For Asaj, making music has been therapeutic where he can let out raw emotion while showcasing his extraordinary talent. He has released an energetic new hip-hop single called “Empty Promises,” which is sure to have you bobbing your head to the upbeat rhythm and never wanting it to end.
“You know, you have that song where you could listen to it 1,000 times and never get tired of it,” Asaj said. “I’ve made a song like that, and I can’t stop listening to it. It’s a good song.”
Asaj explained that every song he creates is completely different from the next, rather than having a one track mind as an artist. With “Empty Promises,” the engineer he was recording with said he needed to drop a song that a 23-year-old woman would listen to while getting ready to go out with friends. The song is curse free, family friendly, and has plenty of pop appeal.
“In this song it is me basically putting a female through a lot,” he said. “I continue to promise that I’ll do right, that I’ll do better, that I’ll get it together. I never get it together and basically am losing her. That is kind of the vibe of it.”
Asaj loves to write music, and often has lyrics just swirling around his brain. When creating a song he will either freestyle or spit those lyrics he has brewing, and focus on hitting it as hard and in sync with the musical beat that’s been laid out.
Asaj describes himself simply as a “musical artist,” as he doesn’t want to be cliche and just narrow down his music to rap. There is much more to his process, and not just one sub-genre of music.
“Do I rap? Yes, I can rap like a motha’,” he said with a laugh. “In ‘Empty Promises’, it is rap/hip-hop/pop/R&B.”
He added, “I’ve got a melodic flow while I’m rapping the verses in this song. The hooks are very melodic.”
Asaj was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and spent most of his young life raised by his grandmother. Around the age of nine he ended up moving to Dallas with his mother, where he spent his adolescence. He moved around quite a bit in his youth, spending most of his time in the south, but also out west in San Diego, California. Asaj has an eclectic musical taste ranging from rock bands like Talking Heads to R&B groups that his grandmother listened to like Earth, Wind and Fire.
“For the average African American from the south, music is just a part of your upbringing,” Asaj said. “You learn the words and vibe with the music.”
Asaj’s beloved grandmother passed away in 2011, and this hit him especially hard mentally. When he lost her, he also lost a lot of motivation. Asaj was trying to fill that void left from his grandmother passing, and he knew he needed to work on his mental health through it. In 2016, this is where music came into play.
“It all started as a therapeutic hobby,” he said. “I used it to release my thoughts, emotions and feelings.”
To this day, music remains therapeutic. His recording studio is completely quiet and soundproofed, and he is able to block out the world and release his thoughts and emotions without a care.
Asaj knew he had a talent, and he was reassured by those around him who heard his music and urged him to record. He never really wanted to have the limelight as an artist like some kids dream of, however. While he took the advice to record, he went on a hiatus from music for four years until he dropped the EP “Intricate Feelings” in 2022.
It took about nine years to get out of the mindset of getting right mentally after his grandmother passed. Asaj knew there was time lost, but at age 34, the time is now to go all in musically.
“Five or 10 years down the road, I don’t want to say should have, would have, could have,” he said. “I’m at the point now where I’m like, let’s give this music a try.”
Asaj knows that the competition is high when putting out music these days, but the only way he can find out if he can take it to the next level is by going for it.
“My goal with music is not for every song to satisfy each individual, but for each individual to find a song within my catalogue that they can vibe to,” he said.
Check out Asaj’s new track “Empty Promises” on all major platforms, with a February 14 release date.
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