what it means to be a singer today: faith, harmony & identity

Defining The Life of a Singer

A2: Your Instagram handle (at the time of this recording) is The Life of a Singer. It is self-explanatory, but can you give me a two-minute version of what people should expect not only from what you put on your feed, but what your lifestyle consists of?

Robert: I'll go back a little bit and explain how I came up with the name. Music has always been super important to me. My parents are both Jamaican. On my mother's side of the family, she grew up with seven siblings, and all seven of them sang. All across the island they were known because they sang seven-part harmony; it was amazing. I grew up learning and studying music, knowing that music brings people together and can help to change something that language cannot even try to compare to.

When I started to develop into music, I realized that music is more than just notes to me. It is more than just a performance—it's a lifestyle. When you adopt it as a lifestyle, you're able to take it and transcend boundaries and different people's beliefs. Music can bring people from two separate walks of life together in a space where they can both experience the same thing, or experience entirely different things. That's the beauty and the creativity of music.

The Life of a Singer is more of a mantra and a lifestyle motto for me. It lets people know that they are going to see me singing on my social media, my brand, and my platform. Everyone who has met me or heard me knows Robert's a singer. But there's a whole another life outside of just me being on stage, leading worship, doing tracks, concerts, or tours. I want to show people through my social media and through my brand that there is a life outside of that. I want to be able to bridge the off-stage life with the stage life, bringing it together to show life through my eyes.

A2: I'm messing with that all the way. Can you explain what are some of the things that you show on your Instagram that aren't necessarily music-related, but still tie into what you do?

Robert: A lot of what I show is my traveling. I do a lot of traveling for music, but I also just love to travel for myself. Traveling is something I hold very dear because I love to get away and find a space that can inspire me. A lot of times you'll see me traveling on social media, whether that's within the country or outside of it, showcasing what I'm experiencing through my eyes.

You're also going to see a lot of photos where I'm smiling and laughing. That is another element I want to promote on my platform: positivity. I want to show that in life, no matter what you're going through, you can always find something that's going to make you smile and laugh. There are certain experiences that will aid in the development of that. Off the stage, away from the music tips, you're going to see a lot of traveling, a lot of smiling pictures, and a lot of shared experiences through my photos.

Eclectic Influences and Shifting Perspectives

A2: Is there a particular musician that you model yourself after when you think about how you present yourself, both offline and online? Or is it a combination of multiple influences? Let's talk about who inspires you. You mentioned your parents, which is fantastic, but who are some of the other musicians going into this that people may or may not know about?

Robert: I love all types of music. People know that I can go from a trap R&B song to CCM real quick—it could be one right after the other. I realize that there's a lot of things that transcend, but the bottom line is that I love good music. Some of my primary musical influences are Anderson .Paak, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu. I love Erykah Badu's musicality, how she thinks, and how she brings things together.

On the other side, I love Elevation Worship, Hillsong, Kirk Franklin, and Byron Cage. The list can go on and on because I just love good music. What I'm tapping into more heavily now is the production side. I can listen to a vocalist sing runs and vocal progressions all day and be wowed by it, but I find now that I'm listening more closely to how they got that beat, how they captured that sound, and how they molded those things together to create a track that takes the song where it needs to go. I love hearing certain producers and observing what the creative process is to build that.

A2: It's so important for musicians, as they transition from being a fan to being an artist, to dig into all sides. Right now, I'm getting into the engineering side of things. Everything plays such an integral part—the visuals, everything. I was looking at some visuals earlier, and it really brings the point home with whatever concept you are trying to bring about.

Let's talk about some specific travel experiences. What really stands out as a memorable weekend? You do this so much that as I follow you, I feel like they all kind of blend together. Let's talk about a fantastic recent music experience in the life of Robert the singer.

Intimate Worship and Divine Collaboration

Robert: About four or five weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get a group of students together and go to North Dakota to visit a good friend of mine, Pastor Ricky Melendez, and his wife Brook Melendez. They are the homies; I love them. Shout out to Ricky and Brook Melendez.

I was able to go up to their church in Wahpeton, North Dakota. They also work in public campus ministry, going to public universities to minister to students and help them find a place of safety and peace, which is so important in this day and age with all the external vices coming against students in our age group. I took a group up there, and it was just the right group at the right time. On Friday evening, we put on a concert for them. The songs we sang and the way they were sung moved everyone. Most of the people on the praise team were crying at the end, and people were crying in the audience.

It was such a special moment because the church was not packed. There were maybe 10 or 12 people in the audience, plus us. But we all got into a space of pure worship. That is another mantra and life model that I have: I want to create worship experiences where people can come in and experience an atmosphere and an aura of worship. It should be a place where you can share your experiences with God, and God can impart his knowledge to you through the songs we sing, delivering you and freeing you from things you've been chained to for so long.

Creating those worship experiences is so important to me, and that night we really had one. It was such a blessing that afterward, I got off the stage with goosebumps running down my arms. I sat down and told the Lord thank you. I thanked Him for giving me this gift and giving all of us this gift to stand and literally allow God to use us.

One thing I always tell anyone who hears me sing and asks how I do it so well, is that it's not me—it's God. I get up and say, "Lord, use me in the way that You will," and I allow God to fill me. In turn, His presence exudes out of me through my voice, my mannerisms, and my presence on stage. Lives are touched because He comes through me and imputes to everyone else. It's an absolute blessing to have that moment, and it's something I will never forget.

A2: Some of the most impactful moments in musicianship, art, and the music ministry we both do happen when there aren't a lot of people around. As you're telling your story about North Dakota, it reminds me of when I was in Kansas with some of our homies, back toward the end of my time there. We were rehearsing on a Friday night at New Haven in Kansas. We were just having a rehearsal, and it was just different. You always know when you get into that groove. Once you get in the groove, it's no longer about you. When we got done, we were just looking at each other like, "Yes, that's it exactly."

That is the exact experience. The thing about that particular experience is that there's a bit of a danger in it. Afterward, all you focus on is trying to replicate that feeling. But the power and the mystery of music ministry is that these moments are not orchestrated by you. You're not going to script out when or how you feel the Spirit; He is going to script that out for you. You're not the writer of the story.

We have discussed the absolute necessity of putting ourselves aside, and there are ways to do it right and ways to do it wrong. Can you elaborate on the mindset you mentioned earlier regarding preparation? Because a large part of it comes down to how you prepare.

The Power Source and Deep Preparation

Robert: It's a process, my guy. It's a process that I haven't talked about as much because everyone's process of preparation is completely different. When you see someone in worship and ask about their process, trying to mirror it might not work for you.

First and foremost, it is all about your connection with God. If you don't have that true connection, how are you going to be able to prepare? You won't know what you're preparing for, who you're preparing for, or what power source you're drawing from. A lot of times, people are drawing from superficial power sources: their partners, the lights, the camera, the action, the musicians, a cool riff, a great beat, or a dope harmony progression. That becomes their power source. The main difference between all of those alternative power sources and the true power source is that those alternative sources fade.

As soon as the lights go off, that power source is gone. If you get into an argument and break up with your partner, that power source is gone. When the music fades and everything is stripped away, if you don't have those other power sources at your beck and call, who are you going to answer to? There is one power source that stands, that has been tried and true, and it's Jesus. I get so excited talking about Him because it took me a long time to connect to that true power source and stay connected.

One way that I am able to prepare is through a private praise and worship playlist on my phone that I change all the time. Anytime I'm about to sing anywhere—like this upcoming weekend, where I'm leading out at Family Worship and also leading on Saturday and Sunday at Christ Place Church in Lincoln—I create a playlist with those specific songs. I listen to them and internalize them. During this time, I make sure I am not listening to the vocals or the production. That is weird for me, because as I stated before, I love to listen to the vocal styling, the arrangements, and the production side. But for preparation, I focus entirely on the words. Sometimes I will pull up the lyrics and read them while they are singing to internalize them. I try to pull from personal life experiences I've been through and think about how that song would have carried me through it, or I reflect on what a friend is going through who needs to hear those words.

When I listen to them and internalize them that way, it means so much more because I've adapted the words to myself and the situations around me. Any musician or artist can tell you that anytime you perform a song that has personally affected you or someone close to you, it hits different. You play different, you sing different, and you act different. There's a whole another mode you enter.

Another major component is my prayer life, which has definitely changed for the better over the last couple of years as I've started to take music ministry much more intentionally. I pray for the people who need to be there, I pray for the event, the musicians, the microphones, the wires, and anything that will occupy that space. I start praying for it a week in advance. I say, "Lord, use all of these things to Your glory and use them the way You want to." That way, if a microphone cuts out, that's what God allowed. If the instrumentation stops working, the Lord already knew that was going to happen, and He's going to have His way anyway.

I don't get as upset anymore when technical issues happen. I used to be a stickler for perfection because the word says to give your best to the Master. I am still a stickler for making sure everything is together, but I've shifted my mindset to realize that while preparation and practice are essential, if something unexpected happens in the moment, I'm not going to let it show on my face or ruin my attitude. I'm just going to let the Lord have His way. Once you adopt that mode and align with the true power source, it changes the game.

Faith, Passion, and Intentionality

Robert: I have three words that describe my brand, my life's model, and what I intend to use to live this life as a singer and a Christian: Faith, Passion, and Intentionality. Those three words coincide. Faith goes back to that true power source we talked about, connecting with Him. Through Him, we maintain that faith.

With that faith comes passion. Because I believe in something deeply, I become incredibly passionate about what I believe in. All of these elements operate like a chain: the power source connects to faith, and faith brings out the passion.

But you cannot have a passion that is wild and scattered all over the place; it has to be funneled through a channel. That is where intentionality comes in. In anything you put your mind to, make sure it is intentional, genuine, and something you genuinely aspire to create. If singing is what you want to do, be intentional. If you are an artist and want to paint, make sure it's intentional. If you're a janitor picking up garbage bags, make sure that's intentional—because if it isn't, it's going to be messy and it won't have the same effect it could have had.

We all want to ensure that in everything we do, we give and achieve the maximum positive effect possible. Especially when it comes to music, you are bringing people into a very vulnerable space where anything can happen. You want to ensure you are being intentional and genuine, especially if you are leading people in praise and worship. You are leading them on a spiritual journey, and that twenty- or thirty-minute span of time is in your hands; it's your responsibility.

That's why I always encourage people to pray for musicians and singers with their whole heart. They carry a massive responsibility that the world rarely sees. Everyone sees the glitz, the glamour, the Instagram posts, and the likes, thinking, "Wow, this man can really sing." But there is a heavy weight placed on singers and musicians off stage. There are many things going on in their private lives that people don't expect them to go through because a public persona has been created showcasing that everything is perfectly together when it isn't. I always tell people to hold them before the throne of God so that He can provide them with that faith, passion, and intentionality.

A2: Yes, sir. The bottom line is that deep preparation is crucial, not only for a worship setlist, but to truly live out The Life of a Singer.