Life Lately: Music, Healing, and New Beginnings

It’s been a while since I’ve written here.

Life has a funny way of moving in seasons. Sometimes everything is quiet and steady, and other times it feels like the universe presses the fast-forward button and suddenly months have passed before you realize how much has changed. The past year has been one of those seasons for me — a period filled with growth, unexpected challenges, beautiful moments, and reminders of why I started this journey in the first place. I've had so many beautiful moments lately, some big, and some small. I wanted to write about some of them and give an update on whats going on in my world as an independent recording artist.

First and foremost, if you are reading this right now I want you to know how much I appreciate you for being on this journey with me. It's been a wild ride but as my music reaches more and more people, I get deeper and deeper into it which means there is NO turning back. The world is stuck with me and my music lol. So THANK YOU for engulfing on this chapter with me. It means the world to know that I have incredible humans all over the world that are also here.

This photo was taken at my latest video shoot, shortly after I slipped on ice and still completed the whole 5 hour shoot.

One of the biggest moments recently was the release of my debut album "Hurts To Be

Beautiful" on December 5th, 2025. This was a HUGE mile stone for me. That album carries a lot of history with it. For context, most of the songs were written and recorded between my one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta and the old studio that many of you know was a huge part of my creative life. Those spaces held so many late nights, so many ideas, and so many quiet moments where these songs were born.

When the studio burned down in February of 2025, it was one of those moments that makes you step back and really think about everything you’ve created. After we were finally able to recover the hard drive that held so much of the music, I had a realization: I couldn’t keep all of that good music hidden in the backend anymore. Those songs deserved to live in the world. They deserved to breathe and be heard. And that moment played a huge role in my decision to finally release the album.

Every song on the project means something to me, but there’s one in particular that will always have a special place in my heart: Hurts to Be Beautiful. That song carries a very subliminal meaning beneath the surface, but beyond that, I have such a vivid memory attached to it. I can still clearly remember the night I recorded it back in 2022. I was alone in my apartment, late at night, just creating in that quiet space. When I finished recording it, I remember sitting there for a moment and thinking to myself, “Damn… this is going to be a big song someday.” Some songs just have that feeling. I had NO idea at the time that my first album would be written around this ONE song in particular, but here we are.

One thing I do to clear my mind is walk in nature and focus on deep breathing. This helps calm the nervous system and ground me.

When the album finally released on December 5th, the whole day felt surreal. It’s hard to describe the feeling of putting a body of work out into the world that you’ve carried with you for so long. That morning my sister surprised me with a huge bouquet of flowers delivered to my door, which made the day even more special. It reminded me that even though music can sometimes feel like a solitary journey, there are always people quietly supporting you along the way.

I truly believe that album is destined to do great things. Music doesn’t always grow overnight. Sometimes it takes time for the right ears to hear it and for the right moments to bring songs to life. I’m excited to nurture that project and watch it grow over time. This too is why I have not released anything since my album. I wanted to make sure that it got to "sink in" with ya'll and also "sink in" with me. I did it. I really did it. I put my FIRST album out independently and that alone was HUGE.

This was on set for the "hurts to be beautiful" music video

Another beautiful thing that has been growing lately is my live streaming community. About a year ago, after my car accident and the studio fire, I started stepping into the world of streaming more seriously. At the time, those events felt like major setbacks in my life. But looking back now, they really were blessings in disguise because they pushed me toward something new that I might not have explored otherwise.

Streaming has become one of the most meaningful parts of my routine. The community that has formed around those streams genuinely feels like family bonding time. It’s a space where we can just exist together — talk, laugh, think deeply, and sometimes just sit in silence and share energy. It’s a very real and human connection that’s hard to replicate anywhere else online.

My streaming community has seen every side of me. They’ve seen me laugh until I cry, they’ve seen me cry for real, they’ve seen me frustrated, excited, emotional, and everything in between. It’s a very intimate experience, especially for the people who show up consistently and really become part of that space. I’m incredibly grateful for those moments because they remind me that behind the music and the persona, we’re all just people sharing life together. If you actively come into my streams I genuinely want you to know that you've changed my life. THANK YOU. I'm now able to spend more time in my artistry because of YOU. It's not something I take lightly nor is it something I will EVER take for granted.

Right now I’m also going through a season of vocal rest. I developed some vocal cord irritation that led to laryngitis, and as frustrating as it has been, it’s something that needed to happen so my voice can fully recover. I won’t lie — it hasn’t been easy. My voice is my whole world, and when something affects it, it forces you to slow down in ways you might not want to.

Shoutout to Marvin Ross for capturing this raw, intimate moment.

But even this period has taught me something valuable. It’s given me time for solitude. Time to sit with myself, to reflect, to go inward a little more than usual. Sometimes we move so quickly chasing our goals that we forget to pause and reconnect with ourselves. In a strange way, this quiet period has been a reminder that rest is also part of the creative process.

And once this rest period is over, I’ll be diving straight back into what I love most: creating new music. My mind is already filled with ideas for the next chapter. Every project changes you a little as an artist, and I can feel that the next wave of music is going to carry a different kind of energy — one shaped by everything that’s happened over the past year.

There’s also one more exciting change happening very soon in my life. Next week, I’m bringing home a tiny new companion — a Papillon puppy who is about to become my little sidekick. I have a feeling life is about to get a little more chaotic in the best possible way. Sometimes the smallest new additions to life bring the biggest joy.

I went to NYC for business in early January. It was COLD but such a vibe.

When I look back on the past year, it’s amazing how many things have shifted. There have been challenges that forced me to grow, unexpected paths that opened up, and beautiful moments that reminded me why I continue to pour my heart into this journey.

Writing here again feels right. It reminds me that this journey isn’t only about releases, milestones, and big moments. It’s also about sharing the process — the quiet chapters, the lessons, the growth, and everything in between.

There is so much more ahead. New music.New experiences. New chapters.

And I’m excited to keep walking this path with all of you. If you've read this far, I see you. Feel free to write me a comment below:)

Thank you for being here. XOXO.

– Askye