Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to LEX. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

LEX, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

One of the hardest things I’ve had to face is getting over my fear of performing. Back in 2017, I was interning at a studio in Midtown Atlanta; and my boss at the time owned an entertainment company. He hosted a weekly open mic showcasing the best singers he could find, and it was both intimidating and exciting for me to watch as a singer still new to the music and entertainment game.

Singing in front of people had always given me crazy anxiety since college. When I say anxiety, I mean the shortness of breath, heart palpitating, overthinking yourself into chaos kind. One night I got up on stage somehow to perform, and I did alright. I didn’t know my voice then like I do now (THANK GOD FOR THE GLO UP *praise hands*), but it was enough to get some crowd participation and be allowed to do it again a few weeks later. This time my experience wasn’t as “alright.” I decided to sing Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie,” and my soundcheck went well. Still nervous as hell, but what else was new? This particular night was PACKED! It was hosted at BQE Lounge in Downtown Atlanta, and it was so full that people were standing and pressed up against the windows. It’s finally my turn, and things start okay. Then the anxiety took over and there was no going back. I was off pitch for a good minute and was trying my hardest to power through. Then I saw my boss make his way toward me, and I knew what time it was. Just like that, he cut my performance midway, and I had to walk back to my seat in utter embarrassment. Some stranger from my hometown high-fived me on the way back, but it lowkey made me feel worse. Hands down, one of the most embarrassing things I’d ever experienced in my life….especially as someone who just left her comfort behind to make this music thing happen. I performed one more time after that a couple months later. It wasn’t as bad but wasn’t great either and my boss made sure to let me know that he only let me go up there because he was cool with me, not because he actually believed in my talent. Trash I know…

That incident kept me off stage for 4 years. I was so traumatized and never wanted to relive that moment so I made sure I didn’t. My music dreams never died though, and I knew I couldn’t call myself an artist without being able to perform. So come 2021, I started to ease myself back into it, but I did things differently. Number one, I made sure that I chose healthier environments to perform where I felt safe to mess up. Two, I drank before I got there the first couple times because chile…that was the only way. And three, I got closer to God and latched on to people he sent my way who actually believed in my singing abilities and loved and encouraged me through the process. So come 2022, I went hard with overcoming my fear. Hard as in performing consistently for 6 months straight. Now I just wrapped up my biggest performance opportunity yet this month.

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 background and context?

I used to call myself a singer-songwriter, but now I call myself a music artist to not limit what I can and will do. I get my vocal abilities from my mom. She has this super sweet soprano tone, and I grew up watching her sing in the choir and hear her around the house all the time. I get my normal speaking voice from her too. I would describe hers as pleasant, bright and overall, just a nice sound. Mine is the same just a couple octaves lower, haha. I love playing around with my voice and trying different things when I make a song whether that be exploring my vocal range, making weird sounds, sometimes even screaming if it fits because why not? Oh! My mom also kept me in piano lessons for 7 years so that skill is there too. Just a lil dusty.

All I care to do when I make music is be genuine and really feel what I’m making. It can evoke any emotion as long as it’s real and I’d want to listen to it. People ask me what my sound is all the time which is one of my least favorite questions ever. I get it provides context to draw people in, but recently I just ask if they care to listen so they can decide for themselves. I’ve never been a fan of being compared to someone else because I’ve endured a lot of pain to be comfortable in who I am and am continuing to love her more.

I also consider myself a hardcore creative because I love all things art. Art is so infinite in expression and form and fills me up so much. The art I had a special passion for growing up was video and photo. I was given my first camcorder in middle school, my uncle let me play around with his DSLR camera around the same time and that progressed into consuming as much as I could to learn how to shoot and edit dope things from then until now. Today that’s formed into my production agency called Baddie Visuals that I launched in August of this year. I hope to serve a lot of people with it with my biggest contribution being my ideas, eye for detail and professional level of execution.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

What drives me is becoming a beacon of light for people who can relate to me to know there’s room for them. There’s room for them to speak, grow, create, cry, be where they are and still be able to move forward…all of it. I didn’t feel like I mattered for a long time, and now that I’m awake, I want to wake other people up to their gifts and paths too.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That making mistakes is bad. I grew up as a high-achiever and perfectionist in so many ways. Still am, and have always put unnecessary pressure on myself. Shoutout to my therapist because she’s been working for a year and some change so far to help me get out of that mindset. Back to mistakes though…they’re necessary. They’re not the end of the world, and you have to put every one into positive perspective to assist with your bounce back game.. With each mistake comes the opportunity to grow and also extend grace to yourself because whether we like it or not, we’re going to say and do some crazy ass things throughout our lives. Repeat after me…”I’m going to mess up, and THAT’S OKAY.” Giving myself room to mess up was the beginning of true freedom in several aspects of my life. It’s helped me improve creatively, in self-love, loving others, adjust at a quicker pace in my business….yeah that unearned lesson is gold.

Contact Info:

• Website: Baddievisuals.com
• Instagram: Lexthevisionary
• Facebook: Lexthevisionary
• Twitter: Lexthevisionary
• Youtube: Lexthevisionary

Image Credits
Baddie Visuals, LLC.