The DMV is the home to many talented artists such as Ari Lennox, Wale, Shy Glizzy, Rico Nasty, and more. Over the last few years, we’ve seen tremendous growth within their music scene.

PG county native Projex Santana is the latest artist hailing from the east coast that should be on your radar. The multi-talented singer recently released his lead single entitled “Nobody”. The song displays a blend of both electric and acoustic guitars, keys, and bass–among other musical elements–adding texture, and boldness. The track touches on the subject of love, and relationships, through the lens of an overly confident man, professing toxic love to his lady.

We had the opportunity to chat with Santana about his musical upbringing, inspirations and much more. Check out the full interview below:

What makes you RARE?

What makes me rare? I’m a self-taught musician, music studio owner, and an active father. I’m probably one of the only R&B artists of my generation that writes and arranges his own music, processes payroll for staff, and wakes up to take his kids to school in the morning. If that ain’t rare, I don’t know what is.

How has the DMV inspired your musical upbringing?

Well, growing up in PG County, I stayed going to the gogos. I remember going to different venues and seeing various bands perform live. We call the lead singer of a gogo band, the lead mic… so I used to be in them joints wanting to be like the lead mic of New Impressionz, TCB and Backyard. I’m a big fan of gogo music and the fact that it’s something unique to our culture, here in the DMV, is a huge inspiration to my musical upbringing.

What's your creative process like?

My creative process involves workshops with my production team and tapping into the soul of what we’re creating. Being inspired by things I see and experience help fuel my music. Typically, I start off with a melody. Then once I’ve got that, I lock down the flow and then focus on arranging the record. After I figure out how I want the structure to go, I then brainstorm on additional elements like ad-libs, background vocals, stacking, layering, etc. Sometimes it can get chaotic, but it works.

What advice would you give someone who is experiencing a toxic situation-ship?

Leave immediately. Find Jesus.

What do you feel like sets you apart from other R&B singers?

The different styles and cadences that I bring to records sets me apart from other R&B singers. I’m super intentional about the composition of records that I touch. In this era, I’ve also managed to craft a sound that is unique to me without relying on profanity to say what I want to say. Not knocking anybody who does, because I used to do it too, but it’s important to me that my music reflects who I am as I grow more as an artist and a man.

What artists do you see yourself working with in the future?

Maxwell
Ro James
Miguel
Stevie Wonder

What is your ultimate goal? What’s next for you?

My ultimate goal is to make it to heaven. That’s #1. Win a Grammy. Leave a wonderful legacy for my children, while touching as many lives as I can. I also wouldn’t mind being rich either.

What’s next for me? After we drop “Nobody,” we start gearing up for the release of my EP, which I hope to have out this summer. My studio Green House Studios in Fort Washington, MD is having an audio engineering summer camp for youth ages 12-18, so between just those two things I plan to be pretty busy. I’m also looking forward to performing live sometime soon, so we’ll get the band together; begin rehearsing some of these songs; and start coming up with a setlist. Lots of stuff in store.

#OnOurRadar: Meet Projex Santana