As an artist who has been covered here on multiple occasions, Montshodaw has always impressed us with his professionalism and ability to convey a story through his writing. It seems as though each time he drops there is a real message behind that the listener can latch on to. With the arrival of his new single “We Are Stars” he continues the trend in epic fashion.
We at 1DF are happy to help premier the single and visual. To do so we spoke with the artist about the record and how life has been with him since we last checked in:
So it’s been since 2019 that we’ve last had an interview. Safe to say a lot has changed since then. What’s changed for you?
More than anytime before my person has had more time to reflect on how to enhance my health regimen to fortify the immune system. Outside of that my family has expanded to include more children.
How have you managed to cope with the pandemic and all it has came with?
With the pandemic there has been a big focus on being able to adapt to change and not being locked in past ways of doing things. Understanding that we have the ability to change and manifest what the time demands (with peace) has been a blessing from God and has helped to transcend the dangers of getting caught up in fear about things in this world of masked faces.
Has it affected your artistry at all? If it has has it done so in what you think is a positive or more challenging manner?
I don’t think it has affected my artistry much, as far as I can tell. I’ve been able to stay loyal to my mission as an artist to work to share positive thought provoking creations for the world generally and our people specifically. Relative to the last statement, the social environment in which black people have usually found ourselves is not much different from the pre-pandemic state. There has always been a sort of pandemic like environment in most of our communities but along the lines of social inequalities/issues.
What has kept you focused as of late?
I have been devoted to maintaining unity/harmony with family with all of its dynamics no matter what is going on. Thinking about how to aid in contributing to creating a better society beyond the use of music.
You’re back with your new single “We Are Stars”. What’s the inspiration behind the record and what was the recording process like?
It was inspired partially by the idea that we all have something worth sharing. Worthiness being defined as something that helps and does not harm anyone
It’s interesting. Our family was on a vacation a couple years ago visiting family in Florida. Where we were staying, in the family members home, just happened to be the home of the primary producer for Wordizbon Productions. I had no idea there was a producer in the family. There was a studio in the house. The producere was letting me listen to some of his new beats, which were nice. I asked him if those were all the beats he had. He told me had some old stuff that he did not think much about. I then asked him to let me hear what he considered his least favorite beat and we’ll make a song with it. With the idea that we all have something glorious to offer (as regular everyday people) came the base of the chorus (we are, we all are stars…).
I was determined to make something from the beat. The producer also played the guitar. I asked him to add some guitar strumming for the beginning of the song and I hummed and sang the type of guitar sounds I wanted at the chorus and he played them with no problem. We recorded a rough draft of the song within a few hours. I brought the draft back to Mississippi and re-recorded the verses, added the “inner star” line, additional syths, strings, cut and tweaked the soundscape quite a bit to get what we have.
So It was an out of the blue collaborative co-produced creation. That was my first project with Wordizbon Production (they have other projects on spotify).
What was the message you wanted to convey with the single? As a listener it really uplifted me.
Ultimately what I want people to take from the single, or my intended message was to promote the idea that we all shine in our own way and the ability to truly shine comes from inside of us (that which is divine). Also, I wanted people to know that no matter who or where they are from and whether they have been noticed by others or not (especially if not) that we all are made in the likeness of God. God (in ITS essence) is something you cannot see with physical eyes.
In your eyes what is truly a “star”?
A star is something that generates its own light. It does not depend on an outer source of energy to emit light. In our galaxy, the Milky Way there are over 100 thousand stars. Furthermore, there are millions and millions of other galaxies. With that said, there are a multitude of star lights that will never be seen by people.
When a person shares, gives to a need, cares for others, helps others in some way- physical or spiritual- this is an example of light shining and we all have the potential to do this in everyday situations with the people closest to us. It has nothing to do with making money, fame, or having anything materialistic. It’s about what you do with the things (time, energy, resources) that you have.
The visual stuck out to me with it’s montage styling. Who was responsible for bringing the concept to life?
There is an aspect of God that is responsible for guiding us intuitively to manifest purposeful creations. In some of our traditional way of living those aspect of God are called Tehuti (in the Kamitic tradition), Ifa, Orunmila (in Yoruba tradition), and Chinnamasta (in Indus Kush tradition), and Ratzi-El (in Canaanite tradition). I have to give thanks to this aspect of the Supreme Being and our Honorable Ancestors for sharing the vision and the ability to work with the actors and their willingness to participate.
How were the clips and photos selected to be used?
Most of the video footage except for the footage of the sky, the boxer, the children in the woods, and few other shots were captured by my person. The clips were chosen to depict a highpoint in our history as a people and other current elements of today’s environment. In the light of trying to bring about unity, photos and video made available from others from around the world were utilized.
What is next up for you after the release of this single?
I have a couple of more singles I would like to offer after this project. However, with a huge priority being on family it slows the output process down a bit, which is not a bad thing by any means.
So this means you plan to release a new album soon?
I do have “The Realms 2” album (which is the follow up to my first album “The Realms, Realm 1: Ima Rise) recorded and mixed. It has to be mastered and perhaps have a video shot for at least one of the songs. However, the when question is not quite known to my person as of yet.
Your readers can listen to snippets and purchase “The Realms, Realm 1: Ima Rise” at the following website: https://montshodawmusic.com/the-realms-realm-1/
Any last words before we conclude?
Please be sure to check out the new single “We Are Stars” and download if you like it enough. To listen and download it go to https://montshodaw.com/we-are-stars-2/
Lastly, I wanted to say that we can accomplish and receive all the things we need in this life if we use our Will properly, meaning take our goals into meditation and see (enjoy) a good/positive outcome that also includes helping others (and harms no one else).
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