We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ephraim B. Riggins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ephraim B., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Although there were a few people that crossed my path that awakened a passion of music and writing in me, the event that actually convinced me to pursue it was no more than than mere moments. I remember looking at Lupe’s ‘The Show Goes On’ single cover in my house and feeling especially drawn to it that day. I was admiring the black and red allure of it and how poised and at home Lupe looked in front of those masses of people. I looked at the crowd and how they look when it’s a wave of them with iPhone lights that look like stars. Something about the whole thing just resonated with me more in that moment. Later that night I had a dream. It had to be only 5 seconds or less, but the feeling was so real and so visceral, it stuck with me forever. I was on a big stage by myself with a stadium full of people (just like Lupe). I jumped up and it felt like a deep, refreshing inhale. As I jumped, the crowd jumped in unison with me in excited, epic fashion. It was like that moment you get to in a song where you know a drop is coming in a concert. It’s everyone’s favorite part and specifically designed for moments like that. But in this case, before the drop came and everyone’s feet touched the ground in sync, sending the wave of energy throughout the stadium…I woke up. It was then that I knew what I wanted and where I was going. I was overwhelmed with joy and possibilities when I woke, followed in later days by intimidation by the ‘how’. I didn’t know the answer but, regardless, I was going to try.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello to all! My loved ones and colleagues know me as Ephraim, my family knows me as Bryant, and everyone in between knows me as IntricateTheAlmighty. I am a wordsmith (Hip-Hop Artist and Poet), Creative Educator, and Entrepreneur. I got into my main discipline of writing and music by being a dreamy-eyed middle-schooler obsessed with the greats that came before me. Everything else is an add-on of abilities that came with my vision. I’m all about expansion, evolution, and using my gifts to uplift. I don’t want to limit myself to what I know so I really reach across a few mediums of expression. I believe in the connectivity of knowledge and translating/integrating what we know into other fields that seemingly differ.

My brand and business, For The World LLC, is where house my artistic and business ventures and I will soon break it out to the world this year with my upcoming EP and LP (conveniently named Prepare For Voyage and Voyage but more on that some other time!) Currently, I offer music for film and series, performances (spoken word and music), hosting, voiceover work, occasional modeling, occasional bio writing, I sell merchandise, I am a soon-to-be Amway IBO, and I teach creative writing classes/creative facilitation. Really if you put me in the room to come up with creative and original ideas, I am at home!

Currently during the day time I teach at Jacksonville Arts & Music School (JAMS) which is a trailblazing non-profit set to make big waves in the coming years. I’m proud of the work happening there because they are focused on nurturing leadership inside the youth as well as sharpening their creative talents. Generally I take pride in providing some sort of inspiration to people. To have people tell me “I needed to hear that” it informs me that I’m doing what I’m here to do.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It was around 2013 and I was attending FAMU. During this time the collective I was in, Capital 6 (fka A-Team for the real day ones), just formed and started to make a name for ourselves. We got invited out to do a show put on by Curators of Hip Hop and it was literally the first show as a group we did together. This is also during a time when we were freshmen aka the car-less days and pre-Uber/Lyft era. We caught a ride there to a venue called Club Rehab at the time which was off of Tharpe Street. To paint a general picture of what that looks like, we were on the other side of town from campus.

So we get there, rock the show (only had 10 minutes so the whole squad couldn’t go up), stay and take pics, and bask in a our newfound success. The only thing was… we had no ride back to campus and nobody knew the taxi numbers. We walked from the venue all the way across town back to campus in the middle of the night. Some streets didn’t even have sidewalks. But it was all for the love of the craft!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being an artist in my understanding is displaying the process of self-examination and observation. So when creating, it’s like an unorganized chronology of who I’ve been and where I’ve been. On a skill level, I can tangibly see my progress and how my timing, delivery, flow, concepts have evolved. On a personal level, I can see how I developed the core values of my being and the wisdom I’ve obtained over the years. It’s a different kind of feeling when you look at yourself speaking almost prophetically about life. Your life. It’s like being doctor and patient. It’s a reminder that the source of creation goes beyond the physical realm of existence and that I’m just a conduit to the All.

With that also comes realizing impact and being reminded of impact. Those quiet moments when the momentum doesn’t seem as strong and you start wondering if you’re making progress, people are sent to you carrying encouragement. “Keep going.” “You have a gift.””Don’t stop.” “You really have something special.”

Art is one of the ways I have conversations with the Universe and it talks back. It’s like the old Hip-Hop adage states: it’s deeper than rap.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/AlmightyI
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ephraim-riggins-09a6a9a0
• Other: For inquires or conversation: [email protected]

Image Credits
@respectmrwalker @delvmorestudios @blim_visions @photosbycloudz @arturos_pantz