London Based Artist SXMSON Drops R&B Bop "L2LY"

L2LY is a total R&B bop that you won’t want to miss out on!

London native SXMSON released his feel-good Pride anthem, “L2LY”, which sees SXMSON reassure his younger self that life gets better when you learn to love who you are. L2LY (Learn to Love You) was inspired by SXMSON’s struggle with identifying as LGBTQ+ and how he overcame it.

Born and raised in London, Iranian/Jewish SXMSON [Samson] grew up listening to 90s/2000s Pop and R&B music. This was the sound that eventually inspired him to pursue a career as singer-songwriter. Starting to develop his skills as an artist at the age of 16, SXMSON made his first steps in the music industry as a songwriter. During and after his studies at the University of Leeds, SXMSON continued to work alongside a wide array of producers.

SXMSON says about the track:

“I spent a lot of my childhood learning to hate myself. I think many of us are inherently taught to not like who we are. Years of verbal abuse, social pressures and feeling lonely had a long lasting impact on my self-esteem, which, now as an adult, I am trying to slowly unlearn. Even though I am proud of the person I have become today, I wonder how different things could have been if younger me had the chance to spend [even just] 10 minutes with present me. L2LY was written as a daily reminder that however hard life gets, you gotta keep pushing through because life is too short to not know how badass you really are.”

The song jumps straight into a taste of the catchy and powerful chorus, leading us directly into the first verse. Here, SXMSON delivers silky vocal melodies with catchy lyrics that hook us into the story being told. We then are blessed with the chorus, that makes us want to sing along with and join in with him! The second verse continues the emotional story with the same beautiful vocal delivery and storytelling, followed by the chorus once again. A beautiful bridge with brilliant vocal harmonies is next, followed by the final chorus to close the song, keeping us wanting to come back and listen again.

I had the chance to interview SXMSON about the release, check it out below!

What inspired you to make this song?

L2LY was inspired by my past childhood traumas of being bullied for my appearance and my sexuality, but it was also inspired by my growth as a now proud LGBTQ+ adult. I wanted to create a song that would take all my insecurities and turn them into something that is positive and could hopefully inspire other people to keep going.

What was your favourite part about making this song?

Definitely the writing process. When I sat down with Benji Winters (producer and co-writer) to make the song, we really took our time to dig deep and discuss my childhood and my feelings. That’s why this song means so much to me and I’m so grateful for it.

What was the hardest part?

The hardest part of making this song was actually knowing what kind of vibe I wanted to go down, production wise. Benji and I had originally wrote and produced the song ages before its release. It had a completely different style, tempo and rhythm, which for a while I loved. However, the more I sat with the song, I knew something deep down didn’t feel right. So it took quite some time to know which direction to go down, but I love the final product. I wanted the song to be super poppy, uplifting and light to balance out the song’s strong message.

Was this release cathartic for you?

This release has probably been one of my most emotionally triggering ones to date. I feel like I really had to open myself up a lot more in order to write this song and even promote it. People want to know what the song’s about and, unfortunately, a lot of the song comes from a very painful space in my childhood, which now I am so grateful for.

What keeps you motivated?

I can’t lie… as an independent artist I can be quite a struggle to stay motivated! But I find a lot of motivation in my friends who are continuing to do what they love in music, and by my ultimate dream and vision to be the musician and writer I want to be in the future.

What can we expect next from you?

I have some really exciting gigs lined up, like Birmingham Pride, and I cannot wait to keep releasing more new music, which will show different sides to my personality and artistry.

What other artists are you listening to right now?

I am currently obsessed with Tinashe and Noah Cyrus’s albums, whilst I also love listening to and supporting my talented friends who keep releasing incredible music! Tom Aspaul, JORDY, Andrea Di Giovanni and Kirsty Grant to name a few. Oh plus I couldn’t leave out the fact that I always love listening to some cheeky 90’s/2000 throwbacks like Britney Spears, N’Sync, Usher etc on the daily!

Thanks for taking the time to answer those questions for us!