By Derrius Edwards – @rawcommnc
“Will has the power”, is the phrase embedded in the musical workings of the artist known as Will Power, no pun intended. With a past in composing music and reference tracks for artist in the music industry, the limelight is nothing to shy away from in Will’s case. Advocating for the empowerment of women and realization of self-worth is not a new concept for Will to grasp. In doing so has enabled Will to tap into the moral compass that exist within each one of us through his music. Hip-Hop’s Prince Charming is providing the narrative for the NEW Cinderella story one bar at a time. From past relationships to coping with every day insecurities, Will’s normality is what makes his music personal.
Teaming up with Atlanta phenom, Tokyo Jetz, to release a hot new single entitled “Cinderella” has left Will’s listeners wanting more.
In this over-the-phone interview, we were able to catch up with the love doctor himself, Will Power.
Q: Will Power, what inspired that name?
A: Originally my name is William. Growing up, one of my coaches’ use to always say “will power”, like Will you have the power, you just have to believe in yourself and it’s going to happen. I revamped my whole image and became pure to myself. I believed in myself and my own experiences.
Q: How did you get your start with music?
A: Originally I wrote for a lot of up and coming acts and major acts. I had a conversation with Ne-yo where he told me I was one of the best artist. When I was sending in potential songs for other artist, he was like “well why are you sending this off, it’s already perfect”. Sometimes, you’re put in a position that you don’t want to be in, not realizing how that will work out to your favor. I came in wanting to be a songwriter, but that was more so with having some doubts within myself. I actually began to expose my insecurities and becoming more familiar with myself and my music.
Q: What inspires your creativity?
A: I always make Ab laugh you know. I always say that I’m making the Monday through Thursday music. We’re not focused on making the club bangers. It takes another level of energy that can get you to the point of celebrating and enjoying that time, but I’m making music to keep you pushing. Like the new record I have with Tokyo Jetz. We’re really exposing the part that people hide. I was bottling my emotions for so long but it’s like me doing that was putting a strain on my relationships with everybody. Not just in my personal but even in the music. Becoming distrusting with labels and even trying to micromanage management.
I’m a song writer at heart. Dwight Campbell told me that you cannot just make music and be great and not understand the responsibilities that come with “greatness”. It’s not just about what you create but about being responsible for where you lead people. At some of my lowest points I use to drink lean and smoke weed and stuff but never glorified it because it was used to help cope, to be able to get through. I realized that until you decide to face your problems head on, you will always deal with the same issues just in another environment.
Q: What is one of the most impactful moments in your life?
A: That’s deep…it’s so many that have gotten me to this point. Probably the most impactful moment is the relationship with my mother. Because we are very close now. We wasn’t in the beginning, but what I’ve realized is…you know I’ve read a book called “The Four Agreements” and in the book it talks about smoke and mirrors. You have to get past the looks in people and who they are and look at the person in the mirror, because we are all a reflection of our creator, so we are all created equally. But the smoke is the outer layer in front of the mirror. As I began to look at the relationship with my mom and how we grew, I was able to look at myself through her in order to get a better understanding of myself and that allowed me to get past my insecurities. As children we are domesticated you know. As we grow up, our thoughts, ideas and insecurities aren’t our owns but they belong to our parents. So yeah, the relationship with my mom is definitely one of the most impactful moments in my life so far.
You don’t become who you are until you’re in a position to say no. The moment you begin to rebel is the moment you actually begin to realize yourself as a person.
Q: Describe your music in 3 words
A: Inspirational, passionate and remorseful
Q: Favorite collaboration you’ve done so far?
A: Um…I don’t know man, I’m humble to work with everyone that I’ve worked with. It’s interesting because you know her (Tokyo Jetz) single is going crazy right now and she was in Florida working on a film and we were supposed to get up in the studio but our schedules kept conflicting, so I sent her the record and when I sent her the record she had so much to say. They actually sent back the completed record in 20 minutes.
I mean they actually sent me a video of her in the booth free-styling. When she comes in on the track she has so much to say, even stuff about her past relationships and even now at this point. It was so dope, I mean I was literally on my phone watching the video of her doing the one take and I had called my mom to listen to it and 5 mins later I got an email saying “we’ve transferred Tokyo Jetz”. I called Josh, my manager, and he was like “I told you she was going to eat it up” but dang. She even said it was one of her favorite features because she hasn’t done a song that made her dig that deep. You know, that’s why I said one of the words to describe my music is remorseful because I like to do a lot of self-reflection. I often go to God and say listen, I apologize to you because everything comes from you because you’re the creator. Got to stay plugged in with the creator because that is where everything comes from.
Q: Any messages behind your music?
A: I’m big on sowing a seed. I’m not trying to tell you how to live or telling someone how to move. I’m just letting you know that I hear you, I know where you coming from but I want you to have this “seed” and when you’re in alignment and conducive with your purpose, it will allow that seed to grow. Everybody isn’t going to instantly gravitate to what we’re saying. Im posing the question and planting the seed. You know a lot of the time, we are self-sufficient, and people just have to see the value they have within themselves. We are all valuable, we don’t see the full potential within ourselves until we get in the right light and I’m trying to let people know that “yo I see you” if no one is proud of you, I am. If no one supports you, I do.
Q: Is it fair to say that you’re a love doctor?
A: Ab tell me that all the time, like yo we need to get you to Steve Harvey or something, we need to get you there. Kanye is one of my favorite people, he said something on that new album that spoke to my soul. He said “Everybody like you crazy YE, but sometimes you just need to say it, say it to see how it feels.” And so I feel like with my music and how I carry myself, that was the best way to do it, just say it to see how it feels. Because when we carry thoughts, we carry thoughts forever. Everyone is not going to agree with it, but I just say it because we have to see how it feels to just say it… and luckily I have the support from the women who respect what I’m saying to where they come in to keep me protected in the industry, where I don’t have to deal with the backlash. If I can’t stand behind it, then I won’t get in front of it. You’re responsible for where you lead people, so with the music I’m putting out I take full ownership/responsibility of.
Q: How has the concept of fairytales impacted your music?
A: I always try to pick something that’s going to catch their attention when you hear the name, but in the beginning of the record I say “So they want you to be perfect, but no one’s perfect. “ I actually knew the title of the record before I actually wrote the first verse, before I even sent it off. The worst things about our community is that we are looking for fairytales that actually never come true. Cinderella is everybody on Instagram right now. Cinderella is all these girls on Facebook who’s popular. All the real housewives of Atlanta and love and hip hop girls. They’re people who look perfect but on the inside they are broken. Cinderella had nothing in the fairytale but her fairy god-mother made her look like she was perfect but she had so much going on. So on the record, that’s what I’m communicating, I may look perfect but I have things that I’m dealing with too.
You’re already self-sufficient by yourself. I’m all about painting the new Cinderella story or the new Prince Charming. The real Prince Charming is your mom. The real Prince Charming are these single parents that are doing it on their own. The new Cinderella, the new perfect female, is the one that’s broken because that’s the one that I can relate to.
Q: What is your current relationship status?
A: Currently single, but it’s because Im not a big believer in potential. Potential is like me telling you, that you have something on your face. You didn’t feel it, you didn’t see it but it was there. I saw it, I pointed it out. So it’s like, people fail all the time because they get caught up on potential but it’s like if you were to step back right now, would it be perfect. You have to accept people for who they are at that point in their life when you meet them. In retrospect, I never look at potential and that’s why when I’m looking for someone, I’m looking as a whole, not from a materialistic standpoint, but complete. You know why they say “till death do us part”, because that’s how long it takes to know someone. I’m a big believer of faith, I will jump into a relationship. It’s going to take your whole life to know someone, each situation is going to bring out a different part of someone. That’s why marriage is so valued because you’re dedicating your whole life to someone. So I don’t look at potential, I see people for who they are right at that very moment.
Q: Any closing remarks?
A: Definitely want to give a special thanks to everyone that has gotten me to this point. David Banner has influenced me a lot throughout our sit downs. Got to give a special thanks to Chevi Marino, my engineer, he’s the only engineer that I know who will help me tweak the sounds. He’s the one that will go that extra mile. Originally, we were going to put Damar Jackson on the chorus (Cinderella), he has a song with Gucci Mane out right now called “Retawded” that’s going crazy. Initially, when I went to go lay my verse down, my engineer was like “yo keep that and I want you to try the chorus, I want them to feel the pain you’re expressing”. The only people that knew I was going to get Damar, was my close family and Chevi. So of course, naturally I still owe him a record, because I told him I had a record for him (laughs out loud).
