We recently connected with Joshua Alvarez and have shared our conversation below.

Joshua, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project would have to be my upcoming album RGB. This project represents the spectrum of emotions and moods we may go through and how those moods reflect in expressions of color, sounds, and visuals. This album is very personal to me as it shows a character arc growing from depression all the way to dependability, and the many stops along the way. The songs are vibrant, expressive and they all have a certain cohesiveness as these songs were made during a specific time in my life. I like to think of this approach as innovative, in terms of the overall experience of music consumption from a listener’s perspective. Each song has its own brand and together, it creates one experience. RGB has a record for every moment.

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?

I have a foundation of music from my early teens, where I learned the bass and electric guitar. I stopped playing music during high school to pursue athletics. I returned to music around 2011 and began teaching myself how to produce music with a DAW instead of an instrument. From 2012 until now, I have been producing and writing my own music and releasing as consistently as possible. I’ve also directed and produced my visuals and have always been naturally gifted in video production and ideation. Promoting our live shows led to creating merchandise, which turned into full-blown clothing design and seasonal lines. I enjoy creating clothing and visuals just as much as the instrumental and the 16. Now that I have permanently relocated back home to Texas, I am excited to get this rollout started and share my new material with my listeners.

I make hip-hop music and design athleisure wear. In terms of music, I wanted to fill the void of inconsistent artists that leave their audiences waiting for years and be one that prioritizes quality releases and timely promotion. A business approach always helps. I also believe my music is vague yet intimate, so a wide variety of people could take something from my records, as opposed to a niche audience. I look to target music listeners outside of hip-hop as well. I enjoy bringing in new sounds into the genre as opposed to using what’s already in.

In terms of my clothing design, I wanted to simply create a new perception on cannabis and those currently incarcerated for non-violent cannabis offenses. My brand The Hodge Council is based upon de-stigmatizing cannabis and creating a scientific and responsible approach to the topic in a mainstream setting. Knowing that Facebook won’t even let me sell THC branded clothing items is one reason why I am passionately championing this movement. This has gone on long enough in this country and we need to federally legalize, expunge non-violent offenders, and begin moving on as a country to more important issues.

One of the main things I am most proud of in my career would have to be my record with Big Tuck. His music was a huge influence on so many of us growing up, and securing his feature was a major career highlight. I also have to mention my record that was Chopped & Screwed by OG Ron C. He was really cool and that was another Texas legend that I had the extreme honor of working with.

With my clothing line, I love the fact that I have a root cause to build with alongside the brand itself. Creating more awareness for an important issue while pushing my ideas is very cool.

I just want everyone to know that music, fashion, and freedom go hand in hand. It’s a feeling you give someone that inspires confidence enough to be themselves and take their own stances. Being authentic and not apologizing for it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be real.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to make the most beautiful music and the flyest clothes.

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

When I moved out to Los Angeles with no job lined up, having to grind for years just to make a living, just so I could grow as an artist and entrepreneur in one of the toughest cities in the world to make it. I learned so many lessons and came back to Texas a brand new person. My perspective has forever been expanded and now I’m ready to put in work here.

Contact Info:

• Website: thehodgecouncil.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ajoshd_
• Facebook: facebook.com/ajoshd1
• Twitter: twitter.com/ajoshd
• Youtube: youtube.com/ajoshd

Image Credits
Lake Loyd