Abraham Alexander on authenticity in music and beyond
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We partnered with the Hi, How Are You Project backstage at ACL 2023 and chatted with dozens of artists about mental health and music. Check out this conversation Kendall Washington had with Abraham Alexander, a soulful singer-songwriter from Texas who has been making waves around the world. Check out our full series of ACL artist interviews here.
(The following questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Q: Hi, how are you?
A: I am doing very well. Today is such a special day to be able to play ACL and, you know, it’s surreal. I’m having such a meaningful year, and I’m so thankful and blessed to be here right now.
Q: How was your performance?
A: It was incredible. And I’m not trying to brag or anything, but Venus Williams was side-stage singing my song, so I’m…
Q: It’s always good when the artist feels good about their performance, because that’s how you know you did a great job, so that’s great to hear. I know you just came out with the album called SEA/SONS. And I know that you talked about your Nigerian-parent upbringing, but I want you to tell me more about that.
A: Talking about my culture and my background — my Nigerian parents, and going from Nigeria to Greece and then having me — it’s incredible because I get to share my culture. I get to share my experience. And, for me, that’s all my music is about: what I’ve been through, what I hope I can share. And I think the authenticity of sharing your story, sharing your background, and being vulnerable is so important as an artist. It can also be difficult.
One thing I can say about my music is I’m proud I was able to be vulnerable with my music and be honest with where I’ve been, where my parents have been, what that legacy is, and also where I’m going. The process of being vulnerable with my album was first to be real with myself and heal from what I’m going through. So there was this balance and this seesaw… the cathartic process of writing about the pain and the background, but also the joys of it. So, being vulnerable doesn’t have to be scary — it’s one thing to really get the music out there, but also playing it. And for individuals to feel this connected with the music that I wrote, that was very personal for me, for them to have a connection to it is surreal. I love that I get to make friends out of strangers in 45 minutes, you know? It’s beautiful. I think who I am and what I am is my father’s son. And I am someone who loves and someone who cares, and as long as I can be selfless and treat people with kindness and show them what love truly is, I think that’s me and that’s my mission. Right now, music is just the medium I get to use to express those things.
Q: How does it feel to know you’re breaking barriers with the country music genre? It’s not that often we see Black, African American people who are country music singers.
A: I think being able to break barriers as a person of color is just a testament of being myself. It doesn’t matter what the gatekeepers might say, if there are any, but as long as you’re yourself and you worry about building a community that is deep, the wide will come.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW