“Everybody stay positive no matter how negative life gets.”
– Juice Wrld
In a society where being toxic and being depressed seems to be glorified, how do we move past that and keep going? How do we pick up where we left off in life? What keeps us moving when times get hard? The simple answer for many people would be music and for DeAndre Bryant also known as Lokei would agree with that also.
Lokei was born in Chicago but has spent most of his life in Park Forest, Illinois. Growing up in the suburbs and having ties to the city impacts his music by having the best of both worlds. Obtaining the best of both worlds allowed Lokei to express himself more freely. Due to being able to express himself more freely. Lokei channeled his energy into making his music solely about his pain and joy.
As DeAndre developed into Lokei the love of music emerged. This love came from listening to Michael Jackson and playing instruments himself. With this creating his love for music he still has different influencers that impact his music. Artists that influence his music are Drake, The Weeknd, Jay Z, Frank
Ocean, and Partynextdoor. Though these artists influence his music his life experiences influence the message in his songs. The life experience that took a toll on Lokei’s message was getting his heartbroken. In the time of getting his heart broken, he wrote thirty songs in one month. It has always been said some of your best material comes from some of the worst moments in your life and I can testify to that. Because Lokei experienced heartbreak and with the help of Good-Bye & Good Riddance (Juice Wrld), Trapsoul (Bryson Tiller), and Scorpion (Drake) he decided to focus on making heartbreak music.
Heartbreak music has taken over our generation for some time now simply because of artists like Juice Wrld, Xxxtentacion, Trippie Redd, Lil Peep, Rod Wave, Drake, and many more. Though these are who come to mind when heartbreak music is mentioned he isn’t anything like them. As you listen to Lokei’s music you can tell he is very versatile. From his song “Neva End” to “Star” you can hear the difference in the style and the messages in the songs. Which is important for an artist because it makes them timeless in a sense.
Through the pain in his experiences music is the one thing that keeps Lokei at peace. If it wasn’t for music, the messages within it, and the artists that create it where would society? That’s a tricky question, don’t think about that but you should think about the message Lokei wants to portray with his music. He wants his music to show that he is human, he has feelings, he messes up, and has struggles. This collective of messages will be displayed in his upcoming project No Apologies. I feel to a certain extent that people forget that artists regardless of where they are in their careers are still human and have problems in their life too like everyone else. It is also essential to know that even though we have these struggles it is important to keep going regardless if you are an artist or not. BUT, for the artists, Lokei advises you to never stop, and to keep going the support will come eventually. To stay up to date with Lokei's music you can follow him on twitter @LOkei__ and on instagram @Lokei___.
Comments