Royce Lovett

Royce Lovett - More Than 'The Voice'

by Ward Hughey

People today have many ways of being exposed to musicians. We listen to songs, read articles and occasionally go to a show. The list of ways to feel connected is constantly growing and with it we feel as if we know the artists. Recently, for musician Royce Lovett it was through television that fans had such a connection and knowing experience. Royce was on The Voice. While he did not win, he did have quite a time. Based on the reaction from those that watched, the connection made was quite positive. This is a response of which I am not surprised.

I first met Royce about a decade ago in Tallahassee, FL as he was making a name for himself locally. My first impression was that of an incredibly talented writer and performer. Even more impactful than his art was his character. I found him to be kind, humble and hard working. Since moving away I have followed his career and stayed in touch. A few weeks ago I saw an Instagram post about booking shows in Jacksonville for January and Gainesville for this month. With him spending time in Narrow’s footprint I grabbed an opportunity to catch up and also share my own connection to him with you.

Royce Lovett the musician can be hard to label. Personally, I stopped trying to use genre to describe him long ago. When I speak of Royce Lovett it goes something like, “He sings, raps and plays guitar. Maybe it is soulful hip-hop. Maybe singer songwriter. He does it all and does it well.” This ability to traverse the musical map is something that I think can be attributed to not just his musical talent, but also his ability to find the good in multiple aspects of life. Which in our recent conversation I learned for him have been many of both highs and lows.

Royce has spent most of his life in Tallahassee. At a young age when, as he puts it, his peers were concerned with “three things; girls, shoes and sports,” he felt called to music. From then on he developed his craft amidst going to school, working full time and becoming a young husband. Eventually he made the decision, with much support from his wife, to quit his job and pursue music full time. After becoming popular locally Royce began touring the country and overseas. He released some albums, got stood up by one label only to be offered a deal by another. He got signed, put in a box, had fans asking where is the hip-hop, broke said box and released “the next big thing.” Eventually a manager quit on him, label deal ended and he faced financial hardship. During all this he became a public speaker, gave a TED Talk and learned a lot about life. Through it all Royce says he was able to find reasons to be grateful.

He also continued creating and growing as an artist. This eventually led to accepting an invite for the most recent season of The Voice, a decision that again was made with great support from his wife and family. On television, he showed another musical side of him which is reggae. He did well on the show until ultimately eliminated in knockout rounds. To hear him talk about it, the experience was a positive one.

With that behind him Royce Lovett is continuing to be grateful and move forward. He recently dropped some singles that make up “'Enough' THE MIXTAPE”, a project that showcases hip-hop roots and ability to make art for hard to talk about issues. This month he is also releasing the track Good Morning, a song that I would describe as a positive wake up call.

So now I have introduced you to who I know Royce Lovett to be. With that I circle back to my initial point. Do you feel connected? Do you now know who Royce Lovett is? Maybe a little, but I think it best to share how he answered that question to me. “Most simplest way to answer that is someone whose realized how important it is to be a son and a husband, a father and to love people around him… in addition to that I love art. I think that my connection to art is very musical…”

I promise you Royce Lovett is much more than even what I have presented you with. Check out www.roycelovett.com and follow him on social media like Instagram to get more information and become even more connected. Also, I highly encourage you to go see him on Wednesday, February 19th at High Dive in Gainesville.

Find Royce’s music in all the usual places and be on the lookout for Good Morning.