Dating in Los Angeles… I’ll stop for a moment and let the awkward rumblings transpire within all our traumatized cores. It’s an odd world to engage with and we’ve all felt the sting of a misread signal. Well, thank goodness for Andreas Moss, the R&B performer who will rap his way into a laugh before he sings his way into your heart. In his new single “It’s Cool”, Moss assuages all those rumblings with a twist of self deprecation and shake of hearted self acceptance.
“This song is me literally making fun of myself. Haha.”
Says Andreas of the sun-soaked trap bop that is putting a very fun foot forward in a collection of new music. The video, a backyard bbq equipped with an “IDIOT” Cake and a crush aloof to the pink-braided songster’s advances until the end where… well I’ll let you see for yourself.
Though the music and the video are easy breezy, this new direction is at the forefront of a venerable step towards self discovery and deep acceptance.
“My entire identity was wrapped up in religion for majority of my life. I married a woman, I was a big Christian artist pretending to be something that I wasn’t. Making the choice to leave everything I had built to be my authentic self was the hardest choice I’ve ever made.”
Finding initial success as a Christian singer, Andreas Moss found himself on stage realizing he hated the person he was pretending to be. He decided to come out despite the overwhelming likelihood he would be shunned from the world he’d built his career around. Refusing to be bound by religion or genre, Moss has reinvented himself as a queer R&B force to be reckoned with.
And he’s not treading lightly…
“People are still low key uncomfortable with talking about sex and ESPECIALLY gay sex.”
We caught up with Andreas to learn more about his transition between worlds and the ever unpredictability in the evolution of his music.
Can you tell us a little bit about where this song “It’s Cool” came from?
I was talking to this guy and I felt like I jumped the gun (which we often do) and was hearing wedding bells before we had gotten the time to really to get to know each other. This song is me literally making fun of myself. Haha.
Albeit, the song and video are cheeky and fun, are there any deeper struggles you’re trying to work through with this song?
On this one no. It’s light hearted. Very. I often am a very deep thinker which you will hear in my songs coming next year, so it was refreshing to do something fun and light
The cheeky, self-deprecating tone of the video plays well with the light-hearted nature of the song. How did the idea for the video come about?
I had this vision of a party and I wanted to visually show what we do to ourselves in our minds when we think someone isn’t into us. So everything at the party changes based on my perception of the situation which we realize at the end isn’t the case at all. Santana, who plays my love interest is a really good friend so it was super fun to have a nice little kiss with him. ️
You spend time writing for other artists quite a bit. Do you ever struggle with not wanting to give up an idea that you may want to use for your own? Or are you in a different state of mind creatively when writing with/for other artists?
It doesn’t happen often but there was a recent situation where a really big artist wanted one of my songs and I was so attached to it for me, so I said no. I can’t decide whether or not I regret it now lol but most of the time I am definitely in a different head space when I’m writing for others cause I wanna be able to speak from their perspective.
You had success as a Christian musician and described a moment on stage where you realized you felt like you hated yourself. Can you elaborate a little bit on the struggle you faced when reemerging as a queer artist?
My entire identity was wrapped up in religion for majority of my life. I married a woman, I was a big Christian artist pretending to be something that I wasn’t. Making the choice to leave everything I had built to be my authentic self was the hardest choice I’ve ever made. Putting out these recent songs were a big moment and to be honest it wasn’t met with the biggest amount of support even from a lot of people close to me. People are still low key uncomfortable with talking about sex and ESPECIALLY gay sex. And that’s why I did it. It was a hard transition but now I honestly feel happier than ever and the best humans and artist that I can be!
One can imagine the shock some of those early fans of yours had. Have you had any devout Christian fans follow you into the new genre and aesthetic? Any interesting interactions of note from that world?
Honestly, most of them left but so many stayed and have been so supportive and I get messages on the daily of old fans telling me how proud they are of me and how it’s helped them overcome their own demons. Sometimes an explicit song holds a lot more meaning than people think. This period has been so freeing and revolutionary for me in my life and those who have faced similar struggles with their identity.
When it comes to genre, do you feel you’ve found a home with this album? Or do you think you will continue to explore others?
I’m never home genre wise. As an artist I do many different things and never wanna limit myself to one thing. So you will be hearing LOTS of different vibes from me 🙂 singing has always been my main thing and next year I get to show that off more and I am beyond excited! I could never stay in a lane, and then I realized I didn’t have to.
What’s kept you inspired during this crazy year?
My managers and my close friends were the ones who carried me through this time. I have an amazing support system on a personal and career basis which I don’t take for granted. This year changed my life in so many ways but now sitting here at the end of 2020 I feel like I grew into a better human. I feel more purpose than I ever have, and next year I am gonna accept more, love harder and hopefully put out music that speaks into the hearts and minds of the people I am singing for.
CONNECT WITH ANDREAS MOSS
photos / courtesy of artist
story / Chris Hess
