This Artist Spotlight is featuring Queens bred artist Forevrmore (@forevrmore), a talented musician and lyricist that's super in tune with his creative process. I got the chance to pick Forevrmore's brain about music, where he gets his new ideas from, and his growth as an artist, from his time with the earthshaking Queens group BhagBoys, to now, as a solo act. Forevrmore is a musician who can hop into different bags and execute in a skillful and precise way, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to creativity and structure in his music. He tells us about his latest single, SETTLE4LESS, and where he wants his music to go from there forward.
Interview & Photos by Matthew Loyd
20XX: So tell me about yourself: who are you and where are you from?
Forevrmore: I’m Forevrmore, from Queens, NY. From the three block, Jamaica Queens. Jamaica too. Everything like that, everything Jamaica.
Word. were you always into making music, and just music in general?
Yeah, I think music was definitely something that was always a part of everything we was doing from young. As long as I can remember, somebody I knew did music, since I was like, playing basketball or just in the park, hanging out. So it was always like, one of my mans or something that said “oh, you should come to the studio,” yeah.
What was the first genre of music you fell in love with?
Gotta be like R&B. Yeah, gotta be R&B. I think that was the first thing that was being played for real in the crib.
Who were you listening to at that time?
At that time it had to be like Aliyah or like Missy [Elliot], Timbo, all of that. Gospel music too, facts.
So when you first embarked on this journey of making music, was there a certain expectation for how you wanted it to go?
Nah, I kind of always had a free energy with it. As soon as it started it was always like a free energy– whatever I felt I wanted to do, I kind of just did. I always did what I wanted to do.
How old were you when you started?
Just making, I was messing around on Audacity on the computer in the crib with the apple headphones– I was doing that at like 12 or 13. Facts. Very crazy.
How do you feel like you've grown since then?
I feel like from then, artistically, musically I've grown and I feel like my mental library has grown, you know what I'm saying? Over life, you just start learning more stuff that you could add to your music, you can add to your perception how you want your music to sound and look and feel, whatever the case may be.
I like that. What would you say is an example of one of those things that you remember learning that you were like, “OK, let me mix this in with my creativity”?
I’ll definitely say like, I think melodies. Melodies and just really embracing the creative process versus being shy in it and feeling like you don't know what you're doing. Every time I got into recording or creating, I always put everything into it. I always want to be super energetic towards the creative.
Why the name Forevrmore?
Forevrmore, it's just like, it's forever, it's everlasting. It's always been the name that I got from a while before, when I was a teenager, and then I had names before that too. In the hood you always get mad names. I had like 4 names that they used to call me in the park or on the block, whatever the case may be. So Forevrmore was the one that stuck. N*ggas would be like “yo Forever” or “F.O.” yeah.
Tell me about Bhagboys. What was your favorite thing that you guys did from that time?
Definitely got to be connecting with people. Yeah, I think connecting with people was the best experience because we connected with so many people, more people than we thought we would connect with. Real life impressions too, we left a lot of real life impressions on people. So that was a unique thing.
If you could describe your sound in three words, what would they be?
Hmm, the sound in three words… I think it would be feeling, emotion, and reality.
Okay, why do you pick those three?
Because I feel like when I record, it's always a feeling process. I never think when I record, I always just feel, you know? So I'm moving, I'm feeling what I'm saying. Reality is it's always true to what I'm saying– I never make a song just to make a song for fun. I used to do that when I first first started, but now it’s kind of just songs with purpose. Then emotions, ‘cause I'm always feeling something every day throughout the 365. It's inside my heart, inside my soul. I'm always feeling something. So there's always an emotional aspect to me for real.
So I see with your new single SETTLE4LESS, you take more of a melodic route as opposed to your early, more lyrical rapping style with your work with Bhagboys and even your earlier projects. Do you think this is going to be something that you incorporate more into your sound in the future, or will you utilize both styles?
I feel like it's something definitely that I’ll incorporate [going] into the future. I utilize all styles, but for me it’s more about what I'm feeling. Anything that I feel I could produce, and I think that's the main key for me. If I'm feeling that, I'll just produce that type of product.
What would you say is like one of your favorites? You've done a lot like, you're very versatile in terms of what you create and just like the different bags that you'd be in when doing it, right. So what would you say is one of your favorite [styles] that you've done that was like, “this was cool to try out or do for the first time”?
Song wise?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, got to be SETTLE4LESS. SETTLE4LESS, I did that one and I really was like, “damn, I enjoyed this.” And then when I was able to put it out and see people enjoy it I’m like “I love this energy, I love this vibe.” That's like, “oh shit”, yeah, it's like another reaffirmation.
What's something you do as a musician outside of making music that helps you to sharpen your sound?
Living. Traveling. Any type of like, watching shows, reading, you know? I just got to a new book, I ain't even start reading it yet. I ain't even gonna say the name but it's something that's a fire book that I'm gonna start reading with somebody and I think that's a new fold that I'm adding to myself for creating. You just need that, you need to travel, you need to feel it out. You need to do different things. You can't just be in a crib trying to make a song like you have to live and feel with that.
Right. How do you think those experiences speak to the creative process?
I feel like it’s just like adding fuel to the fire. Yeah, those experiences are the fuel and I'm the fire, and it's already happening. And I just experience those things and that fuel just gets added to that fire and it’ll just build up, build up, build up, to wherever you want it to go. Just can’t let the flame go out.
Okay I gotcha, I like that. So now talk me through your song making process. When does making a song, like the idea for a song, start for you, and when do you know it's done?
It usually starts, randomly, it would be random. The most recent song I just recorded, it was a very random experience; I think I was on the phone, and I woke up that morning and I had a feeling like “damn I want to make something.” I went, used the bathroom, came back, and started creating something– I was on the phone with somebody and then we was both feeling the vibe. Then from there I started to feel it like, “oh shit, I have something to say on this.” Like there's something, there's an energetic thing that I'm feeling towards this song that is something that's going to translate you feel me? And I think that's what's always going to be my process, which is like I'm going to feel it first, and then it's going to translate to the music, to the beat, all that.
How do you know when the song is done? Like after mixes and everything, going back and revising.
A song is never done.
Oh okay, interesting!
Yeah. Any real artists would always tell you, the song is never done. Even when you put it out. Yeah, it's not done.
So you on your, Kanye. You update the song after you dropped it. (laughs)
(Laughing) I wish. I wish, Yo Bro, I wish I could update songs on Apple Music. Yeah, I wish you could do that, bro. Because, the type of person I am, I would like to add different flows. There's even songs that I go back to even SETTLE4LESS before I uploaded it to the streaming platforms, there was a version of it that was one version. And then after I went back to the studio again, I revised that, I listened to it again and I heard that there's different things that I can add. So I just started adding other layers to it, just downwardly, adding more layers to it and making it more full and things like that. I think that's what most artists would do when they hear their song after they release it, they're like, “damn, I wish I could add this.” Yeah, every artist, I promise.
Ok yeah I hear you. So where do you want to take your creativity in the future? Like that could be with music beyond music, you know.
Yeah, I really want to take my creativity to the world, bro. Just everything that is for me, that's where I want my creativity to go. I never want it to go anywhere that's not for me because I feel like you get the results that you're not looking for. The type of person that I am, whether it comes down to my friends, my relationships, family, It's all people that's supposed to be in my life, you know what I’m saying? So anything that I produce and my energy towards music and where I see it going, is going to always be towards the world of people that is for me.
I like that. That's beautiful.
If you could say one thing to all of New York City right now, what would it be?
I don't got much besides just stream SETTLE4LESS. Stream SETTLE4LESS. That's all that ever would matter to me is just listening to the song and feeling the energy of the song. That's it. It begins and it ends there, and then from there we go on that journey together. Type shit.
