Meet Ré Lxuise

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ré Lxuise.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started singing when I was 3 years old. I come from a musical household so that music was unavoidable. I wrote my first song when I was 8, and that was the breaking point. From then on, it was a series of art camps, performances & dance classes until I went to high school.

I ended up at Detroit School Of Arts, studying classical and jazz genres for the entire four years. My junior year of high school I started working on all acapella mixtapes and that got me back to writing again. Around graduation time I started to work on the jazz circuit. I ended up winning a competition for the Detroit Jazz Festival right before I moved to Atlanta.

I left Detroit in the fall of 2013. After I came to Atlanta I joined a writing team and got really invested in wanting to become an artist. I did a 1-year stint of just supporting other artists and trying to go to as many shows as possible and observe. I started doing showcases soon after, and over the course of 4 years showcases turned into local shows, that turned into traveling and doing shows across the country.

Now I get paid to do what I love, and I’ve managed to release a project every year since 2015. I’m working for that big break because it really could be any day now.

Has it been a smooth road?
Not really, but when are things ever smooth in this industry?

I’ve had a lot of people try to hold me back, and put me in a box. When you look like I do and you say you want to be a singer they automatically begin to categorize you. “A thick, black woman with a soulful voice and she writes her own songs ?” They put me in the “Jill Scott, Jazmine Sullivan, Kelly Price, Stacy Barthe” box.

That’s a great box! I don’t do well with boxes. I also believe that comparison is the thief of happiness. Once the people helping me develop saw me in that likeness they wanted me to fill those shoes, I just wanted to be myself.

People tell me all the time about all the things I “can’t” do. People tried to put me down when they couldn’t control me, because I knew who I was, as a person, and an artist at a young age. It’s been an interesting ride. I’ve learned that it pays to be yourself. When or if you have to compromise, it doesn’t mean you have to conform. I’ve also learned that humility & relationships are important, just as important as copyrights and publishing.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
As an independent artist, I have a lot of jobs, especially when it comes to getting content to the public. I am a songwriter, producer, vocal arranger, singer, amateur engineer, graphic designer, photo editor, video editor, manager, lawyer, booking agent, and the list gets longer.

90 percent of everything you see that is Ré Lxuise from the songs, to the videos, to the Instagram and YouTube content, it’s all coming to my hands. The other 10 percent is help from the OGs at Dream Loud, my engineer Cee B, the homies I hit up for help with tracking & photography, and my stylist James. I’m a real self-starter. If you want to make it, you have to want it more than everybody around you.

I view it as my responsibility to put me on, not anyone else’s. Everything is hands-on and my work isn’t going to waste. I’ve been able to open for Tank, Bj The Chicago Kid, & Rapsody. I was blessed to contribute to the “Feel The Real” album for Musiq Soulchild, which got nominated for a Grammy. I went number #2 on iTunes R&B with my latest album “Nostalgia:199x”, which felt great… I truly believe I’m just scratching the surface as far as artistry & innovation goes.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see the music industry making a shift back towards real R&B music. Songs with real words & melodies being #1 on the charts. I see us getting back to musicality. Cutting all of the fluff and making talent popular again. I can’t wait to see where this takes us. Especially with all of the artists, we have set in place to win right now.

Hopefully, the 2 year album gap will come back in style. I’d love to be able to go live and experience life and comeback with an album without worrying about weather or not I’ll still have supporters, just like the old days, before 2007.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relxuise/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReLxuise/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OGReLxuise
• Other: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nostalgia-199x/1339369212

Image Credit:
Tim Alex Visuals, @timotheealexx

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.