Meet The Performers: Skyler - Najeri Rawlins
With our I Love R&B show approaching, I was able to sit and speak with up-and-coming Orlando based artist Skyler. With his musical sound ranging from soulful R&B with Hip-Hop and Trap influences, Skyler knows how to connect with the crowd and have fun during his performances. In a recent interview, we spoke about what it was like growing up possessing a passion and dedication for playing basketball and how that love and dedication later revealed itself in creating music.
Since 2014, Skyler has been building his audience by creating and dropping music consistently. More recently, he released his single “Delilah” along with a music video you can check out below. On the night of Fusion’s I Love R&B show, he plans on performing a mixture of classic songs as well as new music he’s been working on for his upcoming mixtape,“Unapologetically Skyler”. I actually had the pleasure of listening to one of his unreleased songs “Potential” and it has the perfect love and R&B vibe so I can only hope it makes it’s way onto his setlist.
Make sure you grab your tickets for the event! Showtime will be from 7pm - 11:00pm at The Abbey Downtown Orlando. It’ll be the perfect environment to bring a loved one, enjoy some drinks, and vibe along with the performers joining us that night.
Get to know more about Skyler below:
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself (where you live, your age, etc.)
- “ I was born in Hampton, Virginia but I pretty much grew up in Orlando most of my family is from Philadelphia and still lives in there so I try to make frequent trips down there especially as a kid”
Q: When did your musical journey begin? When did you know you wanted to take it seriously/build a career?
- “I’d say realistically I got serious about it in 10th grade. I had been singing and creating music already but if you asked people that were around me when I was a kid I was “Mr.Basketball” I played in Middle school, AAU, and in high school but I picked up a guitar that summer before my 10th grade year and taught myself guitar and it’s just been one for the books since then.”
Q: Any specific sounds or artists you look up to for your musical inspiration?
- “The crazy thing about me is I got that R&B, that real soul side and stuff like that but I also went to a predominantly white high school so I got to learn about the indie side of things: the Paramore’s, the Plain White T's, all that kind of stuff. I feel like the way my sound is today you can tell how versatile I am, and I think that's based on the fact that I listen to everything. I listen to R&B, rock, country, and classical music.”
Q: What have you been up to so far this year
- “Man I’ve been typing to buckle down and finish up this mixtape. I have a mixtape I’m working on right now, it’s pretty much already done I just have to do all the mixes and stuff but it’s called “Unapologetically Skyler” Just trying to finalize everything and get the marketing plan set up.”
Q: What do you look forward to the most when it comes to performances?
- “Oh man, it’s something about just being able to connect with the crowd. When I perform I’m just very natural, super myself. I like having fun if I’m having fun and I’m connecting with my crowd and they're having fun. It's just a great vibe. I just love performing.”
Q: How do you prepare the day of a show?
- “So the day of a show I do a number of things, but right before going on stage I do a slight ritual per say - I kind of make myself as big as possible in the room. I lift my hands up and just spread out and stretch out, stick my chest out just make myself fill up as much space in the room as I possibly can. I like to soak in the energy of the room and try to make myself feel as big as possible so once I go on stage in front of all these people I’m not feeling small.”
Q: If you could describe your sound in one sentence to a new listener, what would you say?
- “As cliche as it may sound I want to say Authentic. I produce most of my music myself. I create from the ground up in my bedroom. It's just me. Everything that I’m writing that's me, every sound you hear that’s me creating it on my little laptop or pulling out my guitar or something.”
