Hailing from Virginia, Christian Trent is a young 22-year-old artist who not only writes impactful and expressive lyrics but also produces his own music. From writing songs since 5th grade to releasing full-fledged songs as a young musician, C. Trent believes music is everything to him. We had the wonderful opportunity to understand this emerging talent a little better.
What does music mean to you?
Music means everything and more to me. It’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning and the last before I go to sleep. Life wouldn’t be life without it.
Who do you take inspiration from when it comes to music?
I draw inspiration from a large variety of artists in all types of genres. But if I had to name a few more relevant to the style of music I make currently, I’d have to include artists like D. Savage, Lil Shine, Autumn, Iayze, and Pyrex, the list really could go on.
What does your latest single, ‘Favors,’ talk about?
Favors, to me, encapsulates the chaos of life and how one takes it all in, how one copes, and how one may use music and other outlets as a means of getting through things like depression, trauma, and the overall uncertainty that comes with being human. “If I knew you were counting up favors I just wouldn’t ask you to help me out” details a time in my life during which I allowed myself to become entirely too reliant on other people for my success and well being, the realization of the strings that tend to come attached with these relationships, and my thoughts and feelings on both of those things.
Why did you choose to make rap music?
That’s a great question! I cannot give one solid answer, but I believe I gravitated towards it because of the versatility the genre allows. There are no constraints on how a “rap” song can be written or structured, so it allows the creative freedom necessary to express myself effectively. The possibilities within rap music are endless and so many other musical elements can be incorporated within it. I think that’s why I love it so much.
Since when did you start writing music?
The first song I can recall writing was for my 5th-grade graduation ceremony, I wrote and performed a song on stage, it was chicken-themed, costume and all, you just had to be there.
Rap music has been growing as a genre and there’s a lot of competition too. How do you think you stand out?
I think what sets me aside from most artists is that a lot of my music is self-produced, self-written, and self-recorded. Sometimes not even written. Building most of my catalog entirely from scratch has allowed me to cultivate and stay true to a sound that just cannot be found anywhere else. I haven’t heard anybody that sounds like me and I’m incredibly proud of that.
What comes first, the lyrics or the beat?
Generally speaking, the beat comes first. However, there have been times where I’ve had a hook or part of a verse pop into my head and I’ve gone to make the beat around that idea. It never quite comes out the way it sounded in your head, but that’s part of the beauty of it.
Which is the best song lyric you believe you have written so far?
This one is incredibly hard for me, I honestly think my best lyrics are in songs that are not even released yet, so for the sake of using something that’s out, I’ll give you this line from Pass Me By - “I just had to let go of a lot, I go through it don’t show it a lot, I go through it the moment I’m up in the morning that’s whether you know it or not.” - I don’t think this lyric is profound or heavily thought-provoking by any means, but I like it because it resonates with me and hopefully others. The feeling of going through things that you haven’t told anybody of, self-neglect, and all else encompassed, are feelings that no one deserves, but unfortunately, most of us have. If one person listens to my song and thinks “Man, that’s how I feel sometimes, I needed to hear that”, I’ve already won.
What do you do when you experience a creative/writing block?
To the best of my ability, although I’m rarely able to, I try to take a break. I like to tell people you got to live to write about it, if you’ve been locked in a room making music for the past 7 days, what could have happened in the last 7 days for you to make a song about? Go live life a bit.
Out of the many tracks you’ve made so far, which one is your personal favorite and why?
I would say my favorite track that’s currently available is Dear 2 Me. It’s a very emotional song, and even if I’m not feeling the way I did when I made it, I still can acknowledge it’s one of my most heartfelt tracks, sure to make the listener feel.
If you had to work with one artist today, who would you choose?
This is a tough one but I think I’d go with D. Savage
If your music brand had just one word or a line to say, what would it be?
If not a music career, which profession would you have chosen?
As a child, I naively thought I wanted to be an EMT. But as time and I have grown, I’ve realized that music is really the only thing I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. It’s this or it’s nothing!
A word of advice for someone looking to release their debut album?
Take. Your. Time. I have been rapping as long as I’ve known about coolmathgames.com, and am yet to put out a full body of work. Your sound will become more polished and refined over time, drop singles, acquire insight into what your fans like, and identify your strong suits and weak points, and structure your first album around that. I obviously can’t say too much since I haven’t released a full-length album, but I can say if I dropped an album with last year's music, it wouldn’t hold a candle to what’s in the vault now, keep working hard, make the music YOU want to hear, and have fun!
C. Trent’s latest release is out on Spotify! Stream Now and support more emerging musicians!