Photo courtesy of FirstWorks.
Based in Providence rapper, performer and entrepreneur Flawless Real Talk eagerly waiting at first Summer Beats Concert hosted by FirstWorks, where new and returning fans will witness him perform his music at Roger Williams Bandstand in Providence, open to the public for all ages. Here’s a sneak peek into the artist’s life and how he came to fame with his dedication to his craft.
RIM: What part of Rhode Island did you come from and how would you describe your earlier years here?
Flawless: I was from Providence originally, born and raised. I started making music at an early age, so it was definitely something I wanted to pursue, and I just wanted to always travel the world, considering that we were the smallest state. There was a lot of optimism in the desire to grow up and see the rest of the world.
Are you still in Providence?
I went back and forth to Los Angeles and Rhode Island. My family is in Rhode Island so it will always be home. I went to LA for work, then when Covid hit I went home right away and stayed for two years, so I went back and forth but Rhode Island always came home.
When and how did it happen to you that rap was something you were passionate about?
When I was about fifteen years old, I really started creating music, creating song structures and I thought I could bring my emotions out on paper. That was the most important thing for me, it seemed like a vice for me to express myself that way and it kept me out of trouble. I gravitated towards putting my emotions on paper and that’s how it started for me once I realized I had talent.
I love that it’s a healthy way of self-care for you, the ability to journal and talk about your life.
Yes, it all starts as therapy. I think everyone who starts writing starts writing about their experiences, their feelings. It started as a kind of poetry format, I just released my expressions and my story, then I started going into the song format and getting beats from the local flea market. They used to sell CDs out there, I would go and get an instrumental CD and write to those beats, then I started meeting people, meeting producers, I started doing my own production and that was if how it started gushing into my being an actual actor.
You move from Providence to Atlanta, Georgia; what influenced that decision?
At a young age I only knew [my team and I] is doing so much and growing within the city, and I felt that I had become famous; we were doing the clubs Thursday nights, I was performing four to five nights a week at different clubs, we were performing at Ultra the Nightclub when that was still around, we were doing all these shows and I just want to expand. At the time, Atlanta was really a big market for music, so I packed all my belongings and took the opportunity. I was about seventeen went to eighteen, and I knew that if it didn’t work out, I still had so much time. It was a fearless step for me, I would say, “We’ll try our best, we’ll see if we can really do it. If not, we’ll go back home and we’ll still have time to think things through. ” It was one of the big opportunities to take and it was actually the best thing I did because it really allowed me to spread my wings and be who I am today.
That’s a very good mindset, I’m glad you’ve been optimistic about all of that.
I know, me too, because now that I’m older, it’s like “Oh my God, I can’t believe I did all that!”
When did you first realize you were getting more attention and success?
Once I got to Atlanta, we won a lot of tournaments, we entered everything we could possibly do that was in place, there were a lot of opportunities around and we were taking advantage of that. We got the attention of radio stations, we started opening up for major artists [including Ludacris, Rick Ross and Tech N9ne] and that started my live performance game where I was able to start touring, touring the country, seeing the world and living my dream.
By the way, you’re awesome on the Netflix show Rhythm + Flow (which exceeded 50 million views on social platforms); what is one thing you want to know before going to the show?
Something I wanted to know about going into the show… I knew, but I didn’t consider it, that it was a television production. It was an adjustment experience for me to play a role in the sense that things were presented in a way that was very clean. I’m super raw and emotional and I want people to see the falls, I want people to see the struggle. Filming a television show is different; in the finale, they ask us to do specific things for production, and for me it’s a legacy play. I wanted to have a performance that I would be proud of, that everyone would remember, and I sacrificed the win to speak up to do what I think is right for my heritage. That’s what I always talk about: my heritage. I’ve never been about “clout” or being someone who does things online for views, I’m just so transparent that I want fans who knew me before the show to watch it and see the same person. That is important to me.
What was your reaction when FirstWorks contacted you about the Summer Beats Concert, which will take place on July 24?
I was excited; I was scheduled to headline PVDFest afterwards Rhythm + Flow and then the pandemic hit, so we didn’t do that. Then at PVDFest this year, it was like “Wow, they didn’t call me! What’s going on? ”But they told me“ We have a different thought, we want you to do the Summer Beats Concert at Roger Willams Park, ”and I thought it would be amazing to be a part of the concert series and have our own my day.
What are you most excited about that?
I’m mostly excited to be back in front of my hometown crowd, to be back in front of the fans. It’s been a long time. We’ve only really done one show before this one in the past two years, so it was like my homecoming. Even then Rhythm + Flowfans haven’t seen me live yet, so it’s going to be super exciting, it’s going to be an amazing show.
Explain We The Label and why did you start the record label? Insanely sold out the single in one day!
We The Label is the new label I created that allows fans to be part of the process and also be part of the win. There are a lot of supporting artists who don’t really give credit to the fans, who really control everything by streaming music and by supporting. I wanted to create a system where fans could buy the streaming rights to the music and, when the song was streamed, they would get paid as well. Now they are experiencing support, they are winning with us, they are getting revenue and we are all in this: you support me, you support you. Our first single was called “Find A Way,” we released it and finished it in eight hours. It’s been a huge success, so we’re about to release another, continue to do it with the fans and allow them to be a part of everything and earn as they stream music.
You also received the city key from Mayor Elorza for your community work and integrating your music into education.
It’s a combination of many things, it’s our community work as well as the way we represent the city on the show. We collaborated with schools like Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA), and we presented the song “Land of the Free,” which is about immigration policies, and we were able to educate students using that song. . None of my music has a rudeness to it, so I’m allowed to teach with music and the kids love it because they love hip -hop so much – what better way to teach them than with music? It allows my music to play in any setting and maximize my potential where fans can play it anywhere: in a park, on a picnic, anywhere possible. The pleasure of feeling that I can do things like that, it’s just that my music isn’t rude, that’s why I can touch real things. We have songs about sexual abuse, immigration, almost so many different educational topics and that’s what made for us the key to the city. I’m thankful for that because Rhode Island is always at home and it’s delicious to feel back.
Can you say your family is a great motivation for what you do?
Really. The more responsibilities you have as an adult and as a father, the more you need to be successful. My family has been my force. Many people tell me that artists like me can’t have the same family and career. That’s a bad stigma, that’s a horrible message to our youth and to our artists coming up because you can absolutely have both. That support system is very important to me when I am not at home, and when I am lost in my home they are there for me and I try to be there as much as I can to show them that if they follow their dreams , they can be anything.
Give us a sneak peak of what’s next in your path.
We will continue to do things with We The Label, continue to release music, and we have many more tour dates coming up. I’m excited for this summer concert, about representing the city to the best of our ability and continuing to move forward and evolve each year.
Check out Flawless Real Talk at FirstWorks Summer Beats Concertfree and open to the public, and find out more about him and his music at flawlessmusic.com.
The lecture was edited and scaled down for clarity.
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