Some artists stumble into the world of music. Others may find their way into the industry later in life after trying a few other things. Within a third group, there is a collection of artists who have been building a catalog of records since they were sitting in eighth-period English class. Queen City’s own Reuben Vincent is the latter. From the day he connected with 9th Wonder as a 16-year-old high school student, he has been building to the moment he would rap alongside North Carolina legend Rapsody and inking a deal with Roc Nation. This Friday, he crosses another item off of his checklist — releasing his debut studio LP, Love Is War.
“I have been working on Love Is War for two years now. I didn’t have the title until we were closer to finishing the album. In my words, the album’s message is, as young black men I feel like we aren’t taught how to love properly. We don’t know how to love our people, our women, our brothers & most importantly ourselves,” he said about his debut LP.
“When you don’t know how to love yourself you can’t love everybody else the right way, so this project is me expressing that; through the infatuation with a figure from the opposite sex, but also I touch on the love for external things like money & substances. At certain points during the album, you can see my ego come out at times.”
Love Is War paints a picture of duality. At times, it is easy to spot the Charlotte native poppin’ his sh*t and letting the world know that he is really that nice with his pen. At other moments, he’s a curious, 20-something looking to make sense of what the world around him is becoming. His ability to balance the two sides of being both a regular 20-something and an artist with a Roc Nation deal is what endears him to so many. In other words, he’s more than a rapper. He’s more than just an artist. He’s more than a lot of things. He is uniquely Reuben Vincent and his debut LP is available below.
