Power ’s new EP Love & Hate, explores the dynamics within relationships, delving into contrasting emotions. These themes find their roots in the Los Angeles rapper’s introspection about his own life path and the intense feelings that come with forming connections. The record comprises tracks like “Next To Me”- capturing the magic of new love, and “Love Crime”- digging into toxic relationships.
Teaming up with director Aman Bhatia, Power brings a visual layer to the emotional whirlwind portrayed in the music videos, enhancing the multi-faceted narrative of the songs. The EP not only puts the artist’s skills as a rapper, writer, producer, director, and actor on display but goes beyond the usual benchmarks of success.
For the rapper, the true measure of achievement lies in the transformation and influence he can inspire in the lives of his audience. As Power prepares for the upcoming release of his debut album One Love, Love & Hate establishes a foundation for themes encompassing personal journeys and experiences that resonate universally.
Read more about the artist and his release below.
Love & Hate delves into intricate relationship dynamics. What inspired the contrasting themes of love and hate, and how do they intertwine in your songs “Next To Me” and “Love Crime”?
Life is a play of duality, and relationships are no different…love and hate are on both emotional ends of the spectrum; have you ever noticed that the more attached you are to an object or person, the more the condition or state of that relationship intensifies? That’s what happens when you become attached to something or someone, and falling in love with another human being is certainly at the very top of that list of intensified attachment. With intensity, comes heightened emotions, and that can be said for both love and hate.
The inspiration came from simply looking back at my own life’s journey, and reflecting back at all the relationships that I have been through. I truly feel like there were moments of heaven and hell, darkness and light, love and hate within all of the past relationships that I have endured. The more you love something, the harder it is to let go. The more you love another person, the more they penetrate and affect your heart in ways nothing else and no one else can.
In “Next To Me,” you capture the magic of new love and that timeless feeling of being in the company of someone special. How did you go about translating such a nostalgic emotion into both the lyrics and music video?
All I had to do was simply tap back into my own memory bank, to close my eyes and take a trip back through time when I was so in love and felt truly free. I remember those days when life didn’t have so many complexities and daily stressors that we now have today. Everything was simple, because my world revolved around their world so all I had to do was be in their presence, or stay connected with them through thought and feeling, and I was instantly teleported into another dimension instantly. I was immediately taken out of this illusory artificial matrix world we live in today that we call “reality,” and taken into a timeless place full of unconditional love and euphoria, where only high vibrations like happiness and joy exist.
I simply wrote the song straight from heart and onto the page; I just let all the emotions pour out of me, and then let that same feeling come through my voice and onto the microphone. I captured the essence of love through a song, and every time I hear it, it takes me back to that eternal realm of unconditional love.
When I wrote, produced and co- directed the music video alongside my superstar director Aman Bhatia, all I had to do was tap back into the emotional memory bank of being timeless and free, and being totally one with the person that you love, and merging my world with their world, to become one unified entity. Both creating the song, and the music video itself was effortless, cause it came straight from the heart.
“Love Crime” explores toxic relationships. It’s a raw and emotional song that many can relate to. Could you elaborate on how you managed to channel your personal experiences into this track, and what message you hope to convey to your listeners who may be going through the same things?
This song was not very hard to create, because I’ve been through many toxic relationships, otherwise known as “makeups to breakups.” I have an analogy that I like to say to people: Everything in this life is energy; your mind, body, and spirit are simply energetic banks. So the people, places and things in your life are either making energetic withdrawals or deposits, you feel me?
Anyone or anything that’s draining you of your energy, and not adding any value to your life, and is holding you back from your fullest and highest potential, is what you can refer to as “Toxic” for you. I can think back to many relationships that I was in, when there came a time and point, when that negative energy was just way too much, and was way too draining and distracting, and so that’s what Love crime is about.
That song is an analogy of how it should be a crime to have the intention to cause emotional harm and/or damage to another human being. The crazy thing is that we all do this in some shape or form or another. It just so happens that when you’re in love, the emotions are so intense, it’s so hard to just leave that person after you’ve spent so many years with them.
There is this powerful tug of war going on inside of you, towards whether you should be staying with them and leaving them at the same time. There is overwhelming guilt and shame that one goes through, feeling bad for leaving that person, even though you now they are causing you more harm than good in your life.
Teaming up with Aman Bhatia for the music videos proved to be a vital collaboration. How did your paths cross, and what creative choices did you both make to visually portray the emotional rollercoaster?
Let’s just say me and Aman crossing paths was preordained DESTINY. The universe operates with mathematical precision, and it’s no coincidence that we crossed paths; I was put on to his artwork through one of my friends who told me to check him out, when I was planning on shooting my first ever music video. When we first met, I felt the same frequency and vibration coming from him, it was like we were cut from the same stone.
When we shot our first music video together, which will be dropping soon by the way, it was instant creative genius and magic. Aman is god gifted with such a creative imagination, and he comes up with concepts, angles, frameworks that I cannot even fathom. The opposite is also reciprocal; when I write / produce the film treatments and shot scene selections for our films, I can tell that Aman is mind blown, so it is always super powerful when the other person is just as gifted, talented, and most important of all, PASSIONATE & DEDICATED to the craft as you are.
After we shot our first film, it was history. I knew the universe had gifted me with an artistic prodigy to partner with for the rest of my life, and he has directed every one of my music videos since then. Not only that, but every one of our films has turned out to be a distinct cinematic masterpiece. We don’t create music videos by the bay, we truly create artistic short films.
When creating the visual creative choices for the Love & Hate EP, let’s say it was instant channeling and downloading from the universe for both of us; we didn’t even have to speak much; our minds think alike…when it comes to me and Aman, we are just one in the same.
Love & Hate proves your talents not only as a rapper but also as a writer, producer, director, and actor. How do you approach integrating multiple creative aspects to bring your vision to life in both your music and videos?
I am born to perform, and I literally have that tattooed on my leg, along with the Hollywood sign. I always knew from an early age I was going to be acting and performing ; when I was a little kid, I would imagine myself in movies and singing on stage…and now here we are. I don’t know, it just comes very natural to me; I have such a powerful imagination when it comes to any form of art, whether it be words like I’m writing right now, pictures and images when creating artwork or for our video shoots, or sounds such as melodies, and harmonies…all of these things just seem to naturally flow out of me.
I get asked this question a lot, and all I can say is that I am just a conduit for the universe to express its beautiful creations through. I am just the vessel, I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ve never been formally trained or mentored on any of this, it just came encoded in my DNA for me to unlock in the exact precise divine time that this universe operates within. I was born with it, it’s inside me, it is the essence of who and what I am, I truly embody it and there is fire in my blood to let it all out!
How do you assess the success of an EP like Love & Hate, going beyond conventional metrics such as streams and chart positions?
The only thing I can say is purpose; I gauge success by the level of impact and change I can cause in another life, otherwise known as service. I am just being of service by sharing my own life experiences and what I have learned through them, to help instill a message and pass along some wisdom onto another, and so that they can prevent themselves from making any mistakes that I made.
I’m talking about “Love Crime” when I refer to this paragraph specifically. Anything I create in general, including this new EP, and especially in my upcoming debut album, if I can add a little value to someone’s life, if I can change their emotional and mental state for the better, then that is what truly measures success. If the listener can press play, and I can emotionally, mentally and spiritually connect with them, then that is what success means to me. If I can transport the listener out of their world, and potentially out of any stress or negative emotions that they are feeling, and help ease their pain and soothe their soul by listening to my music or watching any of my videos, then that is success to me.
I’m just looking to make a difference in people’s lives, to be of service, to live my PURPOSE, and to leave behind a legacy of work that continues to uplift and inspire others long after I’ve left this earth. After I’ve exited this planet, and the listener can press play and I’m still there standing over them in the room, and I’m still continuing to have an impact on them, then that is the ultimate success to me. I can’t put a price tag on that, and that goes above and beyond any form of charting or stream measure.
As you gear up for the release of your debut album, One Love, this new EP serves as a compelling prelude. How does Love & Hate establish the ambiance for your upcoming record, and what themes and messages can we anticipate in your future songs?
This new EP is the ultimate prelude for the upcoming album, One love, simply because it shows that contrast of light and darkness that is within us all. It contains many relatable chapters of life that we all go through, the emotional roller coaster rides that we go through daily, living in this crazy world, which causes us to go crazy at times. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for worse.
Love & Hate gives just a little taste of what is in store! I got a lot of messages to share in this brand new EP, but I will keep some of the surprises for the upcoming album, so stay tuned and keep it locked, you are in for one hell of a journey with me!
Listen to the full EP here:
