When Aloe Blacc is poised to release a promising new song or album, he says it can feel like playing an invisible game with a hidden opponent.
Videos by American Songwriter
Blacc — who boasts hits like “I Need A Dollar” and “Wake Me Up” that combined have accrued more than 100 million YouTube views to date — says that trying to figure or plan the right moves can be tricky, even for him. You line up your pieces, you know strengths and limitations, but you don’t know what might be shaping up on the other side of that proverbial board.
Thankfully, though, for the Grammy-nominated, golden-voiced artist, Blacc won’t have to worry much about a wrong move in the aftermath of his latest LP, All Love Everything, which he released in October.
“It’s like a chess board,” Blacc says. “I know how my pieces can move but I don’t know what the other pieces on the board can do, what magical powers they have. It’s like playing a game of chess in real time but the most you can do is just write the best song you can write, one that you know has a dramatic effect on you and the musicians you work with and the people around you. They’re the real litmus test.”
In a world where everyone is connected to everyone, where opportunity or tragedy is just a capricious tweet away, Blacc has leaned into family, those core people whom he can trust around him, as the substance for much of his new album. In fact, the opening track on the new record, which is Blacc’s fifth studio release, is called “Family.” Additionally, the album’s standout single, “I Do,” celebrates Blacc’s loving marriage. The record’s final song, “Harvard,” also touches on the responsibility and need for people to take care of one another.
“In my career,” Blacc says, “I haven’t spent much time focusing on my interpersonal relationships. This was the opportunity, now that I’ve been married for 10 years and we have two kids, to share with my audience more of my humanity.”
Blacc came to music at 3 years old. He remembers hearing his father’s stereo blasting salsa and reggae as a young person. His father, who grew up in Panama, eventually moved his family to a Southern California army base; that’s where Blacc was born. In many ways, from an early age, Blacc (born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III) was already at the center of a great many cultural elements. Later, at 9 years old, Blacc began writing rap lyrics. And at 15, he began recording. He started making the musical connections that would help shape his career. He also started to make beats, and by doing so, he began to explore his singing voice.
As a student at the University of Southern California, Blacc studied linguistics and psychology. The work helped him form, and then begin to cement, ideas of communication on a global level, specifically how language shapes the world and the world shapes language. In truth, Blacc never really expected an artist’s career. At first, he planned to work in business and the corporate arena as an entrepreneur. The man is so cerebral, in fact, that the CIA probably would love to have him on the payroll. But, he says, he’ll take this lifestyle over the corporate world.
“What I’ve been able to experience,” Blacc says, “I can pinch myself and say, ‘This is great.’”
Blacc often prioritizes infusing social justice in his work. Among his many achievements is an elaborate and poignant rendition of “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing,” known as the Black national anthem in the United States. Blacc’s music video of the historic hymn aired on ESPN during the Super Bowl in February 2019.
He also boasts a handful of songs, like “The Man,” which have garnered tens of millions more views and enjoy critical success amongst fans and aficionados. But, Blacc does not rest on past-made buttresses. Instead, he leans forward, as if a traveler into the gusts of wind, challenging himself as he pushes onward.
“I’m always trying new things, different things,” Blacc says. “Songs (on the new album) like, ‘Nothing Left But You,’ carry a more pop vocal than a song like, ‘Hold On Tight,’ which has a gravely, folk-soul vocal.”
Each of the tracks on All Love Everything resembles a different gem, strung together along Blacc’s silky voice. Some, like the album’s titular track or the aforementioned “I Do,” are diamonds. Others like “Harvard” and “Family” are emeralds or sapphires with their own innate, shimmering natural beauty. But while one could single any number of things out for their value or gleam, what Blacc appreciates most are the people in the room with him when he writes, those skilled loyal compatriots who gather before the invisible game inevitably begins again.
“My favorite part is writing,” Blacc says. “It’s coming up with something out of nothing. Producing with other songwriters and collaborating, that’s really fun. My favorite part is creating.”
Photo Credit: Anthony Williams
