A beautiful resonance of musical and thematic glory in upcoming hip-hop artist Vidal’s newly released single, ‘The Devil’s Eyes’ is redefining the standards of the genre altogether. Working in the scope of contemporary sound dynamics, this song is a meandering, thematic course depicting the intrapersonal conflicts of self-love, love for another person, and self-destruction. A conundrum of the inner mind that is personified through the artist’s achingly beautiful vocal sonority and unhindered wordplay and rhythmicity, this song is a spin on the generalized and known virtues of hip-hop.
Based out of San Jose, California, Vidal is an independent artist who set his objective at presenting to the audience an edge of sentiment and response through R&B and bluesy tones in his deconstruction of hip-hop. ‘The Devil’s Eyes’ is an introductory taste of an album set to release at the end of summer. This song also retains therapeutic righteousness that helps the artist as well as his audience to emerge from personal shackles of life, existence, decisions, and feelings and their combinative complexities that often drive us into plights. Savor the taste of meaningful music-making in hip-hop by following his work on Spotify, Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
What is the role of emotional dynamics in your soundscape?
I make music that personifies the emotional roller coaster that certain life events can take us on to ultimately arrive at a sense of knowing we must push forward because the best is yet to come. For example, In my latest release “The Devil’s Eyes” this song aims to personify the conflict between self-love and self-deprecating. During this conflict, there can be other aspects of our lives outside of our internal conflict that can get caught in the crossfire and there are dire consequences because of this.
Do your cultural roots influence you as an artist?
Yes, I am a first-generation American born son of immigrant parents from Mexico, the music that I listened to growing up and the “si se puede” attitude that is deeply rooted in my culture has always been a driving force behind my music. I embody this message in my music and always show that there is good that can come from even the darkest situations if we chose to push through and believe that we are capable of achieving our goals.
How different is a live performance from independent recording?
All my recordings are done as if I was playing live, I have always had a huge appreciation for artists that can sing/play the same as their recordings so I never do any post-production such as pitch correction on my music. What you hear is what you will get in a live performance.
What inspired you to take up music as a career?
It was a mix of different things. Music has always been where I find solace, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to pursue a music career. I would always play with friends or give people lessons and was constantly asked why I didn’t make music myself but I never really considered it a career option until I visited my uncle in Texas. He is a career musician and is the lead singer/guitarist for a popular band in Mexico and I got the opportunity to jam with him and learn some chord progressions. We talked about what motivated us to play and perfect our craft. He inspired me to share the feeling that music would give me with others and I decided to give it a shot
Does your alter ego as a musician help you grow in your personal life?
I wouldn’t say my music is an alter ego, I always stay congruent with who I am and what I believe in, but I believe music has given me an avenue to share with people the lessons I have learned in life. By doing so I have had to be a lot more open and vulnerable with who I am and what I feel about things so it has helped me become more introspective and facilitated self-expression for me.
You have extensive uses of bluesy undertones in your songs. How did you come about this unexpected merge between contemporary hip-hop and blues?
I’ve always been a big fan of guitar-centric music, like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Carlos Santana. Growing up in the Bay Area, trap, and hip-hop music has always been something I’ve listened too so when making my own music I try to combine different elements of all my favorite types of music. The guitar is a dynamic instrument so it fits in any genre so I experimented with adding guitar riffs into beats with heavy 808 bass.
Which contemporary as well as legendary artists inspire you the most?
Too many to name, but a few off the top of my head in no particular order are; Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lenny Kravitz, 2pac, biggie, immortal technique, J.cole. I’ve always been a big fan of people that add an emotional element to their music.
Do you think music videos are an absolute ingredient in making a song engaging?
Absolutely, a picture can paint a thousand words and a video can do even more than that. This is why I have made a music video for both songs the I have released and plan on making a video for each song on the upcoming album. A video really helps further portray the emotion or message you are trying to deliver in your music and they’re a lot of fun to make.
Do you think hybrid genres garner more audiences than adhering to a specific genre?
Absolutely, all great songs historically have captured different elements of different genres. It also helps set you apart from other musicians/artists because you are uniquely combining different aspects of music that speak to you and that level of authenticity will always speak to more people than if you try to emulate someone else’s style.
What is the future of hip-hop?
I believe we will start to see more elements of hip-hop spread into other genre’s of music and become similar to how metal music has so many sub-genres. Hip hop is commercially one of the most listened to the type of music because it can portray so many strong emotions from hyping up the party to emotional ballads. There is a lot of stigma around the genre currently because of the subject matter but I believe that as people experiment more with aspects of the genre, so to will the genre grow into something that is a digestible style of music for everyone.
How important is a thematic impulse in music?
Thematic impulse is everything in music. Music aims to capture a certain feeling or vibe and deliver it in a way that others can share that feeling collectively Without this impulse to move us, there is no music.
Do you have any pointers for upcoming musicians?
Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun! Remember why you picked up an instrument or started making music in the first place and don’t try to compare yourself to others. Make music that you are proud of and that resonates deep within you and always have fun with it!
