Singer/songwriter, HEwas grew up in a suburb near Boston, Massachusetts in a multicultural household. His grandmother on his mother’s side was from Curacao, a Caribbean island where most people are a mix of Dutch, Spanish, indigenous South American and African.
His grandfather on his mother’s side was a first-generation Jewish man whose family members were killed in The Holocaust. His grandmother on his father’s side is mostly Mexican and indigenous. Her husband was British and German. “I have been blessed to come from a diverse mix of people and I’ve benefited from many different cultures and experiences. I have learned so much from every single one of my family members.”
HEwas realized he had a need for music to be part of his life at an early age. He became obsessed with singing, and being in the studio. “My friends always joked that everyone in my family is a different color. Coming from a multicultural background made me interested in connecting with people and hearing their stories. This initially sparked my passion for social and racial justice,” adds HEwas.
HEwas grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and Amy Winehouse. Their jazzy playful nature is what inspires him daily. “As I got older and started listening to the radio, I fell in love with dark and edgy songwriters like The Weeknd, 6LACK and Billie Eilish,” says HEwas.
His unique voice caught the attention of the group 98 Degrees who began working with him in 2019, nurturing his sound. As the pandemic began, he found a way to express what was going on, reflecting on simpler, pre-pandemic times. From there he started working with Artist/Writer/Producer, BLAZAR.
The result was an opportunity to collaborate on a track with Grammy-nominated artist, Afroman. Their soon to be released single, “WHOLEthing” is the follow up track to his debut song, “Lemon.”
The concept behind “WHOLEthing” is when someone turns a relationship into a whole thing and ruins it. “I wanted to play around with that double meaning. My co-writer and producer, BLAZAR (Jerad Finck) loved it and took it to a new level. Afroman helped give the song depth and a feeling of yin and yang,” says HEwas. “The track is about finding a person to have fun with but the relationship doesn’t have to become serious. It’s an amalgamation of romantic experiences that got too serious too fast,” adds HEwas.
Co-writer and Producer, BLAZAR (Jerad Finck) and HEwas have been working on a 12-song album over the last year. “When we started talking to Afroman, who I completely idolized growing up, we felt it was right. We wanted the right song for him. We went through our catalog of songs we had written together and re-listened; the light and airy tonality felt like a perfect fit. The hook-up-culture subject matter, paired with Afroman’s deep signature tones, were the perfect compliment, says HEwas.
“I was a fan from the minute I heard the song, HEwas has a great sense of timing and it worked like magic,” says Afroman.
HEwas feels his upbringing and multicultural experience will continue to influence his music and writing. “When I write, it’s important that I find a way to change the way people feel,” explains HEwas who creates music as commentary. HEwas wrote “WHOLEthing” as a way to offer an escape as the world continues to navigate difficult and uncertain times.
My mom taught me about Oneness. The idea is that although we are individuals, we are all connected as a single entity and we have tounderstand and care for one another. As someone who can personally identify with so many cultures, I feel the weight of that every day,” explains HE was.
The new HEwas single, featuring Afroman, “WHOLEthing” will be available November 27th 2020!
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