An interview with Chicago R&B artist RJ Griffith fresh off of releasing his new single “Good Day

I grew up in Bellwood, IL, a city
about 10 minutes from the Westside of Chicago, IL. In regards to the second
question I was inspired to become an artist when I saw entertainers such as
Michael Jackson and James Brown captivate the world not only with their voices,
but by leaving the world in awe with timeless performances while living out
their callings in life.

Keep grinding and keep performing!
Take all the gigs you can get when you’re first starting out, especially the
free ones such as open mics so that you can get comfortable performing in front
of people. Success will come once people start to notice your talent.

Of course, I’ve forgotten words to a
song before. When that happens, I just keep singing and make up words until I
get to the next line, most of the time the audience can’t tell because I stay confident
and give off great energy during the performance.

Yes, I currently tour with the
national recording Gospel group Zion’s Joy. As far as interesting stories go, one
day while on tour in New Orleans the police told us to park our 40 foot RV in a
parking lot while we stopped to get some Praline’s (for those of you that don’t
know they are candies made with pecans and brown sugar famous in the south) and
once we came back, the RV had a boot on it and we were supposed to be at sound check
within the hour. Needless to say, we ended up being a few minutes late.

No more upgrades at the moment after
recently purchasing a Native Instruments Mikro Mini Beat Machine. Currently I
generally record in my home studio with Pro Tools 12.5, an Aston Spirit
Microphone, Icon Qcon and my KRK Rokit monitors.

Social media is a very important medium
in regards to promoting my music/image.  I
am most active on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, but also use Twitter
occasionally. In addition to high quality posts and content, I also invest in
advertising on these platforms to get more eyes on my music and my brand. In
regards to distribution I use CD Baby, for those not familiar you can sell your
music on their platform and they can also make your music available on Spotify,
Apple Music, Amazon Music, Shazam, etc.

The Super Bowl has never been played
in Hawaii, but in my dream scenario I would love to play the Super Bowl half
time show in Hawaii with Michael Jackson, James Brown and Jamie Foxx because
they are my biggest inspirations when it comes to music.

I just recently released my new
single “Good Day” that I am continuing to promote. What’s next in that process
is releasing the video, and after viewing a clip of the finished product I am
beyond excited to share this with everyone next month. Keep an eye out for the
specific date on my website (www.rjgriffith.com) and social media (facebook/twitter/instagram
– @rjgmusic).

I am also working on a full LP to be
released later in 2018. This project will have an emphasis on positive music in
hopes it can help inspire the world with its healing frequencies.

Definitely something in the music
industry, working with kids or some combination of that. I am a certified audio
engineer so I most likely would be working full-time in someone’s recording
studio, but I also have aspirations of starting a program where I can help kids
create and record music.

They can look forward to the new LP
and I’m also making a point to get some awesome music videos created to help
bring my music to life. In addition, I plan to tour in 2018 to help promote the
new LP and inspire people to chase their dreams!

Yes, first and foremost to God for
giving me this calling in my life with my gift of singing! My amazing wife for
being my backbone on this journey, my mom for always being there to encourage
me when I need it most, and all my friends and family that support me with my
music and at my shows. A special shout out to my incredible manager Tom and my
amazing team and band (Accidently On Purpose) for making sure my creativity
comes to life during our shows.