Rap and modified hip-hop may have saturated the market now, but there’s always room for innovation. As long as the sound is different and people relate to your lyrics, in this case, there’s always more rungs in the ladder for you. Cue A Certain Energy, an Asian-American rapper who is trying to make his mark in the game. His single is called Fake Love, and is a fantastic cumulation of sound & poetry. Here is more about the single, from the maestro himself:
NV: Tell me about the track Fake Love. Is the idea a real life inspiration or derivative of someone’s experience?
ACE: “Fake Love” was inspired by real life events that I have went through in life. Particularly with my career. Many say they’re there for you and are all for the hustle, but are quick to say something else to others. Even your own blood won’t support your endeavors, but that’s okay.
As long as you know what your end goal is in life you’ll have no problem with moving forward. As time moves forward you’ll see true support come your way which will go a long ways at the end of it all. I’m finally seeing that come to fruition, and it’s astounding.
The song has the beats and progression that are addictive and rebound in your head for a while. A Certain Energy is an artist that found quite a bit of airplay with his single Rollin’, which has more than 300k listens on Spotify. Now he changes his route, going more hardcore on the verses and a mellow, reverberating background. The surround is incredible, all routed to his energy. Which naturally, was my next question:
NV: How did you narrow down on the name A Certain Energy?
ACE: Honestly I went through so many name renditions, but I got the idea of “A Certain Energy” from a power outlet. When you plug in anything you get an electrical surge that powers whatever you plug in. That’s what I want to bring when I’m tapped into a microphone. Bringing out energy like no other.
When it comes to my craft I believe giving it 110% is best because 100% just doesn’t cut it anymore. Being able to bring out a certain type of energy in everything I do has always been my forte whether it’s day to day life or with my career. Always bring your best game to the table. That’s how I narrowed down my stage name, because it plays close to who I am as a person. Haven’t looked back since.
Exactly what the track produces as well. The trap beat fades into the background soon after ACE starts his verses, you know he’s translating an animosity through his art. The hypocrisy of friends and family, what is good and bad blood. The sound quality was really impressive, along with the phasing effects.
NV: The production work is superb on this track. How much time did you spend on the track for post production?
ACE: We spent a good amount of time on the track. Possibly a week on post production. Ack [Aidan Ackerley], the mixing engineer for the track, definitely put in the work astronomically to bring this song to life. Not to mention David [Sinclair-Black, producer, Owner of Sinclair Media Group Limited] took lead on the production of the instrumentation itself and created such a vivid piece of art.
When it came to the composition of the track itself it took less than a day. Maybe even a couple hours to have it fully written and the basic instrumentations laid out. Big shoutout to Bobby Balow who mastered the song to its final form. If you don’t have a mastering engineer that knows what they’re doing then your song hasn’t reached its final form. It’s the icing on the cake [laughs]. When it comes from the heart it’s so much easier to create a song that way.
If you don’t write how you feel, then that song isn’t going to come out as you expected. That’s why we do our best to stay as original as possible in an over-saturated industry. Funny thing is “Fake Love” has no profanity either. Some say that’s a challenge, but honestly it’s so much easier to write that way for me personally.
That is absolutely spot on. Using profanity to be dismissive or explain grief or anger is easy, its going through a string of brand new vocabulary if you want the lyrics to be sharp. ACE does precisely that, making sure there’s enough fairy dust for the song to be an addictive exploratory device.
NV: Was the progression your idea or a group effort?
ACE: When creating and composing as a whole we come as a collective group to make sure each song is at its peak. I always write my own material, but don’t mind the critiques from my team. I actually welcome critiques, because you don’t get better if you just stay consistent. I’d rather keep getting better each time than staying on the same level.
A Certain Energy is taking a road people just don’t agree to take anymore. Censorship is almost non existent, so artist tend to use expletives many a times just for the sake of it. Takes work and effort to make it a smoother outcome, with all the ingredients in right proportions.
NV: What are the future plans for A Certain Energy? Any collaborations or tour announcement for fans?
ACE: There’s a lot underway in the next few months. Maybe even another song. My team and I recently secured a one song deal with TheSoul Publishing on an unreleased track Adam Eazy and I created a few years ago. Also have some major interviews on the way. I still need to complete some of the tracks I have with Asher Roth, but as time goes on more work gets brought on the table. As for touring I don’t plan on touring anytime soon, but I may see you guys at festivals. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Catch ACE on tour soon and check out where he’ll be performing to follow artists like him. Also check out https://linktr.ee/acertainenergy to know more about ACE.
Listen to his revelatory premonition here:
https://linktr.ee/acertainenergy
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
