Vibe Check with Bria Ariel
Words by Malik knight — Photos by Malik Frank — Fashion by Jada LeBour
I found Bria because of Malik’s photos of her, the image to the right. It was like Malik was spying on her, she looked unsuspecting of what was going on but had this meek confidence that I found intriguing. Her voice allows you to be transported to where ever she is speaking about, in her song vibe color she speaks of this originality and changing for yourself, short as it was and ending just as your salivating for more she only gives you exactly what you need to understand where she is coming from. Her intention with her words speak to who she is, allowing you into her energy sphere. As we anxiously wait for more music I know that we can live with the couple songs that this melodic woman has given to us. She is far from unaware of what she has and will continue to make fantastic music.
APOLOGIES: in book is says Direction by Malik Knight, in no shape or form did I have any responsibility for the pictures taken by Malik Fredrick. All I, Malik Knight, did was interview Bria and layout the spread.
Malik: So where are you from?
Bria Ariel: I was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, I learned to walk in Jamaica, and then I went to school for college in Chicago.
M: What did you study?
BA: I went to Roosevelt university. Unfortunately, it was short lived, and my mom will never get over it, but I went for philosophy music composition.
M: What’s your sign and does astrology play a role in your life?
BA: Actually I can give you my sun, ascending, and my moon signs. I'm a cancer sun, Sagittarius rising, and a Capricorn moon. I have like fire, water, and earth, which I'm thankful for. Yeah, I do think it's important because I know that our ancestors used it to guide them through whatever progress they were seeking. I know that the stars are always in alignment and you can always find your way. Within the stars and the solar system. I think it's very powerful and beautiful, especially being a cancer. I feel a strong connection to the moon, I do think that there's a lot of truth within astrology, and I'm just exploring and learning as much as I can about it.
“The frequencies that comes out of my mouth really helps calm me down.”
M: What's your definition of ego, and how does it play a role in your music?
BA: I feel like my definition of ego is, identity. Ego is how we make judgment. When I'm making music, I'm constantly being reminded of how big my ego can be. And when you have a inflated ego it can be difficult to dissolve. When you're making art, the most beautiful thing is to just allow it to flow and through [you], creating is something that's so special and so honest, it really helps check your ego.
M: What was the last snack you had?
BA: A blueberry muffin.
M: How has music been a place of peace for you?
BA: Oh, my gosh. Music is actually a huge part of my family and my culture, being Caribbean. having music is such an important thing for Jamaicans because where we come from, we really grow up understanding gratitude, because that’s a part of the economy. Being really in touch with music and dancing and just your community and food, all of that, that what makes up our culture is really keeps our energy and positivity so high. Music it's something that you can learn how to do when you're very young, because the voice usually is the first instrument that we utilize. Being able to sing, the frequencies that come out of my mouth really helps calm me down. Music and just anything with a sound has a frequency, so when I sing, I try to sing to really make myself feel better. These are usually seen as a thing from the soul, and then my words, sometimes it's just something I channeled. All of that together really helps me remember what I've gone through, and allowing everything to just flow, to know that this is all a journey and everyone's on board.
M: You grew up in Jamaica for a brief time. What kind of music brought you joy during that time and have you reconnected with it recently with racial injustice and quarantine at the forefront?
BA: I grew up in a Rastafarian home, my dad is Rastafarian and my mom converted to it, she was originally raised catholic. And Christianity is really big in Jamaica. I would say that I grew up listening to reggae. Even though my parents are from Jamaica, they worked really hard to open my eyes to all forms of music and appreciating things that were different from me. My father is a guitarist, so I listened to a lot of soft rock, but Reggae songs that I grew up with like Jah Cure, Sizzla, Steel Poles, Grogry Issacs, Bob Marley of course, and Morgan Heritage who my dad was a guitarist. It's also amazing to know that my dad was a part of it and actually left that behind to raise his children, and I'm forever grateful for that. Jah Cure has a song, “Love Is the Only Solution”, which is incredible it talks about using your meditation and how important it is to use your meditation as a driving force to [create] the reality that you live in. When you look at all the protests that's going on and the uprising for the liberation of black people, I think it's so important to have music as a catalog, to all of that. Just like allowing that to remind people of the importance of having art that represents our truths and our suffering.
M: Why do you think its so hard for people to take their own advice, you touched on that in “Love is so Easy”
BA: Honestly, I think that just comes from ego. I am constantly reminded of that in my own situations. We were really in a place where we were just flowing and are self-aware and we're passing judgment on others. Love works so, so, so much better because I know people project onto others. People feel like they fall short of other’s expectations that may not even be real. That’s all ego. I think it is difficult for people to embody what they know innately as right, because of their conditions, their environment, and false illusions.
M: One of my favorite tracks of yours is vibe color. How has transitioning into our new normal effected your vibe color?
BA: Our society changing is actually really powerful, I was moving so fast. Living in New York city, I was super busy all the time. I had a normal restaurant job to just be able to live here. I was going to the studio after work. I was coming home at like 4:00 AM. I was waking up and trying to stay healthy, trying to always maintain that balance between work life, social life, and also my musical career. When I made vibe color, it was actually the idea to be the opening for like my first EP. That's what I wanted to drop a full body of work. I was working with a producer, Corey, a prolific beat maker in Chicago, and he a was working with some rap artist and I should see if they would be interested. I brought a few songs to this duo, Audio Push, in LA and one of the songs was “Vibe Color”. Then they dropped a project, Inside the Vibe 2, and they used the song, and didn’t change a thing. It was my first writing credit, and they kept it the same way. When I showed it to them it was just a demo. That’s what the song was all about. Being true to who I am, I'm blessed to be in this lifetime and embodying what it means to be a black woman. Cause I wouldn't be born any other way
M: How do the people around you, whether it be family or friends offer their support.
BA: I didn't always have such a strong support group in terms of friends. but I used to have this idea that I couldn't trust people or people were out to get me. Not to the extent of “OMG SHES CRAZY”, but in the normal way of I don’t feel like people support me. Then I realized that I'm always meeting people who support me, people who want to understand me, and people who look at themselves as a part of a collective and like their personal identity is so small when you look at it at a larger scale. I always want to be able to be free and create, and I meet people who are like that, Like Malik [Frank] He’s Literally a friend of a friend. My friend, Thunder, introduced me to him right before he moved to Thailand. He's been very persistent and helping me illuminate Bria Arial. Like I'm a perfectionist, I'm a Virgo, Mars, and when it comes to work and just creating music, I really want it to be to the highest level that it can be, so to be able to attract people who feel that way about their art as well, it's extremely humbling.
M: What does that mean to you being able to publish your music on your own terms?
BA: Oh my gosh, It's very nerve wracking, but exciting. People are so concerned with numbers, it's numbers on streaming that helps getting you shows, getting you the connections to even. It's such a blessing and a curse, obviously, because now it's easier to hold onto your independence as an artist. Which is super important. I'm grateful obviously, but it's just like, the demand is so high, I had two singles that I released prior to the “Dark Room”, but they originally came out under the name, Bri Ariel. And I just decided to just add another “a” to my artist's name, making it Bria Ariel. It was just really important for me. I had a really amazing friend named Dineche, who's a spiritual healer, he like is really into Vedic astrology and neurology. He's so knowledgeable and we were going through the vibrations of my name. And he’s saying, maybe you should add another letter. I was just like, you know what, I'll just take off all my other songs on streaming, and “Dark Room” will be my first song under the name Bria Ariel.
M: How does fashion play a role in your life?
BA: Fashion is such a huge thing in my culture and my family. When I came to New York, I was living with models like Thunder is an amazing model based in Thailand right now, and Onataria Alexander who is an amazing model who was just in Vogue Italia. They really helped me cultivate my style and reminded me how important it is to pop-out wherever you go. My mom is my style icon, she has the best style the Caribbean woman, and my dad he's so classic and sophisticated, that really captivates my own personal style. Personally, I just love fashion, I love reading magazines like Vibe and Sense, and the archives of Essence.
M: What's the perfect way to end an evening?
BA: Either outside, or just in an open space indoors where there's some type of plants or just some type of nature going on. And being able to burn some incense and honestly just a cup of ginger tea and just relax and just go over gratitude. That's the best way for me to end my day because I feel so good when I go to sleep. Just remembering how thankful I am and how blessed I am in this lifetime.