Interview: Drew Vision talks new single ‘Stay’ and inspirations

Drew Vision is a multi-talented singer/songwriter, actor,model, all around great person. He is quickly taking the world by storm with his stellar music and his authentic self. Drew has been a self driven powerhouse musician since his childhood. He grew up with music, having been involved in chorus in high school where his chorus teacher had immediately recognized his natural talent. It was from there where he would go on to receive a full vocal scholarship to college. After college Drew would release his debut projects 20/20 and The Duldrums which were stellar works. Drew’s third album The Balance came out in 2016 and was worked on with the help of media executive Ron King, who Drew also hired to manage his career.
The Balance had led Drew to the Essence Music Festival, where he would take center stage and garner the attention of People Magazine. He gained so much attention from this event that he ended up going to Sweden to make a smash pop infused hit in “Without You”. Drew directed the music video for “Without You” himself and it was such a brilliantly directed video, so brilliant that it garnered the attention of BET, Billboard, Vibe and Huffington Post as well as 9x Grammy award winning producer Bryan Micheal Cox.
Cox and Vision worked together on the Shades of Summer EP which features hit songs “Want Em All” and “Deep Water”. Hybrid is Drew’s most recent album, full of absolute bangers like “Steak & Lobster”. Hybrid as a whole gained press from Billboard and Tidal, who named Drew their’Artist of the Week.’ Drew has definitely made a name for himself in the music scene having performed at famous venues in LA like The Troubadour, and The Roxy. This past month Drew released his new piano ballad single “Stay” which is an amazing raw track full of emotion in which Drew decided to dedicate to the Black Lives Matter movement and made a moving video tribute to accompany it. Drew continues to be a force to be reckoned with and he truly is living in his purpose.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=627UqBD92G0

We had the great pleasure of getting to chat with Drew himself about staying sane in the time of the pandemic, new music, and some fun facts, so check out our interview below!

Hey! Appreciate you taking the time to chat.
For those who may not know who you are give us a little background on yourself.

I grew up singing in church with my family. Decided to make it official and went to college to study voice. There I learned the technical part of the craft, including singing opera and in multiple languages. 5 albums later….here I am!

We’re in some weird times, how has quarantine been treating you? What are some things that have been keeping you sane?

This has definitely been a challenging year and I have struggled to cope at times. For me I have just really worked to try to keep a balance….sometimes I’m motivated, sometimes I’m not. And it’s ok.

Have you been making any music in this quarantine? If so has the process been any different?

I have had a few writing sessions via zoom, but it just isn’t the same. So much of what we do as creators is about the vibe. But yes, I have managed to keep creating and expressing myself.

Your newly released single “Stay” is an amazing piano ballad, how did that song come to be?

Thank you! This is a really special project to me. ‘Stay’ is actually the first record that I have even released that I did not write. My management connected me with Kaleem Taylor (writer) and The Code (producer) from the UK and I fell in love with this song as soon as I heard the demo. I put my “Drew Vision” spin on it and recorded it in the fall of 2019. Once everyone heard it, they all agreed that this was my song to run with.

While ‘Stay’ was originally written as a love song, given the timing of the release and everything going on in the world, I decided to reinterpret the video to be a tribute to #blacklivesmatter, celebrating the people we have lost to police violence from the point of view of their loved ones, begging them to stay.

How would you describe your music in three words?

mother effin dope (lol)

You’re a musician first, but I heard you’re also an actor and model, how did that come to be? How has it been going?

I’m blessed to have other sources of income. As an independent and self-funded artist, commercial modeling has helped me make ends meet and fund the music.

You directed the music video for “Without You” which is a visually stunning video, how was the process behind directing your own video?

Thank you! This was a real treat to work on. The record was recorded in Sweden and I knew then that the visuals were going to be a Caribbean vibe. Cliffs, jet skis, sea turtles…all scripted ahead of time. It is hard with a limited budget to find people that will give their all to a project, so in the end, my management and I decided to just do it ourselves! Sure, it was double the work, but it also felt great to have total creative control of the outcome.

Which song or project of yours are you most proud of?

“Shades of Summer” – I did an entire project with my dream producer (Bryan Michael Cox) – what more could you ask for?

Is there a moment or memory in your life that you always want to hold onto? Or a moment that has taught you a lot?

Meeting usher and telling him he inspired me to be great and to look out for my music one day. (pic attached)