Exclusive Interview With Singer-Songwriter, Author & Speaker Justin S. Grant Who Just Released A New Single & Music Video “Fuego N’ Ice”
Los Angeles, California-based Justin S. Grant is an entrepreneur, singer, author, and speaker. His full life is a result of his experience in diverse sectors throughout his journey. Earlier this year, he launched his music career, and has been consistently releasing new music since. We had an in-depth conversation with the emerging artist about the concept behind his new single, inspirations, style and more.
We loved your new release, the single and music video “Fuego N’ Ice,” what inspired you to write this song?
Gracias! I hope people will have fun dancing to the beats, especially as the world opens up again this sweltering summer. With the endless lockdowns n’ painful losses, we have all felt like a tiger in a tiny cage for far too long now… praying we can let loose together again and that this song is part of the party!
The inspo for this tune is the Ying/Yang nature within every woman; not meaning good or bad here, but rather she’s sometimes hot, sometimes cold – all natural, normal, necessary. Also I’ve lived in southern California my entire life, where our culture is permeated with many influences, including Spanish-Mexican-Latin spices, which were blended into this dance bop.
What was the main concept behind the music video?
As the video story progresses the leading lady in red transforms from icy cold, to luke warm, to blazing hot! I tried to paint in song a simplified spectrum of feminine moxie during the dance of courtship – first freezing her suitor, then tempting him, and finally shocking him with her fire.
Secondly, while it’s obvious that men are overwhelmed by womanly beauty every day, what is interesting is that psychological studies show that women’s brains get excited by such displays too! Thus the preponderance of the feminine form in all sorts of advertising – widely effective when marketing products, services, ideas etc. to men and/or women.
Finally, a major component that animates the female psyche is playing the role of alluring temptress. Whether a woman is reserved or expressive with her sexuality, we are universally fascinated by this innate power. So the finale of the story is how exciting this feminine energy can be, regardless of our gender, orientation, relationship status, etc.
In the music video, my love interest, actress Danielle Carr, brings all of these intertwining concepts to life with her mesmerizing performance!
Did your upbringing influence or shape your sound and style?
Of course! Nature N’ Nurture, hand n’ hand. I have many musical heroes & heroines – ranging from folk, rock, reggae, pop, to hip-hop. Which leads to my next answer…
We’ve spotted so many genres in your latest releases, what style or styles fit you best?
aimless-androgynous-genreless – LOL!
Apologies for the non-answer, but to date I’ve made no attempt to fit into any particular genre. Just trying to create songs that move your heart, head, or feet.
Though I’ve heard the word my whole life, I still don’t really know what the genre “Alternative” actually means… What a peculiar term! Maybe with its vagueness it’s the best non-label-label for me for now. ATM it’s all “fusion-al”, ‘suppose.
Which artists inspire you and would you like to collaborate with any?
Well the list is long… but amongst my favorite classic artists are certainly Bob Dylan & Guns N’ Roses. A newer artist who cites the same influences, I believe, is Post Malone, tho’ he is generally categorized in the Hip-Hop genre. So while he n’ I are surely different, I love his fusional approach. Also Bob Marley is a source of infinite musical inspiration for me – his songs are ever overlighted by spiritual radiance.
For now I “collab” alone, but in my visions, with any of these heroes and/or their talented progeny.
As a versatile human being who juggles between being an author, speaker, and artist, we would love to know about your beginnings in music. What made you officially launch your career this year?
Thank you. No tiptoeing around the fact that I’m a late-bloomer, musically speaking. While some are musical superstars in youth, I simply loved listening to music until I became a young adult. Then my passion for creating music erupted within, especially for singing. In a college choir class the elderly piano accompaniment lady gave me a most movingly memorable compliment. After the piece finished, she turned around, looked me in the eye, and said, “it’s in the blood with you”. Stunningly sweet! Since then I’ve variously joined competitive choruses, sacred choirs, and pop/rock groups, always with ferocious commitment and the long range aspiration to make mainstream music one day.
Also always in parallel with my love of music has been my love of wisdom, the literal meaning of the word “philosophy”. Philosophy, psychology, and spirituality are deeply related branches of wisdom which I eventually studied in grad school. There I learned many wondrous teachings and was blessed to befriend the sagacious school president. In place of my final thesis paper, he inspired me to write a book. It took a terribly long time… the hardest thing I have ever done… but I finally graduated!
In the book, titled “Business & Spirituality”, I was inspired to share the vital essence of everything I had learned in my search for universal truth. In harmony with the needs of our time, I endeavored to link sacred teachings with contemporary science, and to make spiritual practices practical, and finally to help inspire an elevation of culture within the near-omnipotent corporations which affect us all everyday, as powers behind the world’s throne. Once published, I compiled an abridged version entitled “Spirituality for Busy People”. So musically speaking the main book is my opus and the abridgment a “radio edit”.
With these prose writings released, more recently I’ve been able to concentrate on making original music. The timing of this coincided with our miserable pandemic… to stay semi-sane I kept furiously busy by creating several slop songs in my humble home studio – hee, hee. While it’s been an agonizingly long n’ winding road, in a sense I’ve been “in rehearsal” for longer than teen pop stars have been alive! So, bringing it all back home, I hope this will count for something now that I’m finally releasing music into our wild world.
Any upcoming plans you would like to share with our audience?
Yes! My books will be released as audio books soon, as well as an online course version, to spread the teachings into a new dimension. The course will bring the added power of supportive group energy to help students achieve self-transformation in virtually every department of their busy lives. Join us soon!
Additionally, new songs, music videos, a debut album, n’ live shows – all in the works!
Please visit my socials @JustinSGrant + my website www.JustinSGrant.com for more info.
Be well!
Thank You!
Gratitude to you for the interview and to all your readers for their support. Justin S. Grant Links: Instagram – Spotify – Website – YouTube
Author
Violeta Rojo
EDM LOVA
