With all that’s going on in the world, I wanted to offer you guys up a little bit of inspiration. A friend of mine gave me some of the most amazing advice a few weeks back and it’s seriously been changing my life.

[su_quote cite=”Take your work one step at a time. Take life one small step at a time.

-Ameerah”][/su_quote]

Yes… I’ve heard it before (you probably have too), like so many other amazing nuggets of wisdom from family and friends over the years. I guess I honestly wasn’t in the place to apply it to my life. Maybe I only listened and didn’t really hear. I don’t know, but I now realize how much following through on these small useful offerings can impact a life.

I’m learning that when you’re ready to make real progress, good advice will withstand the test of time. Ameerah didn’t know it then, but she was confirming what I needed to hear to get me to the next level. I needed to hear that I didn’t have to build Rome in a day. My success will come with small, daily efforts.

Working on this blog has been a huge undertaking for me. I thought I had to have it up in one night and make money off of it immediately, but it took me about a week or so to get it up and I’m currently working on monetization. With executing at least one task, daily, I’m continuously working on ways to improve my business as well as get it running the way I’d like. I now make sure to never end my day without one task going towards my blog. That could be making small edits, writing out an idea, editing a graphic… it could be anything. I just make sure to have at least one thing done.

I’m also carrying this mentality and discipline into other important aspects of my life. It felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day and used to really struggle at finishing songs or making time to work at my musical pursuits. Now I have a sure-fire plan to get my art done and have projects completed in a more non-stressful way. I’d like to think I’m #teamwinning over here. If I keep this up, who knows where I will be in a year!

So…let’s get real. What about you? What advice can you recall hearing that could get you to your next level? If you can’t think of anything off the bat, take some time to listen. Listen to the folks around you that are wise and have your best interests at heart. Then maybe reflect on some of the advice you might have heard but overlooked.

Now is the best time to make major strides towards your goals. Don’t let the moment pass you by! <3

-D.Wright

Photo courtesy of Gorilla vs. Bear.

Let’s start with, I always thought SZA was a model. I didn’t even realize she did R&B. All I knew was that she was a beautiful milk-chocolate girl with amazing hair and freckles.

All of a sudden everyone was talking about her and asking me if I had listened to any of her music. At the time, I was into a couple of other upcoming folks and didn’t dive into the work she was putting out. I can’t even tell you any of her solo material I’ve heard aside from the music she’s most recently released. What I can tell you is I listened to her on my girl Ratchet Rhi aka Rihanna’s “Anti” album on the 1st track, Consideration, and absolutely loved her. It was my gateway into the world of SZA.

Photo courtesy of Rap-Up.

A few weeks ago I heard “Love Galore” and immediately felt drawn into her rich, youthful alto. Then this “Ctrl” dropped and I totally understood why her label was NOT about the life of letting her go. I mean I did hear it was overblown at the time but if it were real, I probably wouldn’t have let her go either. She’s pretty awesome. I sat here on Friday and was just hypnotized. She literally says everything young women might want to express or chat about with their  girlfriends but with these raspy vocals over R&B tracks. How Sway? That’s legit not an easy feat, especially in R&B these days. Many new-age R&B crooners are not able to capture authentic, raw, and yet polished stories. I mean we fell in love with Usher and Alicia Keys at some point because they were able to skillfully take us on a journey while sticking to the R&B/pop formula. This new wave of R&B is less pop influenced though, and challenges young writers to connect with their audience in that Confession’s album sort of way but with the soul of a Songs in A Minor, all the while creating a new approach to R&B. She’s very much so a musical unicorn in the Frank Ocean sort of way where she’s able to tell really complex stories in a relatable way while, again, over R&B tracks. That’s pretty cool. The ethos of her work is storytelling. And the difference between her and a lot of other R&B artists out now, is she’s crafting the story herself. She’s vulnerable and real. She’s also not overproduced so you hear every word and syllable. You know exactly what she means and feels what she says.

Photo courtesy of Rap-Up.

SZA is a very moving artist and that’s so refreshing nowadays. You get the sense that she’s really bearing her soul in 14 tracks. Ctrl is extremely personal in a time when music seems so impersonal and contrived. For that reason alone, she has a new fan in me. I love it and I think as a woman, she plays up a lot on those feminine sensitivities without even trying. I’m glad to have an artist like her on the rise and I’m excited to see where she continues to journey with her artistry. <3

-D.Wright