Exclusive Interview with BLAKE VINCENT

Blake Vincent, who was born in Las Vegas as the only child, never had an easy life. The separation from his father and his mother’s struggles with alcoholism and borderline personality disorder overshadowed his happiness. Blake was able to escape the chaos all around him whenever he could sing.

Blake released his second album, Bear Lake Drive, a year after his mother died of cancer in 2023. This was the first street Blake lived on after moving to Reno, Nevada, and it also bears his name. This album blends several genres, including Pop, Hip-Hop, Country, and Rap, showcasing Blake Vincent’s wide range. Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

BLAKE VINCENT: I was born & raised in Las Vegas, but I’m currently living in Reno, Nevada. My father wasn’t in the picture & I was raised by my mother who was a poker dealer & an alcoholic.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

BLAKE VINCENT: It’s kind of a mix. As a kid I joined a performance choir & performed all across the Vegas valley for 2 years. From there I did choir in middle school & took a music theory class in college. I took a huge segway & found myself in the Army for 6 years, as well as doing IT work professionally for 9 years. Thankfully God brought me back to music, & from there on I’ve been self-taught. Learning how to record, mix, & master has been my main focus, while continuing to improve overall in songwriting & lyricism.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘BLAKE VINCENT?

BLAKE VINCENT: The name Blake Vincent is my authentic self. My last name lost a lot of meaning for me over the years, & felt more like a cage than who I really was. When I was writing my first poetry collection in 2021 (One Hundred Sun-Kissed Nights) I toyed with some pseudonyms, but in the end my first & middle name were what rang true to me as an artist & human being. As far as influences, I would say my musical influences are eclectic. I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Eagles, Rolling Stones) as a kid, but eventually found myself into post-hardcore (Silverstein, A Day to Remember, We Came as Romans) as a teenager trying to express my disdain for how I was raised & treated at home. Once I was on my own at 18, I started getting more into rap for about 6 or 7 years (Childish Gambino, Kanye, Logic, Russ, Hopsin, etc.)

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

BLAKE VINCENT: I would describe my sound as truthful, energetic, brave, & often times enigmatic. The key elements in my music are always authenticity, as well as describing a person, event, or feeling that I’m battling with internally. Either sending a message to myself, people I care about, or oftentimes surrendering to what can’t be changed. Sometimes it’s all of these elements combined.

5. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

BLAKE VINCENT: I think an open interpretation is most helpful. My earlier work was very abstract & hard to interpret what was trying to be explained without personally knowing me, but my current work is very straightforward & easier to understand what I’m talking about.

6. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as HIP-HOP?

BLAKE VINCENT:

Honestly, I think from the beginning I knew I didn’t sound like anyone else. My experiences are uniquely my own (From the Army, traveling, working out, growing up in Vegas, skateboarding as a kid, reading, trading stocks, hiking, writing, & eventually boxing this last year) & I believe my music reflects that in the way I write my songs. A lot of artists start out emulating their idols, but for me I didn’t start releasing music publicly until a year after discovering my sound individually. That first year I would freestyle for hours, just understanding delivery, rhyme schemes, & how to ride the beat. Since singing was my first love, learning how to rap brought out a different side of me that I’d been holding back for a long time. Nowadays I enjoy creating multiple genres of music, that way I can express more than one side of my personality, yet still be authentic to myself.

7. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

BLAKE VINCENT: I think it all comes back to intention. Any of those vehicles can be used to create music, but intention is what drives how you’re perceived. I would say that music always has a spiritual basis, regardless what is being said. Some songs are a lot more cultural & spiritual (Take Kendrick Lamar) while others are just simple, fun, & meant to grab your attention. Contradiction creates polarization (Take Kanye, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne) that more often than not creates a sense of belonging to the listener. These kids are asking themselves “What would my life be like with tons of money?” “What would my life like be like if I did what I wanted instead of caring what people think?” Ironically, the same vehicle for marketing & progression kind of numbs the next generation. Everybody wants to be the next Kanye. Everybody wants to be the next Post Malone. Nobody wants to be themselves. Nobody wants to turn weakness into strength. Personal narrative is at the core of my music, & helps me express the human experience.

8. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

BLAKE VINCENT: Truthfully, I think my music has helped me express myself in new ways, & helped me become who I am without relying on who I was told to be. Its not easy writing that 60^th song. It’s not easy working on a mix for hours. It’s not easy putting yourself out there, knowing that some people call your music genius, while others call it trash. It gives you a different kind of confidence to say “I’m going to do what I love & sometimes that means I don’t like what I love doing every single day” yet still do it anyways. That means losing a lot of what your comfort zone is. Talking about growth is easy, but actually growing is a painful process; which often creates some of the best music.

9. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

BLAKE VINCENT: When I was younger, I used to write songs with just a rhythm in my head & try to express what I was feeling, which often wouldn’t translate. Over the years, I’ve done it the other way around more often. I usually cycle between 5to 7 producers in different genres, & just sing or rap what I’m feeling from the beat. The best songs line up with what I’m feeling as well as what I’m thinking. Sometimes a freestyle is so good that it becomes the main hook to song, other times it might take days to weeks to write something meaningful. The best songs I’ve made have always been written within an hour or two.

10. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

BLAKE VINCENT: Honestly, growing out of the perception of what family & friends think. Nobody telling you what to do knows how you feel or what you’re feeling. It’s very hard to be friends with people who think they could do better who haven’t done anything. To realize that they feel threatened by you pursuing your dreams. It’s easy to say you’d make the best music when you won’t even take the risk to start. It’s easy to talk about what you did a decade ago when you’re an entirely different person now. It’s a very different experience to perform for hundreds of people, to make a music video in Croatia, to never believe that voice in your head telling you to give up, or work with other artists & grow in your craft.

11. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

BLAKE VINCENT: I enjoy both experiences a lot. Working in the studio is an environment where time moves slower, you get lost in the process, & fully enjoy the work that you’re doing. That being said, performing with a live audience is something words can’t describe. To see people vibing to what you made, to know each word coming next without thinking about it, to see your hard work come to life, it’s amazing.

12. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

BLAKE VINCENT: I’m a human being, so it’s always dependent on the situation. There’s a difference between constructive criticism & just hating. The best way to view it is through they lens that it’s not about you. I know what I’m feeling & I know what I think about myself, so anything anyone says isn’t usually about me. It kind of helps you see that people can only tell you about themselves. If you love my music, then something authentic about my experience rang true to you. That’s still about not about me. If someone hated a song I made, it usually has a lot to do with them feeling threatened by a different point a view, or an experience they’re not ready to grasp yet. The less personal you view criticism or praise, the more you can view it with a neutral lens.

13. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

BLAKE VINCENT: So far, a few proud moments would be getting over 400k streams on Spotify for my first album, One Hundred Sun-Kissed Nights. Having songs from my second album (Bear Lake Drive) on the radio, & seeing how my sound & overall artistry has evolved in my unreleased projects.