Paul Nuseli Yao Ametepi, otherwise known as YS Pablo, is fresh off of the release of his newest EP, ‘Evolution’, and is a rising star on the independent artist music scene. Like so many artists before him, music began as an act of personal expression that allowed him to process and express the events of his life and their effect on himself. In the wake of that, he is setting his aim on creating a professional career out of music and turning his passion into a calling.
Despite being a young and new artist, Paul has a lot going on for himself at this point and time. Despite having a limited catalog on Spotify, he is quickly approaching 2,000 monthly listeners on the platform which is an incredible accomplishment this quickly. With a brand new EP out now and another on the way, we took some time to have a conversation and learn more about the young and growing artist.
Our goal today is to pass on his story to you, review ‘Evolution’, and let you know what is next. Let’s jump in at the start and learn more about him as an artist.
Knowing that Paul got into making music at the young age of 16 we wanted to know what got him moving. We asked him about this and here is what he had to say.
“I have been a music lover since I was very young. I recall receiving an iPod Shuffle from my aunt when I was around 10, and I loaded it with nothing but MIchael Jackson. I had my earbuds in 24/7 for a while. I started writing poetry at around the age of 13, and in 2018, when I was 16, I worked up the nerve to write my first song, record it, and post it to Soundcloud. I received a lot of positive reception from my friends, and that encouragement is what spurred me on to make music. I had another stint with music in early 2020, before the pandemic really struck, where I released 3 singles (I released about 5 my first go around). But, my second stint I invested more resources into making sure the final project sounded professional (I found an engineer who mixed and mastered all my tracks). I’m taking a similar approach this time, but I want to go even further and make music my career.”
For some people, music just speaks to them, and with YS Pablo, that’s certainly the case. Michael Jackson’s music has always been a source of inspiration and that was clear in our conversation together. We asked about his influences and here is what he had to say about MJ and others.
“I have a lot of musical influences. One of my biggest would be Michael Jackson. All of his music tells a story, and I think I adopted that same storytelling concept into my music as well. Beyond that, I am also influenced by some newer artists, such as Roddy Ricch, Lecrae, and Dax.”
While you can hear these influences in his music you can also tell that he has created a sound all of his own. Before we turn the page to talk about his biggest achievements and his future goals, we took a deeper look at the new EP, ‘Evolution’.
‘Evolution’
‘Evolution’ is an eight-track EP that has been taking the independent artist scene by storm. The album kicks in with an intro where YS Pablo speaks directly to his audience about his own evolution and the very personal nature of the EP. From there, it delivers on some intense tracks like ‘Darkness’ and ‘Mentality’ which feature dark beats and edgy lyrical assaults. The EP also features more upbeat and confident tracks like ‘The Greatest’ and ‘Bands and Braggadocio’.
In short, Paul demonstrates versatility in the release and the ability to give listeners of all kinds something to enjoy. While this is our take on the album, here are his thoughts.
“Evolution is a chronicle of the “evolution” of my mindset and overall outlook on life over the past 4 or so years. The tone of the EP starts to morph and shift as you progress through the EP. The tale of the EP culminates in the track “The Chosen One,” the following two tracks are bonuses I threw in.”
This evolution is evident in the track progression on the album, and it’s one that is best witnessed first hand. We believe that the EP is a big milestone in YS Pablo’s career, but we also wanted to ask him what the highlight of his career was to at this point.
“The biggest achievement of my career has actually been through De Novo, with my newest single “Bands and Braggadocio” reaching 1,257 streams as of the time of this email. I also managed to garner over 4,000 plays on a single (which is now deleted) on SoundCloud, which was titled “Savage Flow 2.”
Those are some great achievements for a young artist who is just getting his feet wet in the industry. Understanding that this is just truly the beginning for him, we also checked in to see what was next.
“I’m currently working on a 5-track EP that is set to release in early December (it’s almost finished, actually), and after that release, I have another single lined up for January 2022. Beyond that, I want to just keep putting out whatever music that suits my fancy at that time. I have been listening to a lot of different genres as of late, and I’m thinking I might expand beyond just rap and hip-hop with my music as well, but that remains to be seen for the time being.”
It’s clear at this time, he’s taking it step-by-step. As they say, to build a perfect brick wall, you must build it by laying each brick perfectly. It seems as though YS Pablo is taking that approach. The sky’s the limit for this young artist so follow along with the links below.
Topics #YS Pablo
