RillyRil has arrived with a deep sense of purpose. The artist is breaking genre-barriers fusing hip-hop, neo soul and contemporary R&B to create an alternative sonic landscape of authenticity and emotion. RillyRil has carved her own path as an influencer who expresses the importance of keeping it real and being true to oneself. Her recent EP release, Keepin It Ril, is just her beginning.
Pass The Crown: What is the meaning behind your name?
RillyRil: When I first came up with the name, it meant to me just being authentic and letting myself be seen for who I am, being vulnerable no matter what it really looks like. When I was a kid, I felt very fearful to step into my power and I just felt really small and unseen for who I really was. So, I created a false self and I had a lot of identity issues. So stepping into this now is just me really stepping into my power and just being as real as I can be and knowing that nothing's meant to be perfect, in a sense, everyone should aim to be as authentic as they can be and as vulnerable as they can be because that's how we connect.
Was there a pivotal moment you can recall where you stepped into your power?
Yeah, there was a moment. So the moment was I had a vision and it was a vision that I've had since I was a kid, but I had the vision again this time, this year. I’m backstage on a really big stage and I hear people cheering me on and supporting me and all I have to do is just take this one step to get on the stage to be seen. I just have to take one step, like I've already taken mad steps to get to that one step and I just have one step left and it's scary. But that one step is what's going to let me be seen and let myself step into my power. So that vision is what really sped me and woke me up. I have people that are supporting me, and stepping into my power was just understanding that. I guess in a way stepping into your power is just about really knowing your worth and knowing who you are inside and it's not dependent on what's next or what's around you it's dependent on you and figuring out who that is.
Speaking of grounding and meditation, how do you implement self-care?
So I started meditating this year, and then I started journaling my feelings. I've always been doing that since I was a kid. Writing is a form of meditation to me because you put yourself in a space where it's just you and your ideas and your thoughts and my poetry often turns into songs. So I just think writing my songs is really just a self-care and self-love process for me.
There is some music that turns on certain frequencies. I like to listen to certain frequencies on YouTube or certain songs that have a particular frequency like Kid Cudi’s songs. I think the reason why so many people that are unhealed connect with Kid Cudi is because he hums frequencies in his songs. Not a lot of people notice that, but it's actually why we find his music so healing. And he's a major inspiration for me because the way he hums certain notes it comes from back in the day, if you looked into Buddhists cultures and how they hum, that's how Cudi hums. The frequencies in his songs are frequencies like 528 - the vibration that heals you on a molecular level.
That’s a new concept to me. Are there any frequencies you recommend listening to?
I was just listening to 528 this morning. Certain frequencies will bring up your vibrational level. That's why you have to be careful with what you listen to, because if you listen to frequencies that are lower, like in a lot of songs, there'll be crazy frequencies and people won't even know you're taking in stuff that's negative for you. 963 is cool and I listened to 639 today. There's tons of different ones, but you just find what works best for you. When you hear it, you’ll know which one brings you peace. I'm very connected to sound and visuals.
How has your upbringing impacted you as an artist?
I'm from Bushwick, well my mom raised me in like three different bureaus before we came and lived in Bushwick. It was Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and the Bronx. And then we stayed here in Bushwick, Brooklyn since I was three. I've been in this house a lot of years. Growing up here was really exciting for me. I always liked that I lived in Bushwick. Well there was a certain time that I didn't because I was just comparing myself to other people's lifestyles and just TV and media or friends that I knew. But now that I'm older, I'm really appreciating the fact that I'm here and I wish when I was younger I didn't see it in that way because Brooklyn is a very creative space and there's always creative energies here and there is a lot of stuff that I picked up on, but I wasn't aware that I picked up on this energy because I was looking at something else. Growing up here was cool, my mom, she always brought me to church a few blocks from where I live and I went to elementary school up until fourth grade, that's three blocks from where I live. I was very immersed in Bushwick. Bushwick was really where I was raised.
Considering your upbringing in Brooklyn and your viewpoint on the world, what kind of space do you aim to create at your live shows?
I want to create a space where people just feel comfortable, where people feel seen, where people feel heard, understood and appreciated. Like they matter. I want to remind people of who they are. Because I feel like everyday life: things that we experience and things that we go through, we forget about and often get distracted from our true purpose here. I feel like my purpose and my calling has been to remind us of who we are and who we were meant to be. I want people to come and feel inspired to be them again. I have this one line that I wrote that I love saying in “Keepin It Real.” “When we stepped on this earth, we forgot our crown, many don't recall what's left, so we discriminate what's found.” I noticed when I was in high school or just growing up, I just felt like a lot of people would make fun of me because they didn't understand me, and people make fun of things they don't understand.
That’s powerful. It is special that you are creating a space for people to not only come together, but to express every part of themselves.
Yeah, that's what it's about. Everywhere we go, we are an experience and we experience things. So I try to treat every show that I do as an experience. Like, even if it's not something that I'm curating fully, even when I'm doing just a set: I just treat that as an experience. You know, you're experiencing me, I’m experiencing you, so let's connect, let's express.
Describe your songwriting process?
Different every time. Sometimes I'll be here in the house doing dishes and I'll come up with a chorus. I get inspired and I express myself randomly, it could be at a family reunion, I could be at church, I could be anywhere and I'm just like, “Whoa, wait, I've got to write this down.” I could even be at a party. I’ll leave the party to walk outside so I can hear my idea because the music is too loud to write it down.
You also are a creative director and filmmaker. What was your process for creating the music video for “Keepin 'It Ril?”
“Keepin it Ril” was shot here in my neighborhood and it was very, very last minute. I love visuals so much. I needed something that followed the energy in the song. But at the same time, I don't have the budget to really pay videographers to fully execute this idea the I had in my head. But what mattered was that I just wanted to use what I had.
So I went and got a fisheye lens and I shot it all on my iPhone. I hit up a few friends and they came to my house. We shot the wake up scene here and we just went around and we were hanging out while we were recording, which is really fun. I was just like, “Get a shot of me brushing my teeth... let's go down the stairs. Oh, let's go to the park.” And then I just bought a $25 reflector and we used that to make that super bright scene when I'm in the grass. Just different stuff like that. Like I just let myself lead and trust my creative vision and direction and I edited it all on my own, on my phone, so this is all done on my phone and it just shows that, you can make it work, you can always make it work.
What are you looking forward to in 2020?
I'm working on some new music. I have so many ideas for 2020. I want to continue to congratulate myself on accomplishments, whether it be big or small. I want 2020 to look like a community. I want 2020 to look like a performance every month. I want it to look like more experienced events that I can throw. I want it to look like more success, but remembering that success does not define you. Just self-love, more music, freely giving out my music and sharing it with the world, touring… I'm also manifesting to perform at Afropunk.
How does one manifest?
I used to think manifesting was a mindset where you tell yourself you want something badly. I realized that anytime that you want something badly, you create a resistance to it. And it's kind of like the universe teaching you that that's not how you're going to get it. You get it by knowing you already have it. Manifesting is knowing and understanding that it's already yours. It's very, very, very powerful. We're all doing it. We literally are all capable of doing it. I think I'm going to write a song called “manifesting.”
Follow RillyRil on IG: https://www.instagram.com/r1llyr1l/
Check Out the Official Video to RillyRil’s song “Keepin It Ril” Below: