inspired by the the sample from the LUCKI song: "Newer Me"

Its been two years since I first heard LUCKI, and at some point, he completely rewired my musical mind; going from one of the worst rappers I had ever heard, to an easy top 10 artist of all time for me. For me, learning to like LUCKI as a vocalist was learning to not take music too seriously. The repetitiveness of his raps have turned from grating to hypnotizing, and his monotonous vocal tone is something I now find incredibly soothing. LUCKI's voice might not win him any auditions, or hit a single high note, but he knows that these just aren't his strengths, nor do they define vocals as good or bad. The way he incorporates his lethargic, hazy, and daringly simple delivery into his music is masterful, treating his raps as just another instrument rather than the spotlight. His lyrics may be shallow on the surface, and they're definitely not for everyone, but I wouldn't have them any other way. 

All of that being said, I still don't think I've come close to articulating what it is about his rapping that I love so much, and that's exactly why I love it. 

On the surface, he's not doing anything remotely impressive; but who cares? it's music to my ears.

Going into 11th grade, I was still very much stuck in an alt-rock phase. I've always been a very open minded listener, and while I liked rap music whenever I heard it, it wasn't a genre I had ever really explored on my own. All it took was one Kendrick Lamar listen.

Kid A by Radiohead is my favorite album of all time, but it still took 3 or 4 listens for it to fully hit me. When I hit play on Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid m.A.A.d City, I was instantly transported in a way that has never happened with music before or since. I had 25 minutes of walking ahead of me, but I was so entranced by the music that it somehow took an hour and twenty. Everything about the music blew my mind, from the immaculate and varied hip-hop production to the complex, multi-layered storytelling that I could tell was genius even without understanding any of it. However, nothing blew me away as much as the vocals. I had been impressed by rappers before, but I always had a misguided idea that the genre was somehow easier, or less impressive vocally. To me, Kendrick's voice sounds like every instrument at the same time. One moment he raps with the speed and precision of a Tabla player, and the next he's dueting with some of the greatest pop and R&B singers of all time. The reason Kendrick's music impacted me as much as it did, is because I had just never realized the limits of what rapping as an art form could be. When I went to bed that night, I listened to the album again. When I woke up, I listened to it again. In the following months, I went through a phase of obsession with his music only rivaled by Radiohead. After that, and ever since, I dove headfirst into the genre of rap and never looked back. 

I would probably consider Kendrick Lamar to be my favorite vocalist of all time, purely because of how much he opened my ears, but I'm far past the days of thinking he's a perfect artist with no flaws. As my taste in rap has evolved, I've discovered numerous vocalists that challenge or exceed him in some way, but no one has changed my perspective on music like he did. Not an artist you'll hear a lot of influence from in my actual songs, but just someone who's inspired me more than I can say.

Erykah Badu's music inspired a lot of drum and keyboard parts I've recorded this winter, particularly in the song Orange Sun, but the real reason she inspires me goes beyond the scope of this project entirely.

 Vocals have always been one of my favorite parts of any music, but besides a year of chorus in 3rd grade, I've basically never sang for any sort of audience. This was never out of nervousness, just priority. I was always locked in on learning piano, or drums, or theory, and I never felt that same urge to become a singer, despite the admiration I had for vocalists like Thom Yorke and Kendrick Lamar. 

When I got into Erykah Badu, a new musical spark lit up in my mind, and my urge to sing increased tenfold. I don't know what's so different about her singing, but it stands out to me in a way no other vocalist has. Listen to the album Mama's Gun, and you'll hear Erykah explore an insane range of genres: Hip-Hop, Soul, Jazz, R&B, Funk, Reggae, the list goes on. Her incredible backing musicians lay down these various musical backdrops, and Erykah's equally various vocal styles constantly bring them to life. The best way I can describe her singing is that it's somehow equal parts technical and effortless. One moment she gives us slow and soulful vocal runs, and the next moment she's transitioned into a fast, precise rap verse. She's honed her voice so that it can really do anything, and which has inspired me to do the same. 

For a while in January and February, I was seriously considering putting vocals on this project, which was almost entirely due to the huge Erykah phase I was in. There's a part of me that wants to turn on the mic and sing my heart out to one of her songs, but there's another part of me that's simply just too scared to do it. It's now May, and clearly the scared part of me won. Overall, I think this was actually a good thing, because in retrospect, adding vocals on top of everything else would've been pretty over-ambitious for my first ever project. However, the spark that her music lit in my mind still burns. I sing more in every part of my life; whether I'm practicing random parts in my room or singing my heart out to Frank Ocean in the car. A year ago, I knew I would make a music project at some point, but I probably would've told you that I never plan to give singing a serious try. Now, after finishing my first project, I'm almost certain that my next one will have vocals. 

I credit this certainty to Erykah Badu, my favorite vocalist of all time.