Meet YouGenious | The Misfit of R&B

We had the good fortune of connecting with YouGenious and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi YouGenious, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
To always be my most authentic self. To me, songwriting is therapeutic.
I have learned that under any circumstance, you must never lie to the doctor. The caregiver in this case is either the notepad or the microphone. And on the microphone, I only spit truth. No matter the case.
I have spent so many years writing songs the truth is now my only way of life… It’s a lot for people to handle, but it helps weed out the toxic people in my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart from others? Fearlessness. I have been on almost every type of stage. From a small one in the park to the big stage at House of blues. I’ve never done a festival so I can’t attest of my fearlessness from that. Hahahaha but I have been a professional party crasher at one point. I had a DJ with a sound box on a handtruck that used to go into the party and then I would crash in with a megaphone to do my original music. And when I say crash I mean that! Most times we weren’t supposed to be where we were so the reception would either be joyous or hateful. Usually there is no in between. Being looked at like that will humble the most confident artist. Accepting that type of rejection was something that I learned from my personal life. In my younger adulthood I was over 350 pounds… And people are cruel, even though they say they’re not. You learn to just laugh them off sadly. It toughens your skin. And you need tough skin to be an entertainer nowadays.

One of the most important lessons that I learned was to not create art for profit. If people want to pay money for it later, after it’s created, then that’s great! But in the initial creation, money is never ever the goal. Greed tarnishes art and sways the mind.

For example. My friend Danimal and I created a musical called “COLD: When Your Heart Becomes a Hole. The main character was a homeless street performer… So we asked the audience to bring their own blanket, and when they arrived to the show, they were sat down on a cardboard box. They could use the blanket as a padding. As another level of intrigue, we blindfolded the audience with sleep masks. Dan and I would play the AUDIO ONLY musical through a series of speakers like a 1940s radio broadcast. Then, while EVERYONE WAS BLINDFOLDED AND LISTENING , we removed our shoes and in socks we slid around, singing and playing guitar into peoples ears and bouncing sound off the corners of the room. At the end, we encouraged people to leave their blankets so we could donate it to the local homeless shelter. I feel that if money was my main motivation, I would’ve never came up with that concept… nothing about it screams profit. Only creative innovation.

That’s what I want the world to know about my brand. That when you come to a YouGenious show, you will see things you’ve never seen before and you will hear things you’ve never heard before. Creatively, artistically and in real life I hope to inspire people. Whether you think you’re creative or not, we all have it inside ourselves. If you think not then no one’s ever pushed you enough to bring it out of you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, currently, I host an event at the Shamrock, 7700 pinemont st, with DJ YazzaSpazza called Underground Pouch Lounge, every Thursday. It’s a chill spot to sip on some infused juices by El Pouchito and Yazza spins this style of music called vaporwave. We would absolutely have a spa day and go to one of the Korean joints in Katy… speaking of Korean food there’s a spot in 99 Ranch that is incredible.

I know that crawfish is huge but look…. I’m not really in the crawfish…. Unless it’s Vietnamese style.. the only way that seems like it’s worth it to me! It’s crawfish season. We definitely doing that!

And Houston’s got some of the most incredible Szechuan places… two of my favorites are right in Montrose… Mala Szechuan and Lao Szechuan. You here for a week? We hitting both of them.

James Terrell sky space is pretty dope. Especially after you drink one of them El Pouchito’s.

I do not frequent, but it seems like bad astronaut always has some dope shit going on. And I do enjoy a great show at Axelrad.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shout out to my homeboy and longtime producer Danimal. Early on my career when I was stealing your beats for other rappers, your soundscapes really gave my imagination a jolt. You help me craft songs, and arrangements that I wouldn’t normally be able to do. Your knowledge of synth is unsurpassed. Your love and friendship is a warm hug to my soul. I hope to make music with you for the rest of my life.

Also, I’m gonna give a shout out to Rick Rubin. Your book “The Creative Act” has really changed the way that I view the creation of art. Also, thank for you for your contribution hip-hop. Your philosophies have created some of the most incredible music I’ve ever heard.

Website: www.yougenious.com

Instagram: playtrill

Facebook: Facebook.com/yougenious