Change is scary but a necessary factor to growing towards a better you.
I have known Alex Powell (musically known as A.Wells) for the last six years, and have been able to see how he has evolved as a human and as an artist. It’s quite inspiring to see people you know prosper in their passions, and see them connect completely different people together through their art. Alex does an incredible job of spreading relevant messages through his music; he’s a rapper from the Sacramento area with an eclectic Soundcloud that while has an obvious hip hop sound can appeal to the widest range of people. He doesn’t consider himself as just a rapper however, and is constantly striving for greatness not just in his music, but in his life as well. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that in the beginning, I was not as supportive of his dream as I am now. Unfortunately, around the time he began making his music, I was completely and utterly ignorant when it came to the local scene, and honestly just music producing in general. I was only listening to 90s rock, and did not want to even try to escape from Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Believe it or not, A.Wells and his team attempted to throw a music video at my house around this time….Alex whatever happened to that awkward footage??? Eventually, I decided it was time to take the plunge into other genres and music, and I’m so glad I shook myself out of the 90s and into present time because Alex’s music is so relatable and a complete pleasure to listen to. He’s experimental but somehow manages to keep hip hop and rock roots throughout each track. He and I managed to squeeze some time out on a Saturday to sit down which I’m glad about because I had the opportunity to hear his thoughts on the current music scene in Sacramento, his idea of genre bending, and a giant list of influences I didn’t expect to come from him.
When did you find yourself start to really get into music?
I was always like fascinated with music. As a younger person I definitely didn’t think I had the musical talent or anything like that. I was always playing sports, but through finding hip hop music and just different artists I was able to think about it more. Like, when I heard Kid Cudi’s music for the first time I was like ‘wow that’s actually something I’d wanna do’. I guess he would be the first artist that actually really inspired me to make my own music because he doesn’t have the best voice, but it sounded beautiful in the way he did it.
I find that interesting because when I went through your Soundcloud I kept in mind how your bio says that you don’t consider yourself as just one genre, and I can kind of see how Kid Cudi is kind of doing the same thing.
Yeah he dropped like 2 rock albums after his 2 rap albums.
That’s the thing. Like, I grew up with so many different influences. I would be driving around with my grandpa, and he’d be playing classical music, country music, and then when I was with my mom she’d be playing Sublime, rock bands, and my uncles would be playing Blink-182 when I was younger. And then once I got older and would start going to my dad’s side they’d be like 'You don’t listen to hip hop music?' Ya know with me living with my white side of the family, so he’d put on to some like nice hip hop music. So I just always had a palette for it all. I just like good quality music. I don’t care what genre it is, and then when it comes to me making music, it’s just become so diverse because my interests are everywhere. And when I saw Kid Cudi do it, I remembered that he was very influenced by Kurt Cobain. I was also really influenced by Andre 3000, and these guys just really bridged the gap, and really blurred the lines on what a genre is which is kind of where I want to go.
Yeah, I totally see that. One of my favorites that you’ve done is Bottlerock Blues because I noticed that in a lot of your music you experiment with a lot of different textures and sounds. It’s not just one beat happening at the same tempo. You change the styles of your songs while still being fairly true to yourself.
I guess more lately I’ve definitely had more intention with those elements, but usually it’s just me wanting to hear interesting things. It could be someone playing the acoustic guitar, and I could totally make a Jack Johnson type of song, or like my song Bottlerock Blues. I just kind of thought about someone in the 60s merging with hip hop, like can I do 60s voice inflections but also have lyrical content like a rapper would, but also have that flavor and texture of an old bottlerock blues concert.
Honestly, everything you just said really translates in your music. I definitely got that vibe from a lot of what you’ve done. I’ve also noticed that a lot of your more recent music has been all about staying true to yourself, being more optimistic, so I was just curious what influenced you to go into that route?
I am an avid learner, and I’m always trying to grow. If you asked me a year ago, I was growing more professionally. I was learning how to grow myself as an artist and getting myself out there while building myself as an artist. Now, it’s like I neglected myself a bit. There’s a yin and yang to everything. So, recently, I’ve just been learning a lot more about myself and how I want to move in the world. That’s the kind of journey I’ve been on; just an exploration of who I am, why I think the thoughts I do; are these my thoughts or are these thoughts I heard someone else say and never really looked at my side. I’ve just been really going deep into what I consider are my thoughts and my rules. That’s really been coming through in my music for sure.
Definitely. Especially in “Change”. What influenced that track?
I’ve had a lot of conflicts lately. Like, I might move to L.A., I might stay here. I do believe in the internet, and I could blow up anywhere, but also there’s a lot of luck involved in this, and in L.A. your luck is raised. Am I just not wanting to leave the nest, and trying to fight change? That’s just one example, and could be about anything. It’s about my journey through change and finding myself.
In comparison to larger cities like L.A or Chicago, would you consider Sacramento a good jumping off point for up and coming artists?
I mean as of now, it just hasn’t been. We’ve had a resurgence lately; I feel like there’s some good talent coming up, but we just haven’ t had that one yet that really just opens the floodgates. We are in the age of the internet, so I think it’s just ‘Are you on the internet?’, ya know?
So, how has Sacramento reacted to you as an artist? I feel like every time I get to show someone my stuff, they really like it. I haven’t had a lot of people hating on me which might be a bad thing..It’s been taken well, my shows do well. Whenever I do a show, the venue is always really happy, the turnout is great, so it’s been good on that end. I have goals of moving up.
What would you say is the most challenging part about making your own content?
Music is just staying true to yourself, really. For me, it’s always just been about fighting off the bullshit. It's about sticking to myself the best I can because to a certain extent you want it to be palatable, and there’s certain elements that you have to do. I can’t just make every song not have a hook. It can sometimes be a battle to get creative with it. I can make the words out; writing the lyrics comes easier to me, you know? I do pride myself in making original music, like I hate albums where you hear the first song you’ve heard the last song. It’s just always just about keeping yourself open and being creative, but that’s the fun part!
There are so many different aspects to making a song, and I never realized how much goes into it.
It’s a process. You know for me, I don’t like doing the beat side orthe instrumental side as much because I’m just not as good at it. I was always fascinated most by voice inflections, lyrical content, and melodies. That’s what I really enjoy most about music.
There’s this other track that you created called “Hills”. The lyrics are really nice, but I love how you allow the melody to really breathe.
Yeah, I feel like in the past I did not do that enough. Like, I didn’t let the beat breathe as much. I’ve done that more. Sometimes as a rapper you feel like you have to have something in your pocket for everything. I’ve gotten better, and probably still have a long way to go, but with Hills, that was one of my favorite songs to make for sure.
What has been your answer to the “Back up plan” Question?
(Laughs) That is definitely a layered question for me, and probably my biggest insecure. You know, my friends are coming home from college with a degree at the same age as me. Your mom or your grandpa will be so excited for them, and then when you tell them about your new music it isn’t the same. I’m just trying to grow and do multiple things. I want to be more than just an artist too, so hopefully it all harmonizes well.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a lyricist?
It’s all about trial and error. Keep making terrible music until it gets better. GO to the gym, and start shooting 100 shots, and soon you’ll start making more and more. I made some of the worst music man has ever hear until I started figuring it out. I would also say to learn about yourself; read books. Really get to know yourself, and who you want to be. It’ll really help guide the direction you want to go. Definitely listen to others who can help you.I really do believe you are the people you hang out with. If all your friends are killing it and youre not, you’re going to feel insecure.
After our conversation, I felt an intense feeling of warmth and inspiration. Alex is incredibly easy to talk to, and this really reflects in his music. It is so obvious A.Wells is a firm believer in self-love and the importance of evolving into a better version of yourself as often as possible. It is a challenge to find people in their twenties as wise as him, and he has an interesting road in front of him that I can’t wait to support.
If you would like to keep updated on A.wells or would like to contact him, you can follow him on Instagram @awellsxmusic, and his soundcloud from the following link:
https://soundcloud.com/awellsxmusic
Current Show Dates: A.Wells has a show on Saturday February 24th at a friend’s home with a 40 person capacity so contact him ASAP! He also has another show set for April 6th at the Chase Lounge in Downtown Sacramento.
***I did not take these photos or make these videos. They were all taken by a third party, and I do not take credit for them.