Interview: Witt Lowry- The Future of American Rap?

Witt Lowry’s highly anticipated first full album-‘Dreaming with Our Eyes Open’- drops today and is jammed with eleven great tracks that have proven the twenty four year old’s consistency, creativity and versatility. In 2013, his first mixtape- ‘Kindest Regards’- was of a rare quality that took listeners by surprise and captured their attention. The mixtape’s title track delivered a combination of excellent flow, stunning backing track and crushingly sincere lyrics about perseverance, which have gone on to gain him fans and respect both domestically and internationally. 

What sets Lowry apart from many other artists for me is his humility and the intelligence of his insights into human relationships and the trials of life. Rather than wasting endless bars bragging about his skills or experiences at the club or mindlessly dissing his ex-girlfriend, Lowry looks deeper at the bigger picture. Refusing to accept the simple answer, his lyrics are searching to understand the more complicated and less lauded parts of the human experience, attempting to understand a world that is often confusing without losing optimism or motivation. The new album is the antithesis of what is wrong with much commercial or mundane music, refusing to buy into an image or stick to safe subjects.

I spoke to Witt to find out a little more about this mysterious newcomer from Connecticut who looks sure to make his unique mark on rap music. 

Interview:

How does it feel now the album has finally dropped?

WL: It feels amazing to have the album finally be available for people to listen to; it's always the most rewarding feeling to finally put something you have worked so hard on for so long out into the world. I spent almost a year working on every aspect of this album, watched the seasons change from my window but always knowing that when the day came to release the music it was going to be something special!

What does the album’s title 'Dreaming with Our Eyes Open' mean to you?

WL: The title Dreaming With Our Eyes Open is actually a play on words, what it really means is reality, there is a transition from having a dream and that dream becoming a reality, Dreaming With Our Eyes Open is that transition from having an idea or thought in your head and actually turning it into something real, that process isn't always easy and this album reflects the struggle, the ups and downs of the entire process. A dream is only a dream until you bring it into reality. 

I loved your mixtape 'Kindest Regards' (download for free here: https://m.datpiff.com/mixtapes-detail.php?id=555066). It has this amazing raw emotional power, did you expect listeners to respond so strongly to it or was its success a shock? 

WL: Honestly I just created music from my soul and with passion, I made the music that I NEEDED to make to get myself through tough times and that is what the music reflects, I think people can just tell when something is real and I think a lot of people gravitated toward it for that reason. 

You've forged a really strong relationship with your fans; do you have a favourite or funny favourite fan story?

WL: Every story that I create with the fans is a favorite, It is still crazy to me when I get noticed out in public, people will often come up and say "hey, you look a lot like Witt Lowry!" and I just respond with "I AM WITT LOWRY!" it's always awesome!

When was the moment you realised that this was the path for you? Or did rap just creep into your life? 

WL: I feel like rap chose me, I was always a big writer and eventually that started to transition into writing music, I knew right away that this was what I was passionate about and could do every single day for the rest of my life, that's when I started focusing on my music path. 

The first track I heard off the new album 'Running from Here' was gold. It keeps the raw emotional edge but adds even more complex melody and a touch of electro. Did you attempt style changes or did they just occur naturally?

WL: I don't overthink trying to change styles, when you do that it just sounds forced and sounds like you are being someone you are not, for that song Dan just sent me the beat, I loved the sound and a concept popped into my head so I ran with it, I'm very versatile so I like to have something that can fit any mood.

Whats your favourite part of writing a track?

WL: The concept, the ability to write something that can bring someone to tears or make them laugh, the ability to change someone entire perspective on life or an issue, music is one of the only forms of art that can do this extremely effectively.

I love your collaboration with Trippz Michaud on 'My Mistake', he delivers a great hook. If you had the chance to collaborate with anyone who would it be? 

WL: Thank you! There are a lot of people I would like to but I don't ever put too much thought into it, it's something that comes naturally, if a song needs something and there is someone that can add to it then I love that, I never like to force any collaborations though. 

Who would you say the biggest inspiration was to you on the way to becoming the success you are today?

WL: I would say my mother, she never been anything but supportive, she works so hard and put me in the position to be able to pursue music, she motivates me to always be the best I can possibly be. 

I really liked the how in the 'Move On' video and song you flipped the perspective on your relationship to focus on you from her POV, was it tricky to get into her head space and be so self-critical? 

WL: It took a little time to put myself in the shoes of someone who had hurt me, normally when that happens you blame the other person and think that you couldn't have done anything wrong, I think it is always important to remember there are two sides to every story, no one is ever always right or always wrong, so I started to paint the picture of how imperfect I was and that song came from there. 

One of the things I personally admire about your music is it's unreserved honesty, is it be so open in such a public art, especially in a music scene that tends to prefer more bravado and less heart? 

WL: It's how I am naturally, I am brutally honest with everything, it's not hard to be so open in my music because that's me, I think trying to be something I'm not would be much harder than being so open and honest. There are a lot of sides to me (as well as everyone) so you may hear me feeling one way in a song and completely another way in another song, I just write what I feel in that moment.

Who are your favourite musicians out there at the moment? Who should our readers be listening to right now?

WL: I just love music in general, I don't have a favorite, I just listen to whatever I am feeling at the time, just listen to music, don't box yourself into listening to only one genre, keep an open mind, music is music.

From your music it seems your persevered through a lot from a young age, what advice would you give to anyone struggling out there? 

WL: Keep your head up, channel everything you go through into motivation to be better, use it as fuel instead of letting it drag you down, always remember that being positive attracts positive things. 

After slogging it out on a big project like this how do you like to spend down time recharging?

WL: By working on the next album, there is really no time to rest right now, so it's back to work!

Any other upcoming projects or collaborations we need to keep an eye out for? Can we look forward to a UK tour sometime in the future? 

WL: Tons of new material on the way, also spread the word out there in the UK for me, I'll make sure to make my way over there as soon as I possibly can! Thank you for taking the time to ask me all these questions, much love and respect!!

‘Dreaming with Our Eyes Open’ is out now and available for purchase on iTunes. You can also find out more about Witt Lowry or follow his upcoming releases and events on these pages:
www.youtube.com/WittLowry
http://twitter.com/#!/WittLowry
http://soundcloud.com/WittLowry
http://instagram.com/WittLowry