The Heart Speaks: A Synopsis

Call it arrogant to make an article on your own second album, at your own website of all things, but to me I would want to give insight into one of the creative accomplishments I am most proud of, especially with how it basically came about accidentally. By the beginning of the year, I already had 2 of these songs fully written. Most of these songs were not produced by me, and in a way I feel it gave me more the creative freedom to know exactly what it is the person that created this beat would want out of this song. After considering it only writing practice and having broken my ankle back in February, which gave me all the time in the world to write. I wrote 8 songs in about 2 weeks. However, my mind didn’t feel exhausted, I felt passionate and a huge shoutout to my right hand in this process Malaika who really pushed me to make this project as passion filled as possible. 2 of the beats I actually made are throwaways from projects that may never see the light of day, but it really depends when you get into that writing mood, sometimes life hits harder and its best to deal with anything pertaining to anything creative than to saturate and exhaust yourself on a narrative you’re not even sure you believe in. So, I wanted to give a bit of a rundown on the project, explain each song and show what everyday its about. This is for the completionists and the real ones, for who ever even made it this far reading this article, thank you for your continued support!

The Heart Speaks:

Fly Away – Confidence has never seeped through me like other people. Call it self-awareness that to me there are 2 sides to being confident. One side lets you truly complete who you are as a person and be confident for yourself, having the ability to lead and let others shine in their own light, while being able to know your own limits and capabilities. The other is to be confident for others, show your talents off to other people which may lead to certain god complexes which are never great to recite or hear, ignorance will continue being bliss, now and always.(Of course, not to generalize). However, for me I want to find a divide between both and this song is kind of about that, being able to find my own confidence and despite anything that happens in my life bar any lifestyle, to know that I could be confident and happy no matter what the situation may be in my life. I want to do everything through passion and be able to show people that every word I write is truthful and never will be anything more or less than that. Fly Away is about finding happiness, self, confidence, and achieving dreams in due time.
Redefine – This song to me is probably one of the best and most complete songs I’ve ever written. This song in all honesty is a notion of consciousness for me to give perspective to life as someone who struggles financially. As J. Cole said “instead of cappin, why don’t you talk about being a broke rapper, that’s a perspective I respect because it’s real, what it’s like to be nice as fuck but got to stress to pay the bills”. Which is something I basically am, and have learned to embrace, I mean financially I’m not in the best boat nor am I in the worst, it can always be worse and less fortunate. However, I don’t have the fortune to know people in my life that will financially maintain me, nor do I have the fortune of having made a million dollars yet. Though, I, like many people have debt, it’s ok to still enjoy life even if bills are due, to be able to spend time with friends going out, or spending money on something you have genuine joy for especially if it is for someone to gift, or even passing a few bucks to someone who may need them more than you has selflessness and kindness that passes a resource that shouldn’t be so hard to obtain nor be held at such a high status socially. I feel like I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to wake up and be able to do anything you want because you have money, however, I’ve also always felt that being able to enjoy whatever is in your life currently is fine as well, you can control your own situation, you just gotta get out of the debt and be able to roam freely. Redefine is a song about the differing positions and sides on the topic of finances, as well as how to live comfortably with yourself, even if you may not have a substantial income.
Spirit – This beat by far is my favorite on the entire album. There’s something so entrancing about it, the hard hitting 808, as well as the incredibly semi-drowned out vocal sample that adds an atmosphere like no other. I didn’t make this one and all props to Unknown Instrumentalz for making a fantastic beat. Although, the beat and sound spoke to me in the sense that even though I didn’t make it, I could still try to give honor to the beat and make it special. Spirit is about being able to hold yourself accountable for your own actions and being able to accept what flaws you may have as a person, it’s always important to listen to people’s criticism because it brings truth to certain matters, however, it’s even more important to keep a tally and guarantee on yourself and your own vision, that even though some people may doubt what you do, it’s more important to keep pushing and do what you love, listen to people who care and their critiques and be able to take your own spirit to a higher level for your own sake.
Prideful – This song was a first for me. I felt like making a bit more of a conceptual song instead of the standard type of songs I normally make. The main idea of this song is the following of a man who cannot mentally or emotionally move on from a love that he himself created as toxic yet cannot recognize his own faults. Essentially, he does care for the person he loves dearly, yet his own pride wins him over as when the relationship is said and done, and his partner is off to bigger and better things, he continues to blame her more for the cracks in their ending relationship. As time progresses and we get deeper into the song, we get to a point where everything reminds him of her, yet he needs to start letting go, and if it starts with burning the flowers he bought her unknowingly to her, or getting rid of everything that reminds him of her, it’s a step towards betterment. Yet, at the end of the song after all this and one final call to her, he realizes and admits in his lowest point that he’s truly doing all of this because he is lonely and insecure. He has no one else to blame for this but himself, and the overpowering guilt sets in as he knows that he let his pride get the best of something that really meant a lot to him. “Now it’s later come home, visualizing I’m strong, unless it’s with you, baby”, is a line that resonates with how much he cares about her, but also how much he can’t let go. Prideful is a song for people who feel that they are never the problem in a relationship, as well as for the people who blame themselves too much for their own faults. It’s about pride and guilt, but definitely about acceptance above all.
Open Waters (Feat. Tony’s Tapes) – The coveted 8 minute song. Something I always wanted to experiment with when I first saw my favorite artists like Kendrick, The Weeknd, Kanye, and even J. Cole had all created songs that long that felt so impactful and powerful to me. “Runaway” by Kanye, “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” by Kendrick, “4 Your Eyez Only” by J. Cole, and “Angel” by The Weeknd to name a few are the main inspirations for this type of song. The structure of having a song this long is always a risky move and I had such a hard time mixing this one. I had sat on this sample for about 2 years and finally decided to make something of it. Again, a huge help from Malaika for providing me with some incredible horn samples for the second part of the beat, however, I do think this has to be my favorite song on the album actually. It was so fun to make and huge props to Tony’s Tapes for literally delivering the perfect guitar solo this track needed, I cannot thank him enough for the help of creating this track and elevating it to a new height. Onto the meaning of the song, the first half is supposed to be an open letter to fans/friends of my music. I feel like I’ve always dealt with criticism is a well enough manner to take it into consideration, whether I act on it depends on if I personally feel the change impacts something or not, because frankly not all criticism helps. To me I stand by that statement, I feel like if someone wants to change something drastically on a track you are working on, or feels your style should go in a different direction, personally why cater to a small minority, when the majority says otherwise? It’s like the debate for people that certain artists need to bring back their old musical style, and I always ask, why? Why should one artist who has built their success upon being able to be versatile, cater to your personal want? Not to sound heinous, but that artist really doesn’t owe you anything besides the gratitude most already give for the vast support some receive. Take for instance if Kanye made more albums like College Dropout, Late Registration, or even Graduation, would they really feel as special as if they are now? Would Kanye even be as successful as he is as a producer/artist or be called a one trick pony? It’s always about being open minded, and for me as open minded as I am towards critiques or tid bits, I also expect my own audience to be open minded on the fact that this is my style, and it is my choice into what I put into my own art. I am mature enough to recognize when something is not good, but I also am mature enough to accept when something I make is good!
Open Waters (Continued) – The second half of this song is directed towards the old me and the people I’ve left behind, or had to leave behind. Essentially page 2 in the open letter I’m writing, thoughts about being able to know exactly what I’ve done and be able to ask for forgiveness from me, you, and everything in-between. I am no perfect person, but to me it is always important to note when I make mistakes, it’s never about finding who and what to blame, not even yourself, but it’s about being able to show how much growth you can take from the mistakes you’ve made and turn yourself into something different. You don’t always need to ask for forgiveness, but when you do make it meaningful. We’re so caught up in our own mistakes that we cannot see past that and think that is our own capabilities, when it truly isn’t. Open Waters is about truth, forgiveness, growth, and betterment.
The Night’s Message – Although Open Waters is my favorite song on the album, personally The Night’s Message has to be the best song I’ve written so far in my life. The song is about conversations I’ve always seem to have with people at night, thus the name. Especially with my cousin who I consider a brother, has always opened up to me about his past and how it always seems to come back and almost haunt him in a way, I myself have always sat there wondering how fortunate I am to be able to not be in his situations, yet how much I wish I could’ve helped more growing up and saving him the headaches. That’s why it has always been something to think about for me. It’s always been comparison but I always try to give as much advice to people regardless of having any experience in that field or not. It’s about a battle with myself, those nights you look at the ceiling and ponder what you can change, or what you haven’t even touched on either. It’s about finding my faith and questioning it, while also finding some faith within myself to have the confidence to recognize my wrongs, and cherish my rights. The Night’s Message is about having the will to find a way, it is about finding faith and courage to seek something better in your life and use that guidance help others, even with all these questions. Also you should really, reeeeeeaaaaaally check this one out 🙂
Stars Align – Genuinely what a wonderful beat. To think it was going to be a throwaway… When my friend Malaika showed it to me I knew this beat was not only special, but it had to be included into the album at all costs, so after a bit of convincing lol, she let me use it and goddamn was it special. When I started writing to this beat it felt so natural that I finished writing it in a little under 3 days, it just flowed soooo well. Every little bit of this beat made me feel like something that a big name artist is using, and it might as well be, as I almost felt like a man possessed putting it all together. The song itself is about how we sometimes wait a little too long to change things when something isn’t right or isn’t normal. It seems like we wait for every time the stars align to be able to not only get along with each other as people, but be able to help one another with genuine change. For example, one of the metaphors I decided to use had to do with apple trees and how their apples never really fall too far from where they plant their own roots, yet we always complain when we see a different type of tree or a “rotten tree” try to grow because we immediately denounce it from our own community and do not think it will succeed in the slightest. Yet, we continue to teach others and our own to think this way when in reality we don’t even know what kind of tree they may be, we see them as rotten on the outside potentially, yet we judge them quickly enough to not know what is inside or what it may be made of. Stars Align is about allowing change and trying to cut the problem at its root before anything gets out of hand.
Accelerate – Surprisingly a lot of people like this one. Not too say I made it as a throwaway or anything at all, because I didn’t, however, while making it, I wasn’t sure exactly the reception it may bring upon people. The message is pretty clear, don’t rush into things you may want to cherish because it truly will always be there if you take your time on it. That goes with anything really, relationships, careers, jobs, art, money, anything at all can be classified in this category and can be looked at as something gratifying. Yet, we need to remember that the best way to reach anything to take your time on it and be able to spend the most quality time, to get the best possible outcome. LeBron James didn’t just put up a few shots and decide to be a GOAT, as much as Kanye didn’t just pump out 50 songs in a year to see which hit. It’s about taking time and being able to not only enjoy the time you’re taking on said project, but also recognize time you need for yourself and your mentality and wisdom. Accelerate, ironically, is about taking it slow and enjoying the process itself, the outcome will be there, but it’s best to not rush into things so you can see the best outcome you want.
The Light – This was a very fun beat to make lol, I actually was also sitting on this one for another project I was thinking about initially starting with, but ended up with this result instead. This song is about finding faith in yourself and being able to say that despite the outcome in the goal you are pursuing, be happy you have the privilege of even making it in the first place. Many people have wishes, and mine for the longest had been to release an album, and I succeeded in that last year, and arguably made an even better one this year in “The Heart Speaks”. This song is about being able to take things naturally and embrace them the best way you can while you inch your way to glory. That light is a lot closer than you think it is, it’s mainly found in the times you never think you will. I didn’t think I’d write a fully fledged out album in the timespan I would be out with a broken ankle, nor did I remotely think it would be this coherent or even, to be honest, this good. The Light is a victory lap for this project, a song to tell myself that goals are always being made, and the most ambitious are never out of reach, yet you don’t have to be required to reach them if you’re happy with what you’re doing already, yet it’s always good to motivate yourself to do better.
What I Go Through – The outro to really set things up. I believe I wrote this song 2nd on the whole album as the incredible beat really spoke to me in that melodic fashion you hear on the song. It provides the perfect words to say, now that I got all that out the way, let me do my own thing. I don’t follow expectations truthfully, no one really should, but when it comes to art always remember that is someone’s best effort to place their personality in something other than their own eyes. What I go Through is saying that it is ok to take your time to reach your goals, as long as the most important lesson is that you stay true to who you are while showing people how great you are at this one thing, that you are ok with battling with your position on where you should be, because that means you only intend to follow through with current plans, and be bigger in future plans.
Por Las Nubes – A spanish song, more over a corrido on an Adrian album? Weird right, well it is 2023 I guess. A song that was a last minute edition and I really felt I was getting into spanish writing and the style of corridos really spoke to me. I’ve written in spanish don’t get me wrong, I mean who ever knows me, knows I’m Mexican-Cuban, but I never thought it would be pretty difficult to write in this type of rhythm. It’s not a perfect song, and my singing isn’t the greatest, lets admit, but it’s something different I’ve already heard from people as being well received, so it kind of motivates me to touch on other latin genres, maybe bachata, reggaeton, (though I am very skeptical about that one), or maybe even mixing Afro beats with Latin sound which is something I kind of want to experiment with. This song is about a love lost, and a man drowning his sorrows in his own guilt and shame. It’s never truly found as to why we blame ourselves for things we truly can’t change, especially when it comes to relationships, but one thing is for certain, when it hits, it hits. If it’s something that you put essentially your whole life and meaning towards, it really shows how much you cared for it when you lose it. It’s something human emotion can’t fix, yet it can barely mend it. We don’t forget, but we move on. How long that lasts, who knows, but what is certain is, as long you stay in character and continue moving towards betterment for yourself, the sky is the limit, and as it translates, you’ll be “By The Clouds”.