Washington D.C.-based singer, songwriter and producer R. Nelson has started building something designed to last, if his new album release Vol. 1: Grown Man Energy is anything to go by. The album manages to blend the smooth textures of modern R&B and neo-soul with a more organic sounding funk groove, showing one artist who can easily write for multiple genres. I decided to sit down with R. Nelson to find out more about his music – see how we got on below!

By Jane Howkins

This is our first time speaking to you! How has your year been so far?

How has my year been so far? How has my year been so far?!

Can you believe the first question is, “How has your year been so far?” Did she really ask that?!

Let me tell you, this year so far has been…

Y’all ready for this?

Somebody cue the drum roll…

AMAZING!!!!

And even that is selling it SHORT!

Jane, if you don’t know, it’s been a lot of work, but the work has been paying off. I’m sitting back watching music I created and songs I wrote go out into the world and actually convey a story to people.

I’m sitting here in disbelief sometimes asking, “Is this really happening?”

It’s been a hell of a year so far, and we’re not even finished yet.

You recently released an album titled Vol. 1: Grown Man Energy. What can you tell us about the record?

That it’s available for sale on all applicable digital platforms. I haven’t gotten to physical sales… yet. Lol.

But seriously, this record is a story about love, life, uncertainty, uncomfortable truths and everything that comes with trying to navigate relationships as an adult.

If folks are expecting some undying, fantasy-type love album, this ain’t it.

This is the type of album you sit down with a drink and really listen to. You hear the story unfold, you catch the little details, and somewhere along the way, you might hear something that makes you sit there and go, “Damn…”

Has the reception been good? What surprised you most about the response to the record?

Has the reception been good? What surprised me the most about the response to this record?!

What surprised me most was that people actually thought the record was GOOD, for starters.

Here I am, coming from a background of making music for skating rinks, and one day I basically said, “Self, you know what? We should try an R&B album.”

Then suddenly I’m finding books of old poems and journals, pulling from all these experiences I’ve had in my life, and I decided to start turning them into songs.

And folks are reacting positively to it.

I think one review gave it an 8.5 out of 10. Another gave it a 4.3 out of 5. I’m sitting there reading these reviews and hearing from people who’ve listened to the album like, “Holy sh*t…they’re actually listening to a story from ME!”

That still blows my mind.

The album is a concept record containing four acts. Can you explain the story a little to us? Which songs have emerged as focal points for you?

This audio movie here is based partially on a true story.

Again, some of it comes from old poems I wrote when I was a pup. Some comes from journal entries I made as a young adult. Some comes from experiences I went through as a grown man, and even some comes from things I’m experiencing now as an older man.

But it’s for the listeners to figure out which is which. Lol.

Undoubtedly, Cup of Tea is my favourite song, but during the filming of this audio movie, I felt like the linchpins for me were You Deserve My Best, Pullin Away, and Or Maybe.

You Deserve My Best, which basically closes out the first act, is the point where this person says, “If I’m gonna come after you, you’re going to get the best possible version of me.”

Up until that point, there’s uncertainty. There’s questioning. But on that song, he gets some courage and says, “You know what? I’m gonna come after you, but I’m gonna be the best version of who I am.”

Then you get to Pullin Away, and it’s basically, “Welp…that didn’t work.” Lol. Now he’s accepting his losses and deciding to pull away from the situation.

And Or Maybe is reflective of the whole thing. After everything that happened, he’s looking back and questioning whether he was ever enough to begin with.

So those three songs, to me, help tell you where the character is emotionally at during three very different points in the story.

Do you know which songs listeners and reviewers have connected with the most, and does it differ between them? From the feedback you’ve had, do they tend to listen to the album in full or as individual songs?

Surprisingly, quite a few listeners are connecting with Gravity.

That’s good, but also kind of strange to me because that song is VERY detailed. Detailed to the point where, well… that probably could’ve been a HR visit.

The reviewers, though, have been a little more scattered in terms of which songs they connected with. Different songs seem to hit different people for different reasons.

But one thing they do seem to understand is that this is a story. So from the feedback I’ve seen, a lot of them are listening to the album in full instead of just treating it like a collection of individual songs.

I hear that the song Cup of Tea is leading to a new EP with alternative versions of the track, shaping the next phase of Nelson Creative Group and Ashy Knuckle Productions. Can you tell us a little about the new EP and when it’s due out? Will this be Volume 2 or something else entirely?

Jane… you’re an MI6 agent?! James Bond type?!

How in the hell did you know that about Cup of Tea?! You probably have an advanced copy of the EP complete with the track listing and artwork, huh? At this point, you probably could tell ME what’s on it and I’d be like, “Okay!” lol.

And I haven’t even released any advanced copies, so you’re good for that one.

But you’re correct. I am planning to release a Cup of Tea EP with alternate versions of the song. You probably already have those too, huh?

I’ll tell you this though: these versions have different grooves, different lyrics, and there’s even a duet in there. It should be out in a few weeks.

And no, this is not Vol. 2. This EP is designed to help extend the life of the album and give people another way to experience Cup of Tea.

Let me find out Jane is actually an employee of Nelson Creative Group. Ain’t no way she could’ve known all that, and I know all the employees too!

You’ve released a few singles this year already. Can we expect any more?

I dunno, Jane. At this point, you tell me…

She got my whole schedule of planned releases over there lol.

But seriously, check out Why Are You So Beautiful?, Let It Drop and Give You My All.

And yes, I definitely have more singles on the way.

Who are your main musical influences at the moment and what have you been listening to recently?

Musical influences? I’m from D.C., home of Go-Go and Marvin Gaye, so that’s always going to be part of my musical foundation. But I grew up listening to a lot of soul and r&b from the ’70s, and there are even some rock influences mixed in there too.

Who have I been listening to recently? Giveon, Snoh Aalegra and a few AI artists like Ja Roni and M.E.E.K MzTeek.

Aye, don’t sleep on them either. A lot of these AI artists are putting in WORK and have some excellent material.

Are there any plans for a UK tour at any point?

No.

Any last words for the fans?

I have fans?

“Thank you for supporting me…without y’all, blah blah blah…so forth and so on” would typically go here, right?

But seriously, I am definitely going to say thank you to everyone. Whether you supported me, bought the album and singles or you were a big-time non-supporter, go buy the album and singles and tell me how you REALLY feel lol.

Like I said, this is shaping up to be a fun ride and I want to take as many folks along with me as possible so we can have some fun with it.

And to anybody out there thinking about doing something they really want to do, don’t get discouraged. Get out there and do it, as long as it’s legal and you’re not hurting anybody.

Jane, thank you for this interview. I hope I didn’t scare you too much haha. This was definitely a fun one, and hopefully there’ll be plenty more in the future.

And I’m still trying to figure out how you’d know about the Cup of Tea EP lol…

That is gonna fry my noodle…

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