“You Played Yourself” was produced by acclaimed Latin DJ Victor Magan. The single is a pop-meets-EDM song for all ages. “It was originally a song I had written close to a year ago, and it didn’t have a track. It only had a few chords and a vocal. We were sitting on it for a while. When I was introduced to Victor, he produced this really cool track and sent it back to me. We played around with it a little more and it ended up being the perfect song for both of us to put out,” he said.
“What You Need” was honored at the 22nd Annual Dancing With Films festival. “The screening was last Friday, but there is an award ceremony this weekend,” he said. “Screening went great and it is really cool to see the music video presented in a theater that way. It was an exciting experience.”
On the impact of technology and streaming on the music business, Word said, “It is crazy. I have mixed feelings about it. Technology is very beneficial in getting more types of music to more people and allowing people to experiment and broaden their tastes in music. I also think it hasn’t been the best for the value of music as a whole. It has hurt the income that can be made from selling albums. It pushes artists to tour more. There are ups and downs to it.”
When asked about being an artist in this digital age, he acknowledged that it is “cool to have direct interaction with the fans.” “That’s a big part of it. Social media has been an amazing tool for that, and for me to be able to grow my brand without a big label behind me,” he said.
“There is definitely a charm to the era of music when artists were inaccessible from a personal standpoint,” he said. “There is something about that that made those artists (such as Michael Jackson and David Bowie) even bigger.”
Word listed Ariana Grande and Rihanna as his dream female duet choices. “Ariana Grande will be my top choice. She is absolutely amazing,” he said. “What a voice Ariana has. Rihanna would be great from a style standpoint.”
“You Played Yourself” by RJ Word and Victor Magan is available on iTunes and on Spotify.
To learn more about RJ Word and his music, check out his Facebook page.
