By Isabella Cassetta
Last November, I bought tickets for a Montell Fish concert in Brooklyn, NY. I went to the concert thinking I would just be seeing Montell but when I was waiting in line, I was told that someone was opening for him. I checked my ticket on Eventbrite and saw an artist by the name of Lani Rose. Lani opened for Montell and I was immediately mesmerized by his music. After the concert, I looked up Lani Rose on Spotify and I have been listening to him ever since then. He is one of my favorite artists to listen to right now. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Lani about who he is, his life as an artist, and the meaning behind his favorite songs.
Isabella: How did you first get into music?
Lani: I first got into music when I was a kid. The first memory was at my Grandmother’s house. She had a piano and an African guitar. I would always play with it when I was little; I was always fascinated by it. That was what I was drawn to. When I was in elementary school, there was an assembly with trumpet players. My heart felt so alive, it was a golden eureka moment. I told my mom the next day I wanted to play the trumpet. Two years later I ended up doing that, I played for three years. In eighth grade, I joined a jazz band and did that for a year. In eighth and ninth grade I was homeschooled and it was during that time I picked up music production.
Isabella: That’s interesting, I feel like sometimes people wonder if some artists go into music without an actual music background. That is something I’ve always wanted to do.
Lani: Did you want to make songs?
Isabella: I want to try to produce beats for music. Moving onto the second question, which artist has had the biggest influence on your music?
Lani: Cashmere Cat, he’s from Norway. The first song I heard from him was a remix of Miguel, Do You, and it blew my mind that electronic music could sound so organic. At the time I was producing EDM and it had such an organic and raw feel to it.
Isabella: I think it’s cool to see who has influenced my favorite artists and how different they are and what they take from them.
Lani: Absolutely. It [Cashmere Cat] was definitely Kanye-influenced. I didn’t get into Kanye until 2018. By the time I got to listen to Kanye, I was like “Oh, I see the full circle of how I was technically influenced by Kanye because of Cashmere Cat.”
Isabella: Moving onto the third question, if you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?
Lani: I would say Cashmere Cat. I am curious about Kanye, Eden, and Clairo. I am curious about their process and how they record music. I would work with a lot of indie people. I want to know what it looks like. I would say those names but not necessarily for a collaboration but I am curious to work with them.
Listen to the rest of the interview below!
Check out “Forgive me,” on Spotify, and follow Lani Rose on Instagram @itslanirose
