I would rather not sell any records than (not tell) my truth. “I think the success … will give more artists the … confidence to be yourself and not chase things (that) you don’t know about that aren’t true to you,” said Jay-Z, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. He hopes the honestly on his “4:44” and Rhett’s “Life Changes” will encourage and inspire others to be authentic in songwriting. Jay-Z said that many times the fear with artists is that creators get to a point where they start trying to make something popular instead of recording honest, vulnerable music.
More: Thomas Rhett tops charts again with “T-Shirt," “Star of the Show” More: Exclusive: Thomas Rhett reveals new album Life Changes The couple adopted a daughter, Willa, from Africa earlier this year and Akins recently gave birth to their daughter, Ada. Today Rhett's contemporary, genre-busting songs are often inspired by wife Lauren Akins, who is universally adored by his fans. In the end, the payoff to you as an artist … as someone who is super credible and someone who cares about their craft … far outweighs the difficulty in getting to that point.”įor Rhett, who released his Grammy-nominated “Life Changes” in September, writing a song that conflicts with his image is “a scary thing.”Įarly in Rhett’s career, he wore cowboy boots and had a significantly more traditional sound than his current music. But this is my real life … and people, especially when they are critiquing things, they don’t have the empathy. You feel naked … for the whole world to judge what you’re saying and your truth and sometimes minimize it to a song. “You don’t want to be vulnerable in front of the world. “Yeah, it’s is very difficult, it’s difficult for a lot of reasons,” Jay-Z said. Rhett and Frasure became acquainted with Jay-Z through their joint ventures with Roc Nation, a music and entertainment company the rapper co-founded.