Accepting the pain of losing is the beginning of winning.
Boarding this Delta flight feels like I have the world’s weight on my shoulders. Finding a balance between love and entrepreneurship is a never-ending war in life. Being dedicated to two opposing forces is an emotional tug-of-war that destroys people’s most committed relationships.
Listening to an empress scream at the top of her lungs about experiencing feeling empty, lonely, and habitually neglected is painstaking. Breaking promises, being late for planned dinners, and never thinking of a person’s basic human needs comes at a high price.
Hearing her say, “I won’t be second to your dreams,” is a tough pill to swallow. She ends the phone call by stating, “give the next person a better life. Learn from this failure”. Tears developed in my eyes instantly, and we both said goodbye simultaneously.
I’m traveling to Miami for the WE BUILT DIFFERENT Conference powered by HYPEFRESH and RADIOPUSHERS. Since October, I’ve been intrigued by Alex Vaughn’s organic beauty, angelic voice, and revealing lyrical wordplay. I’m writing an exclusive editorial feature regarding her meteoric rise in the world of R&B and pop culture. Sliding in my Figgers Wireless earbuds, I engulf myself in the critically acclaimed Hurtbook album.
On her debut project, The Hurtbook the R&B singer/songwriter opens up with the Jerkins-produced “So Be It.” Over a hauntingly beautiful production, Vaughn’s voice shines as she tries to make peace with the situation. This is no break-up anthem; instead, it’s a vulnerable and honest look at the hurt that comes with moving on.
Alex Vaughn is an uncut diamond in R&B music.
Alex Vaughn’s voice infiltrates secret places in a listener’s heart, creating an intimately emotional experience. ‘So Be It’ contains words of unprecedented cinematic poetry and illuminates the pure essence of walking in your peace. “Instead of lettin’ me know, you kept secrets/But if I cut you this deep, you’d be in pieces”, she sings.
Psychologically, when Alex creates music, she’s connects with the highest components of her God-given creativity. She turns over every emotional and soulful stone in her garden of poetic Eden. Alex Vaughn understands the power of speaking her truth while making excruciating decisions for her betterment. Possessing the absolute power of letting go is an expensive lesson very few people in life can afford. Theoretically, it’s cheaper to remain the same than evolve into the butterfly version of yourself.
“Keep That Energy” is an anthem that sees Vaughn rejecting her ex, who wants to make amends for the wrongs he’s done. Lyrically she paints vivid imagery of passion infused with calculated emotional closure. “Keep that energy to yourself
Ain’t got time for your petty games/I’m gettin’ older/Few notches under my belt F*ck wishin’ that you would change/ so this is closure/And I might be, might be too much
And you’re likely just not enough/It’s just some things I need, can’t blame me, baby /And I might be, might be too much”, she sings.
Vaughn closes The Hurtbook with “No Love (Outro),” where she ultimately arrives at a place of finality with her relationship with ‘love.’ Alex Vaughn is the official Generation Z narrator of love, relationship goals, and living life without limits. Alex Vaughn’s label home is LVRN powered by Interscope Records.
Stream the Hurtbook on TIDAL
