B. SLADE "The Future has become a present fact of history" He is Artistic & Unstoppable

 

 

By Charles Orlando

 

 

The artist. The musician. The brand. B.Slade has successfully mastered the process and execution of translating music into a language that a growing number of music lovers are able to experience instead of just listening to. B.Slade’s gift is evident in his latest (actually the 30th) release, DeLorean. If you are familiar with popular 80s movie franchises, you are well aware of what a DeLorean is--but have you ever been in one? Through a trilogy of albums this year he has elucidated that very popular movie franchise into a musically articulate and relevant journey through time.

 

Despite the overwhelming success that B.Slade is currently experiencing, some readers probably remember his highly successful and tumultuous career under the Gospel moniker Tonéx. Numerous articles and interviews have been done about the ins and outs of some of the most challenging times in his life and career. Alternatively, I felt it necessary to instead focus on who he is and what he represents as a unique and diversely talented artist. The depth of his artistry could not be summed up by taking his words and writing about him.

 

CO: Who is B.Slade?

 

B.Slade: Now when I think of that question--when I first started out, I originally thought that B.Slade was exclusively a recording activist. And I thought that because of my story and the background of me just being who I am; coming out not by choice just by a default question that I wasn’t prepared for. That meant that I instantly would be made the posterchild for I guess LGBT or you know whoever the demographic might be and I just wanted to make sure as I evolved as B.Slade that the story was bigger than that--you know the story was for everybody. It’s not just for one particular side; so recording activist turned into imagineer.

 

So I would say B.Slade is now presently, I would call it him being an imagineer. The brand is like an imagineering brand. When I first started I saw it more as recording activism; righting the wrongs of those that have been done wrong and then I said well it’s not guaranteed that the people you go into battle for will give you the same reciprocity. So yes, be concerned about their issues but don’t become superman for one particular group. If anyone, do it for God and yourself.

 

CO: Who are some of your artistic influences, and why?

 

B.Slade: Vidal Sassoon, Sister Soulja, Grace Jones, Quentin Tarantino, Dominic Sena, George Lucas, and Halston

 

CO: Those answers lead me to my next question because that is a wide spectrum of artistry and individuality. How important is it for artists to broaden their scope of artistic knowledge outside of their particular styles or genres, and why?

 

B.Slade: Well the greats that I know of for example Joni Mitchell--yes she is a pronunciated lyricist and as far as her vocals and the way she is able to deliver them, she is clearly a vocalist and stylist. Her political views and slant that she had earlier on in her career and her personal commentary on herself would suggest that she was a deep thinker; but she also was an overlooked painter. The people that know of her work know she is beyond. But her overlooked talent, which is equally inspiring, is her painting so I feel like the greats, they always do more than one thing good, or very well. And I mean if you can apply that to your art for example musically speaking. Quit trying to just record a song and instead take the concept of painting into the studio. Don’t just paint, dive inside the damn painting!

 

I’ve heard of people that paint great pictures and make great tracks and make beautiful songs but I prefer to dive in it. When you dive into one of my songs--you’re sitting in the middle of the song, you’re not just listening to it with left and right stereo. If I were to put it into temperature, it’s a moment, it’s a smell, it’s a taste, it’s audiotography.

 

 

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