Diandra Interviews Matt B: Being An International Star
I had a really great interview with Matt B because, in some ways, we have realized success is a fluid term. He is a Chicago R&B singer and international star, with particular prominence in Asia, while never visiting the continent. Yet, he has hundreds of millions of streams and has been the soundtrack to Chinese weddings and playlists, K-dramas, and is signed to a Japanese label. Yet, he has never gone to the continent, which goes to show you the power of online presence and how music really travels the world even when you, as an artist, cannot.
Diandra: So how are you? That seem to be the questions during this quarantine!
Matt B: I haven’t really been in the studio like that. Obviously, I still try to be creative, whether it is writing poetry or making songs. Being cooped up in the house, you have to stay sane (he laughs). Just recently, I did a social distancing showcase, which was nice to have a live crowd to feed off of and rejuvenate me.
Matt B – Go Hard (Official Music Video)
Diandra: Do you see songwriting like being a modern -poet?
Matt B: In a way, yeah! In high school, I learned this strange concept that poetry doesn’t have to rhyme (we laugh). Towards my second semester, my school was publishing a book of poetry, and one of my poems got published. So I guess I can say I’m a published poet (he laughs). It helped me grow as an artist, and I think that, as a songwriter, you tell a story, and if you use beautiful and nice words, people connect with it more.
Diandra: You do write according to your life experiences. Was there an experience that stayed with you and went into a song?
Matt B: That’s a good question! I feel like every song I have written, whether by myself or with a co-writer, has a snippet of my life. I take what I am going through or what I am experiencing and I put it into the song. I put it on display for the world to hear, and sometimes it does not come out the prettiest or even get released (he laughs), but it is therapeutic. There was one record, “Need Your Love,” after I had a fight with my wifey,”I had to really let it out. I feel like when you do that, put your feelings into the song, the fans will connect to it instantaneously.
Another record I did, “No Days Off,” I had done this nationwide tour and I partnered with this company called, Sofar Sounds, and I had never done anything like that before. It was super dope. It was fun, and it tested my limits as an artist and who I was as a person. I wrote that record during that time-period because that was how I was living at the time: No Days Off! I was always grinding, recorded with strep-throat, and I filmed a music video while I was super sleepy. I listen to that song now, and it continues to impact me and speak to me in different levels.
Diandra: You do promote “the hustle.” Is there something you have learned about yourself through the grind?
Matt B: I have learned that I am really resilient person. I have a fire, that burns so deep inside of me, that just comes from me. It comes from within; it doesn’t come externally. I will never give; no matter how bas the situation. I have been the underdog for a very long time, but I feed off that energy. I will not take “No!” For an answer. When someone tries to take me down, I will get back up and come back stronger than ever. That is such a good attribute to have in this music industry because artists needs a lot of help, especially on the “mental health check” thing. We go through so much emotionally and we don’t really talk about it. Sometimes, things are not okay and that is okay. We just need to talk about it and I talk about it in my music. It is abut expressing the everyday struggle. Sometimes,I can’t take the elevator, I have to take the stairs, but it makes the view all the more prettier when I get to the top.
Matt B – TMS (Official Music Video)
Diandra: Do you feel that because artists are emotional-based that, inherently, this business, being about money, asks you for resilience? It really does take you through an emotional ringer.
Matt B: That is true!(he laughs) I’ll wake up one day and feel on top of the world and no one can stop me and, the next day, I wake up asking myself, “Why am I still doing this?” I go through these emotional swings. It is normal, which is unfortunate that it’s so normal for artists, but this is an out of ordinary situation. When you are in an out of ordinary situation, you will get out of the ordinary reactions and feelings. The music then becomes your therapy to check yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically. It also helps to have a good team to keep you grounded, and I have that. Shout out to my manager and wifey, Angela! Shout out to Richardine! Shout out to my production team! Without a good team, you end up becoming lost and a story of what could have been.
Diandra: I feel like when you turn a passion into a profession there are bound to be ups and downs.
Matt B: Definitely! I think when you work your passion, there are bound to be ups and downs. You are taught not to put your heart and take things so personally, but if you don’t put your heart into that microphone, the fans will be able to sniff it out.
Diandra: It is so true! I mean “art” literally makes up half of the word “heart.”
Matt B: That’s hard! (he laughs)
Diandra: I don’t know, though, if fans sniff out the “fake,” but I know that artists can tell when someone is being inauthentic.
Matt B: I agree! I think the fans can tell, but they don’t know how to put words to it. They can tell, and I think that is the difference for a timeless record! It really connects with them on a level where they are like, “Man, I got married to this record!” But, if they are a person is just chasing hits, then they have a “one and done.” It will be hot for a minute, and then 10 years later people will be like, “That was a hit?!” The timeless are the ones where an artist puts their heart on the record. We, as artists, interpret and bring a body of work to life, even if we didn’t write it, but it has to be in you because, if not, it won’t translate. When you capture a feeling, it is so dope. I have fans all over the world, even fans that don’t speak English, but they can catch the vibe and they can hear my passion. That is what I mean by having “feel good” music. You want to play a record again because you just know its coming from the heart.
Diandra: Is there something you have had to learn just to thrive in this music world?
Matt B: For me, I feel like I have always been the underdog. With the way people treated me, in the beginning of my career, you would have thought I had Covid-19. Seriously! (he laughs) So I don’t think you have to master everything, but you have to know something about everything. I taught myself how to use pro tools and sound engineering, and learning the technical stuff to really connect me with people on production to create a better product. I taught myself how to use Final Cut Pro; so I can do edits and use it for myself. It is super helpful because I got my video director of 4 years, Philly Fly Boy, and he is super dope. When he tells me to use certain angles, I can see it. I know what he means and sees, and it is about always growing and changing. It is about making sure “the sun never sets on my kingdom.”
Matt B – Delilah (Official Music Video)
Diandra: That is a VERY Game of Thrones quote (he laughs). Going into my final questions, you are massive in Asia! You are even signed with a Japanese label. What was it like going there and experiencing such fandom?
Matt B: I am going to be completely transparent. I was going to go to Japan this year, for the first time, but then Covid hit. I have yet to physically go to Japan. So to answer that question, I was so shocked that they loved what I created. What I created, I did in my home studio, and to see they connected to that, on such a level, is crazy. There is a streaming platform in China, that is exclusively on China, and they put my debut on there and one of my songs, I found out, has 158 millions streams. It blew my mind. Japanese and Asian culture are so receptive to music when it feels right, and I love my fans.
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