This feature is an amazing new voice stepping into the music spotlight. With her upcoming project "8:18' -- she is hoping to introduce listeners to her vibe and perspective. We love putting our readers on to new music, so be sure to share this with your friends and family.
Music is a unique way of getting in touch with your emotions, express the way you feel, and sharing your what is on your mind. Music brings about all forms of the human spectrum of emotions and allows for listeners and creatives to connect and build a bond. I remember in high-school music use to get me through every school-day and every football practice. We hope that her music helps you through some tough times as well.
This artist creates music with feelings in mind, through her music we learn her journey and gain a little insight into her perspective. But more importantly we can feel the vulnerability and honesty in the music, the same way that some of the greats have done for years. There are emerging creatives all over the world and we hope you are ready for this one.
Everyone meet Aroe Phoenix:
BIO:
Aroe Phoenix is an Arizona-based artist with a background that is as unique as her sound. The bilingual contemporary R&B singer was born in Los Angeles, California and raised for most of her adolescence in México. As she will tell you, “There are a lot of layers to my life, but no matter what I just keep going. There is something in me that just won’t quit.” She attributes a lot of her passion and resiliency to her faith and her love of music from a young age. She first decided to enter the music scene with her single “Nothing to You” in 2019, though she started training very early in her life. This debut single, as well as her upcoming EP ‘8:18’ are the first of many self-written creative projects of hers.
‘8:18’ is a four track love letter to the world in the hopes of inspiring equality, healing, and unity. Aroe Phoenix said, “I wrote ‘8:18’ because I’m tired of the way that people treat each other and I’ve noticed that with everything going on, people are losing hope. I truly believe that things will turn around, but it’s like everything I say in the album is double-fold. It’s a reality check not only to me but to the world too… Be humble. Be grateful. Don’t give up. It’s a reset button in that we can do better.” Creatively, the album maintains its sincerity as new ground yet helps us venture back into the world of old-school hip hop and jazz. Aroe Phoenix seamlessly blends her own unique sound with her inspiration from several genres.
For some of us when we hear Aroe's voice we hear hints of Eryka Badu, Amy Whinehouse, and artists like Kali Uchis. A very unique and beautiful voice. Aroe can vibe to almost any track, from classical to rap, soul, and jazz. We are looking forward to her growth and excited to see her share music with you all.
Our first time meeting Aroe was on Arizona State University's campus for an event I Am Root LLC collaborated to host the open-mic section. She was nervous, but she performed and did extremely well and from that moment our brand has been keeping a close eye on her transition into the music industry.
It's important for an artist to be able to find their voice early in order to build confidence around making the music that they want to make versus feeling pressured to follow trends or limit themselves. Aroe has been on a strong path to finding her own and we hope that artists around the world can connect with that story and the music.
Photo by Godlyne Ulinwa @iluportraits
Read our interview here --
RM: Rooted Minds
AP: Aroe Phoenix
RM: How did you come up with the name and concept for your project?
AP: It’s crazy because I originally had 5 completely different songs that I was going to use for this EP and I was going to name it ‘Cinco’. But I went through a huge shift at the beginning of the year and decided to scratch everything and start something new. 8:18 is in reference to a scripture of the book of Romans which says: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” I felt like this was perfect because it speaks exactly to what the concept of my album is about; healing, need for change, love, hope, and God. RM: What were some of your inspirations for creating the project?
AP: As we all know 2020 has been a hectic year. There have so many obstacles and ups and downs so I turned to song writing as my outlet to express my grief, concern, but in a strange way hopefulness in everything turning around for the better. I also started playing the saxophone so I had been listening to a lot of jazz and old school hip hop. I have always been a huge fan of both genres but for some reason it felt like I fell in love with them all over again. It just felt right. RM: What's been the biggest challenge about releasing your first project?
AP: I think the biggest challenge was honestly myself. When comparing the sound of this album to my first release last year it’s a completely different vibe. I kept overthinking and doubting whether or not I was pulling it off. But ultimately I realized that I made it for a reason and trusted God more than myself. I think this something that a lot of artists may struggle with, but honestly if you vibe with it and you put your heart and soul into it just go for it. Trust your ability. RM: What do you want listeners and new fans to take away from your project?
AP: I hope that everyone that listens to this album feels recharged. People are grieving right now and I get it, times are really rough and uncertain but I don’t want people to give up. When people hear 8:18, I want them to look beyond our current circumstances and keep loving, dreaming, and think about what is really important in life. RM: What kind of expectations do have for yourself as an artist?
AP: I don’t really have any expectations. I just want to create and keep improving as a singer and a writer. Besides speaking truth into my music I am cool with just seeing where things go and trusting God in this whole process. Although I must say I wouldn’t mind traveling the world and/or building a bigger fan base, haha.
RM: What's your artist mission or why do you make art?
AP: I make music because it is the best way that I can express myself. I could just say what I feel, but there is something way deeper to me when you add a heavy bass to the background of it, you know what I mean. I don’t know music was my first love and has been with me through everything, in many ways it has saved me. I hope to help people feel and when I say that I don’t mean just joy and happiness. My mission is for people to feel what they feel but know that no matter what it’s going to be okay.
RM: What are you hoping to do next?
AP: I already started writing a new album, which kind of nice. Like once I finished this project and felt good about it I was ready to keep going and start something new. So in the meantime I will be focused on that and getting my degree.
Photo by @jamildawodu
If you didn't already know Aroe Phoenix, we hope that this interview helped to shine a light on her personality and journey putting out her first ever project. The process of building your own brand or starting a new music project is never easy. So big shoutout to Aroe and artists like her that are working to make their dreams a reality.
Check out 8:18 --
Upside Down
More Music:
Cry No More
A&E
Summa Love
Check out her EP and drop a comment below telling us what your favorite song is. So far my favorite is "Cry No More" because in this song she truly shows her versatility. It's like nowadays all the rappers wish they could sing as well, but Aroe is gifted to be able to sing and flex some lyricism. It's just an opinion, but it's a little better of a transition when a singer raps a little bit, as oppose to when rappers slap on the auto-tune and try to record a ballad.
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Links:
Loner- Kali Uchis cover
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I Am Root® LLC is a Lifestyle Brand that specializes in events and productions for Local, Underground, and Emerging creative arts. The I Am Root® Collective is made up of 7 independent artists and a blog team whose mission is to inspire and be inspired.
We [typically] curate monthly and quarterly live music showcases, concerts, open-mics, special release events, and various specialty shows across Arizona. We have curated over 150 events here in Phoenix Metro Area. We work with local, emerging, and underground artists, the Maricopa Community College School District, Arizona State University Organizations, Non-Profit organizations and others to help push the culture and create a community for artists and art appreciators.
We are here to inspire and be inspired.
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Peep our last feature with Lewis Santana
More about Dom Root
I am from Inglewood, California, currently working in Phoenix, Arizona as a Sound Engineer (Live, Recording, and Mixing). I am a Music Producer and Creative Artist looking to build portfolio and for live performance opportunities. I graduated from Arizona State University studying Creative Writing and Philosophy. I later studied audio production technologies at Mesa Community College, before taking on more freelance work.
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