Getting To Know: Roy "Old Orleans"
It is something noteworthy to encounter talent that creates a safe space for your emotions, traumas, fears, and deepest desires. Whether we realize it or not, we are looking for that space or in this case person that commands humanity. In a world that cosigns inauthenticity, and performative identities, it is important that we see representation that reminds us it is okay to be who and what you are. I have been blessed with the privilege of interviewing and featuring some sublime artists who are carving out their footprint and legacy in this world. However, this interview is something different, in fact, it may tug at your heartstrings. Today I was given the privilege of sitting down in a thought-provoking conversation with the implausible Roy also known as “Old Orleans”. Roy is a Photographer, Designer, Music Artist, & Poet who has redefined our definition of vulnerability. Having listened to Roy’s perspective, and wisdom on a variety of topics, it became clear to me that I was sitting in the presence of a creative genius who is ahead of his time. We humans wait forever to applaud the talent that makes this life thing easier, so today I wanted to do things differently. Roy, thank you very much for your wisdom, insight, and willingness to be a vessel God uses to show us how beautiful life, and we as individuals can be through your artistry.
Who are you?
I try not to define myself by the stuff that I do, on any given day, anyone’s perspective or perception of who or what I am is always changing. One day I could be seen as “the guy who does photography”, another day I could be seen as “the guy who makes music”. I’m an artist at the end of the day, and I believe that’s the one thing that will be long-lasting.
What do you want your art to say or speak to anyone who sees/listens to it?
For the longest, I’ve created to get that “voice out of my head” and into real life. From having “imaginary friends” as a kid, I didn’t necessarily understand what any of my thoughts were. For a long time, I seldom thought anyone else would understand or relate to the things that I’ve dealt with in my life. I create for those who feel “they don’t have a voice”, and that is the truth behind why I do most things. The reason I started getting into photography was because of hardship and trauma. The reason I started doing art as a kid was because it was different from what everyone else was doing around me. Everyone wanted to play football or basketball, and while I enjoyed those things, it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I preferred drawing on the back of my tests when I finished and losing points as a result. I want people to feel, and that’s the goal: that you feel from anything I create. If you’re listening to my music, and find yourself going through something, I want you to feel uplifted and seen through it. I want you to feel confident, and believe that “you’re that person” that you’ve always wanted to be, not sit in the shadows, because that’s who I used to be. The world has to feel and see who I am, and I believe the world should feel the same way, and I hope that they believe they can through what I create.
Would you say that younger Roy is proud of who you are today?
Hell yeah! One of the biggest things for me is tapping into my inner child, and being able to have those conversations with myself, and self-reflections that allow me to ask myself if these are things that the younger version of me would like to do. The present version of who I am gives me that permission to do all I’ve ever wanted. If it’s something that I feel wouldn’t align with how I envisioned my future as a kid, I stay away from it. Everything up to this point is everything that I’ve promised myself.
Is it safe to safe that authenticity is important to you, and being able to incorporate that in your work?
Absolutely. We live in a world that’s already “fake”. Everything we do on a daily, second-to-second, and minute-to-minute basis is based on something that somebody believed should be real. Things were designed this way for us to follow suit, and whether we realize it or not, the vast majority of people agree with one common factor and that’s a “specific way of life”. Some individuals break out of those boundaries and try to do whatever they feel is necessary to make them happy, which is a direct reflection of being in a space in life that exudes confidence to go against the grain. If you live and stay within who you are, and find what makes you happy, that is the most important thing in life. You can’t “mess up” if you’re being you. If you’re being yourself, and you’re being a “terrible person” then that’s your authentic self, and no one can take that away from you, and within that state of being, there is a community of people that share those same ideologies. It’s easier to be who you are, having worked in corporate America and having a father in the Military, I’ve been surrounded with the idea of being that “best version of yourself”. I always wondered why being who I was couldn’t be the best first impression that I gave a person. I realized while working in corporate America that I wasn’t being myself, and I realized that it could’ve been way easier if people did or didn’t like me for who I was, and not who I was pretending to be. From that epiphany, I permitted myself to live my life and go where I’m celebrated and not tolerated.
The ideology of constantly being the “best version of yourself” can tie into religion and the expectations of being upstanding that come within that. The human experience is supposed to be logarithmic, not linear or one-dimensional. With that being said, what was the process of creating your latest single “Smoke & Scriptures”?
The title of the song has nothing to do with its actual context. Scriptures to me are anything that allows you to write down what’s in your head and reflect. This song has a lot of self-reflection tied into it. The title of this song dealt with a lot of self-reflection on the different things I’ve gone through in life, and being able to paint a picture of what New Orleans was for me as a kid. Through the process of painting that picture and writing things down, I saw the scripture. A lot of the trauma I dealt with, I processed through smoking weed. Many things would pile up for me, and my response at times was to smoke. I wondered why that became a “saving grace”. The chorus “roll my weed, while I smoke these scriptures” was a double entendre. Writing down everything I was dealing with, and “smoking” was a metaphor for me releasing these emotions and feelings from my spirit and person. Although the song is only about two minutes long, it covers a lot of ground, from growing up in New Orleans to watching people I’ve seen one day, not be here the next. Sonically this song sounds cool, it sounds like something that you would listen to and something that you may smoke to.
Your music is very honest, in society, there is a polished version of honesty, be honest but not “too honest”. I’ve noticed in your music “you put it all out there” so what is that writing process like?
The process is always different, normally I go into the writing process intending to paint a picture in my head. What are the colors of these sounds? What’s the story behind this sound by itself? Some songs require a certain level of vulnerability and streamlining of consciousness, it all depends.
Are you proud of who you are today?
Yes, I would say so because I’m hella self-aware. I think in life everyone has to be self-aware because that’s the only way you’ll be able to grow. If you’re self-aware of the things you do regularly, your growth process, and the nuances of every human being's stages of growth, you’re less likely to take things personally, and you’re less susceptible to hurt feelings. What other way to live your life, than to be honest? I believe that’s one of the easiest ways. If you stop telling yourself lies regularly, everything in front of you will become open and clear. The only person you know 100% is yourself, so you have to be able to look in the mirror every day and be honest with yourself. The more you suppress your emotions, the more you forfeit the opportunity to grow, become self-aware, and develop a sense of pride in yourself.
What are some things you’d like to accomplish this year?
Generally speaking, that continuous progression as an artist and man. There is a path in front of me that I believe I can see, as long as I’m maintaining faith in my ability to continue to press forward. There’s something in front of me that’s bigger than me because everything that I once saw as “big” has since fallen. You can’t go under the platform that you were already on, you can only go above it. I know I have goals that I’ve prayed about, and things that I’ve said I wanted to do by the end of the year, and it’s going to happen. Artistically, that’s the easy part. There are a million and one things that can happen within creativity, if anything comes from creating, it’s always a win-win situation.
It’s clear that you know who you are, and have a strong sense of self. What advice would you give someone who struggles with who they are?
Stop being hard on yourself, and I say that because I had to go through this process as well. If you are not fully comfortable with yourself, then you can’t be fully comfortable with creating something that someone else already did. It isn’t you, and you aren’t putting who you are out into the world. No one knows you, everyone knows the “great value” version of this person you keep trying to be. If you don’t put yourself out there and show everyone else who cares about what it is you do, then you’re not leaving a footprint in this world, you’re just leaving a carbon copy of someone else's footprint.
Checkout Roy “Old Orleans” Today!
https://bio.site/oldorleans?fbclid=PAAaanon6WdeOivan5AuKTmqgIzMQdOfyTqreGqxi3RxXMuI-tei8KRKiQqTg