Q. Good day, Aka-Woody! We appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. The first thing we want to know is How did you get into making music?
A. Music has always been around me, more so jazz specifically, and the city I live in itself, New Orleans. My family is comprised of jazz musicians, DJs, rappers, etc., so naturally, I picked up the trumpet at 11. Slowly, I started trying to find ways to better express myself. At 14, I just decided to start writing for the fun of it, and going into high school, I found myself recording in studios and on my computer in the early BandLab days, just making anything I could. I’ve been rapping and making music since about 15.
Q. Who are your musical influences and why?
A. I would say my grandpa, especially early on. I feel like jazz has been a big help in navigating how music works and the love for it. I don’t play as much because going to school for it felt like a chore. So naturally, I gravitated toward rapping. Early on, XXXTentacion was a big influence, but surprisingly, the song that got me into writing was “Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD.
-
In the summer of 2018, I saw a Danny Phantom edit of the song, and I was going through a tiny breakup, lol, so it motivated me to start writing. Eventually, in high school, I had access to a studio, which was helpful to get a professional take on music. I didn’t like it though, so it prompted me to record at home. A lot of my inspirations come from my friends as well. Seeing them flourish in what they do pushes me even further to go 100% in all of my work.
-
I would say I take a lot of inspiration from artists and their stage presence, such as XXXTentacion, of course, Travis Scott, and just overall capturing that presence and delivering it to my audience. It definitely helps watching others who have been doing it for a while and implementing it into my craft in my own way.
In the summer of 2018, I saw a Danny Phantom edit of the song, and I was going through a tiny breakup, lol, so it motivated me to start writing. Eventually, in high school, I had access to a studio, which was helpful to get a professional take on music. I didn’t like it though, so it prompted me to record at home. A lot of my inspirations come from my friends as well. Seeing them flourish in what they do pushes me even further to go 100% in all of my work.
-
I would say I take a lot of inspiration from artists and their stage presence, such as XXXTentacion, of course, Travis Scott, and just overall capturing that presence and delivering it to my audience. It definitely helps watching others who have been doing it for a while and implementing it into my craft in my own way.
Q. What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
A. My biggest highlight so far has been the community, the connections, and the bonds built through navigating the music scene. I’ve met a lot of great people, and with more people comes a bigger audience. It feels good to be able to connect to those people with what I make.
-
There’s no better feeling than being on that stage, fully expressing myself and hearing other people sing along to the songs I made at like 3 AM in my bedroom. My biggest highlight recently was dropping my first album, grls.n.xtc. I spent a year working on it and overall crafting a path for my sound to flow down.
-
Although I had a few bumps in the road, I loved the process of being able to create and capture a feeling inside a project. It is my first-ever album, so it felt good to hear how receptive people were and how much support I gained through this.
-
There’s no better feeling than being on that stage, fully expressing myself and hearing other people sing along to the songs I made at like 3 AM in my bedroom. My biggest highlight recently was dropping my first album, grls.n.xtc. I spent a year working on it and overall crafting a path for my sound to flow down.
-
Although I had a few bumps in the road, I loved the process of being able to create and capture a feeling inside a project. It is my first-ever album, so it felt good to hear how receptive people were and how much support I gained through this.
Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A. One of my dreams has been to perform at Rolling Loud. Not even talking in 5 years, in 1-year, I’m gonna be on that stage. It’s always been a dream. I’m sure there are other concerts I could be at, but Rolling Loud has always been at the top of my list. I’ve always been in awe of how many artists put on great shows there, and I just want to be able to do that as well. I know I can, and I know I’m gonna be on that stage soon.
Q. What Is One Message You Have for Your Fans and Supporters?
A. Cliché, but the best advice you could ever hear is to keep being your honest self. So many people get caught up in aesthetics, trying to act “this way or that way.” But the best self-expression is being yourself, not trying to be anyone else. Don’t follow a trend—do your own thing. It’s fun to have hobbies, and it’s fun to enjoy life. I know there was a wave of everyone trying to be “mysterious.” I, as well, got caught up in that, but sooner or later, you realize that’s just a miserable way to live. I still get called mysterious or some other BS associated with that.
-
Granted, you don’t have to post your whole life, of course, and people are always gonna have something to say. But just make sure you’re making yourself happy in what you do. I say just move with love and honesty all the time. Being a good person to others and to yourself is the only way we’ll all be happy in life.
-
My last two things I want to say are: Learn to let go. A lot of things are not in our control, but try to worry about the things that you do have control over. You’ll go insane wondering about all the what-ifs. And with that, the last thing I want to say is: anything that you want, just go for it. Anything in life. This is how you avoid those what-ifs. If you want something, take initiative and work towards it. Don’t let life pass you up wondering what you could’ve done. Just do what you love.
