![\"KING](\"\/\/media.wonderlandmagazine.com\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Screen-shot-2014-02-24-at-20.04.34-e1393273713840.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nKing avriel is proving to be a beacon amidst the recent surge of female R&B singers that are saturating the airwaves.<\/p>\n
The bold, poignant social commentary within her tracks laced against it’s sparse, slick production is a far cry from the child prodigy that once provided acting vocals to a character in Hey Arnold!<\/p>\n
A published poet in her own right, King avriel’s visceral songwriting is a fearless statement of intent. She’s already blowing up the blogosphere, sitting in-line and drawing comparisons to newcomers Kelela and FKA Twigs. Wonderland sat down for a chat with the lady herself to find out more<\/p>\n
Can you remember how you fell in love with the idea of making music?<\/b><\/p>\n
It started with my dad. He was a guitarist in this reggae band called Boom Shaka. At home, he had this little office detached from our main house where he kept all his instruments \u2014 his guitars, bass, african drums, a plastic recorder I played with when I was little. But, we didn\u2019t have a piano. My grandma did, however. It was handed down to her from my great grandmother. So, every time I went to visit her, I\u2019d go straight to this old, out of tune, upright piano, and start banging on it. Eventually, my parents got my grandma to send the piano to our house, and they got me and my siblings lessons. I have really early memories of me sitting my whole family down and forcing them to listen to me sing songs off of The Bodyguard soundtrack.<\/p>\n
Who would you cite as being your biggest musical inspiration of all time?<\/b><\/p>\n
Definitely my dad. No other musician has taught me more about the artistic process, music theory, and the technical aspects of song writing. I think the most important lesson he has ever taught me is the importance of being vulnerable when writing and performing. He always says music is the soul\u2019s expression, everyone can make it, and it\u2019s universal. Even when someone doesn\u2019t speak the same language as you, they can still understand your soul through listening to your music, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s so powerful. That stuck with me.<\/p>\n
What was the last song you listened too?<\/b><\/p>\n
I was just watching Lauryn Hill\u2019s cover of \u201cSomething\u201d on Letterman.<\/p>\n
Do you have any guilty pleasures? Songs that you love but know you shouldn’t?<\/b><\/p>\n
I watched all of Kacey Musgraves\u2019 Youtube videos last week\u2026 There are like 28 of them on her Vevo channel. I listen to a lot of country music, because I think the story telling aspect in the songwriting is really powerful.<\/p>\n
Why did you decide to write a song like ‘Freedom’?<\/b><\/p>\n
I actually wrote ‘Prelude’, ‘Failed Messiah’, and ‘Freedom’ all in the same week. My project was done, and I was sitting around with nothing to do, so I just kept writing to some beats that had been sent to me. Since, the songs weren\u2019t going on the project, I figured I would just send them out and test the blog waters. I was not expecting those songs to get the amount of attention they did. But, Freedom\u2019s hook \u201cI\u2019m still figuring out this thing called freedom\u201d was a line in a poem called \u201cThe Commute\u201d that I wrote over a year ago. It\u2019s still on my tumblr. At the same time, one of my ex\u2019s was on my brain. While reading that old poem, I got this flashback of him calling me as he was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and saying he didn\u2019t have anything left to live for. That image haunts me, and I figured the best way to confront it was to put it in the song.<\/p>\n