Today we’d like to introduce you to Alfred Nomad. 

Alfred, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.

I was a kid who moved around a lot, but the two major constants in my life were family and creativity. I consider myself from Indianapolis, IN. While I lived there, I found my focus on writing. First with poetry, and then I got introduced to writing music and recording my own songs. As soon as I began writing and recording music, I fell in love with it and never stopped.

In high school, I started rapping with other kids at my school and even ended up in a couple of rap groups. This carried over to when I went to college at Clark Atlanta University. There I began to not only make music but also perform it. I’d perform at any showcase, talent show or event I could and earned my chops in performing. All the while from the start, I had an importance of independence. I didn’t make music to get a record deal but to build something for myself and the people around me.

I kept doing other people’s shows and events and noticed holes in how they were put together or how they weren’t made to actually benefit the artists. So continuing this journey, I decided to create a culture brand called LxVE (Love x Value Everything & Everyone) to make something bigger than myself and use as a tool to produce my own events, projects and products that were inclusive to others. This is how I began growing as a curator and leader as well as an artist.

After being in Atlanta for about a decade, my wife and I moved to Los Angeles, CA. It wasn’t an easy transition, but I found my way to connect with the right people as I was preparing my next project titled “Everything Will Be Alright.” It’s important to me to have purpose behind what I’m doing. And this project is me fully standing in the space that I want to be in as a person who creates art, experiences, physical items and connects a community aspect to it all.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

No, it has not been a smooth road at all. I’ve learned by doing. Trial and error, triumph and lessons. Creative control, authenticity and ownership are important to me. I didn’t have opportunities handed to me. I’ve had to build everything from scratch. It’s tough navigating a way to bring big ideas to life with minimal resources. And having to be my own biggest motivator. You can’t expect others to see your visions and dreams for or with you. You have to start and paint the picture for them.

Moving out to Los Angeles was really tough for me. I only knew a handful of people, I had to work four jobs at once for a certain amount of time, had to sell my microphone and couldn’t do much for a little while. Thankfully I found my way and learned even more about myself in the process. I look at it as I had to break everything down to the bare minimum to build up the next phase of my life.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?

I have several parts that make up my entire business as a creative. I’m building a whole world around my creativity. I’m a music artist, curator and activist. If you must define the genre of my music, it is hip-hop. You can certainly hear a jazz, eclectic and alternative influence. I consider the music I make to be music that you live to. It’s not made for one particular place or setting. You can go about your whole day and grow with it from waking up, going out, your achievements, heartbreaks and self-growth all wrapped into a playlist of my music.

With my latest album/art project, I’ve spearheaded the Everything Will Be Alright Project & Initiative providing information and resources on mental health as well as raising funds to provide free therapy sessions for black creatives. I’m also the founder of the culture brand LxVE (Love x Value Everything & Everyone) to highlight and encourage entrepreneurial creatives to follow their passions, collaborate with like minds and give back to communities through creative content, clothing and events based around music and fine art.

I have been using my voice as an artist and storyteller to cultivate amity within communities for more than a decade. Curating experiences such as concerts, art exhibitions, panels, and the annual festival (hitting its 5th year anniversary this year) LxVE Fest which I’m very proud of. I’ve recently started a podcast with my good friend B-Snell called “Where From Here.” This is a space where we talk a lot about music, culture and subjects that matter to our community of creatives.

My next venture is solidifying this streaming platform called TONE which will be a space for myself and other creatives to host our content building our own virtual platform to show our art without having to compete with the world for attention and set our own value on our creations. I’m proud of each of these parts of my work. What sets me apart is I don’t wait for anyone to put these things in place for me. I genuinely care about the art and the artists behind it and make sure what I’m doing benefits others too.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?

I wouldn’t change much. It got me to where I am now. It all served a purpose. I guess I would have believed in myself even sooner and tried to help even more people along the way.

Pricing:

• You can stream and purchase any music from me directly at https://alfrednomad.bandcamp.com
• If you’d like to donate to the Everything Will Be Alright Initiative https://gf.me/u/yxhjtk
• Purchase merch & collector’s items https://wespreadlxve.com/collections/all?sort_by=created-descending
• Subscribe to the streaming platform TONE for $10 monthly or $90 annually http://tone.vision

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alfrednomad.com
• Email: alfrednomads@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alfrednomad/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/alfrednomad/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alfrednomad
• Other: http://tone.vision