Music and writing are the first things he picked up when he was young – metaphorically describing a poem as a “song in acapella.” He now calls himself “The Ani-Me: Slayer of Dragons, Propeller of flames.”
Music is a natural flair for an engineer, producer, and artist, ‘The Ani-Me’, who is a first-generation American from Haiti. As he describes it, his background allows him to “understand humility, pride, and revolution all at the same time.”
“Music and dance are a part of our lives before we can utter our first words. The first time I decided to pick up a pen was to write poems,” says Ani-Me’. “I have always been in music. Whether it’s been in jest, in private, in drunk freestyling at the bars, or publicly as a career. Music is a part of how I am.”
Music is such a big part of his identity – it’s the heart and soul of how he creates, forms, and shares his music.
He has a unique approach to how he describes musical interests and says they are “Like water. I take the shape of my context. So one day it’s Hip-hop, one day it’s House, another day it’s Pop, and today we sh’all Trap.”
He says when creating music, “I am sharing a human experience. A causal drowning between self-love and self-loathe,” says Ani-Me.
His most popular Sound Cloud hip-hop track, “A Lil Difference (Supamane!),” communicates that everyone is unique and has superpowers. He opens the track, singing, “I just wanna be what I want to be. I don’t want to end up a wanna-be; spread my wings, and fly.” From the rap to the melody, his creative process is a flow– “Listen, then surrender. I can never write good music; the music has to write itself,” says Ani-Me.
Although he pours both his artistry and raps into his music, “I adamantly try to make a distinction between a rapper and artist. I don’t think they’re the same. I want to establish myself as an artist,” says Ani-Me’
Like many artists, he has an intuitive view of the world – especially concerning fear.
“Fear has served us for the majority of our existence. But it should no longer be our compass. We ultimately need love, but to get there, we must first learn courage.”
This is not only a message to aspiring artists to put themselves out there but also a message for us all not to let fear get in the way of our passions.
Though Ani-Me’ says he plans to make music forever, that is not the only way he expresses his love of art. He is the co-host of the “Be The Boss Podcast” with his co-host Nadia where they talk about entrepreneurship, spirituality, sovereignty, passion, and art. To complement their podcast, he collaborated with co-host Nadia, also known as Natty Lite to create the “Imma Bawse Theme” song – his most recent Sound Cloud music release to date.
As he continues on his life journey, he says “the story” inspires him. “The one that we are writing right now. It can go anyway and end at any time. In its pages lies every possibility. That is so exciting. This, and lowkey, Anime.”
