We recently connected with Nigel Barber aka Renzo Starr ✰ and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Renzo, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

Growing up black and queer in the South, you either raise your voice to the top of your lungs or stay silent and fit into the mold made for you. For me, the mold was never an option, and I prided myself on standing out. Until I stepped into my truth, I never fully understood what it meant to be unapologetically authentic in everything I create. My lived experiences and perspective inform all of my visual and musical works.

Art has the power to amplify marginalized voices and I hope to challenge dominant narratives about MY PEOPLE. I never felt truly understood until I found people who reflected me, but at a certain point, I stopped asking to be understood and just followed the path of artists before me.

“CLAP FOR THE PEOPLE WHO SAY THAT WE EVIL THEY’D PROBABLY CALL ME A S***
WHAT I DON”T GET — THEY SAME PEOPLE THAT CLAP FOR THE MONEY THAT”S MAKING THESE NIGGAS ACT UP”
-RENZO STARR ✰ , C4RP00L – “Rainwall”

There were times when I didn’t see others who reflected me, but as an adult, I have found a community and see a larger voices to aspire to in these spaces.

Renzo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started making music in Raleigh, NC while I was in school. Prior to that, I had been a visual artist my entire life, and I’ve always felt passionately about the medium and the mixed media pieces I feel compelled to create. A friend helped me get a cracked version of FL Studio on my computer, and from that day forward, my days after class were always spent working on music. I joined a band, C4RP00L, and started playing a ton of shows around the North Carolina area.

When lockdown happened in 2020, I felt my music take on a much more serious tone within myself. Since most of my time was spent inside, I felt like music was my sole form of expression and escape. I’m so thankful for the friends and family who supported me during this time, allowing me to cultivate my knowledge and improve as an artist.I picked up the bass guitar, and after consideration of what I saw for my future, I decided to move to Los Angeles, CA, where I now live, making art every day with the goal of making my creative works my full-time career and sole source of revenue.

When I work within DAWs (Digital Audio Workspaces), my creative process is very similar to how I create a visual piece. I lay down the production or background, followed by the main vocals or subject. Then I add in the mid-ground or background vocals. In the end, I add the post-production or fine details, and I consider it done. I’m learning to treat my works as less precious. Not because they aren’t special, but because I feel focusing too heavily on one work distracts from the overall goal of leaving a legacy through our creative works.

I was born in Charlotte, NC, which has a robust scene of independent creatives and a deeply rooted artist culture. I am influenced by this legacy, but there were times I never felt represented. That’s why I push myself to always be honest and prolific with my work. I aspire to create a space for underdogs and outcasts. That’s where I’m most comfortable and where I create my best work.

My music features a lot of live instrumentation and industrial textures and elements. I bring these ideas together to create alternative pop songs.

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

Failure is a good thing. It shows you what not to do and how to improve and grow.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Getting to see how your work impacts the people around you. I wanna make the sound track to someone life like Because the Internet and Veteran did for me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renz0starr/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js1vgGqfCjA

Image Credits
Photos by: kent danger