Spotlight on B. Smoke (@bsmokedre)
VICTORIA, TX – A few weeks after being released from jail, B. Smoke found himself homeless and at rock bottom in his life. He was ready to give it up.
But as he looked up at the city around him and truly took a deep look at the beauty of life, he found a moment of hope. That moment developed into desire that has turned into a lifetime of chasing his dreams of becoming a famous hip-hop artist.
His most recent album – entitled “City View” – is homage to that moment and the journey he’s taken from rock bottom to the success he sees today as an up-and-coming musician. His city view today is a different one – quite literally. In fact, he describes a recent city view from a Hilton Hotel in Houston as the moment when he realized just how far he’d come.
“I came from being homeless and out of jail with nowhere to go to sitting in this executive suite,” he said. “As I sat there looking throughout downtown, it just mesmerized me. I was in such a different place. It was an out-of-body experience, and it was the first time I’d ever felt that. It meant so much to me in a lot of different ways, but mostly it was like, ‘Wow! I’m here.’ I’ve come a long way, and people who listen to my music can hopefully be inspired and know that they can make it, too. Nothing is impossible.”
The title track on the album is also called “City View” and speaks to that journey, as does the second single “Rock Bottom,” which details his time on the streets and talks about his success today.
A third single – entitled “Away From Me” and featuring Tito Speedo – explores the need to push negativity away from you when you’re trying to better yourself. He said he had to learn the hard way that people who bring negativity into his life are a lot of times the inspiration for his bad decisions.
“When you’re trying to be the best you can be, you don’t need to be surrounded by people who are bringing you down or distracting you,” he said. “As a hip-hop artist I want to articulate in my music so that you can see some kind of illusion in your mind of what I’m spitting at. I want people to get that feeling of life – that feeling of understanding what’s going on. I want people to know that they’re not the only person going through whatever it is they’re going through. Just because you see somebody like me who has success doesn’t mean we don’t have hard times, and I want my fans to understand that I’m a person who understands the hardships of life and what it takes to overcome them. That’s what my music is all about.”
He said the inspiration for his music most often comes from real-life events. His name B. Smoke comes from a combination of his first name (Bryant) and the fact that he likes to smoke.
“Smoking is kind of my thing,” he said. “The ‘Smoke’ in my name just comes from that description. I like to get blazed and write some music and make it happen.”
His new album will drop on all digital media downloading sites on Aug. 9. The singles are already available for download. Those wishing to listen to his music or find out more about his production company can visit bsmokedre.com, or follow him on social media on Twitter @bsmokedre or Diamond Rich Entertainment on Facebook.