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Meet the artist behind the MTV Vote For Your Life campaign
With all that’s happening in the world, the 2020 Presidential Election is forcing us to do one thing — VOTE FOR YOUR LIFE — and this time around Vo Williams is pushing us to get the polls through his music.
Singer, songwriter, and composer Vo Williams has spent the last decade of his life crafting a sound like no other, in a genre typically reserved for brash and bold context.
The “Epic” Hip Hop song maker has been navigating the music scene from the city of Los Angeles with his inspirational sound and uplifting lyrics.
Now, he is focused on making history through the MTV Vote For You Life campaign featuring his Grammy-nominated theme song, “History In The Making.”
Listen to the featured track in the Vote For Your Life MTV campaign below
Vo Williams experiments with music
Music influenced Vo’s upbringing in Florida from where he found his way out west. Watching lots of music videos, singing along, and imitating artists from all genres, Vo wrote his first rap at the age of 13.
His journey through music was experimental, more-less. He references songs with crossover ability like, “Blackened” by Metallica, to “Hit ‘Em Up” and “Changes” by 2Pac, which reaches in context. Songs like “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West cultivated the young artist into stardom.
“Growing up was like an epic journey through different genres and eras Alternative to Hip Hop and then many eras within Hip Hop. The first song I ever wrote was when I was about 13. I had that one song and knew it as my name. It was incredibly wack and flagrantly fictional.”
Vo Williams
His first stage performance was at 106 & Park in front of Jay-Z and millions of watchers. He was featured in the “Freestyle Friday” segment of the show and felt he was ready to “produce on a pro-level” after his debut to the world.
From there, he pursued his greatness today, creating “functional music that you can use to improve the quality of real life. I’m creating Hip Hop, that’s often motivational and driven, with massive scale and vivid emotional tonality.”
Streaming thoughts…
Vo Williams now has his songs streaming on Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music. A long way from producing songs and putting out mixtape CDs when friends would let him know how great he would be, “History In The Making” is one of the proudest moments for Vo as a musician.
With a real passion for music and how it impacts people, Vo produces his music from multiple perspectives. He not only visualizes his music, but Vo also creates an epic experience that emotionally connects with listeners.
“When I write, I’m always thinking about how music could be expressed visually. Sonically, I aim to root the music deep in connection to the human experience, with vivid color and emotional tonality.”
Vo Williams
The MTV Vote For Your Life campaign
This emotion is what MTV sought when they reached out to Vo for his song “History In The Making” for their Vote For Your Life campaign. Lyrics that open up thought to positive outlooks, inspirational motives, and a collective ballad that encourages the spirit, this song is made to take you to the ballot box.
The Vote For Your Life is a campaign and partnership between ViacomCBS and The Ad Council, which is driving eligible voters to register and vote in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, November 3. The platform has a quick and easy way to find out about registering and voting in your community.
MTV has been running the social campaign video that features Vo’s “History in The Making” song with lyrics that pull the hero out of you. The 30-second clip highlights the lyrics “this is where you become the greatest of all time.”
The Vote For Your Life song implies to the listener that they can make a difference, get to the polls, and have an impact on history moving forward.
Vo describes voting as a process related to supporting your favorite music artist, buying the merch, downloading, and sharing their music, showing up to their shows or events.
Vo witnesses the power in his music and voice, advocating voting to liberate minorities and deliverance from the weight 2020 has placed on all of us.
Making history
Vo says, “‘History In The Making’ underscored the urgency and magnitude of the issues at stake during the election this year, especially those young people, primarily Black and Latinx, care about.”
During the most heated moment in politics, social reform, and racial injustice for GenZ and Millenials, Vo’s music hits a cord of empowerment.
Vo continues,
“You can’t watch change happen in the white house, you have to share the songs, promote the videos, buy the download. You have to cast your vote!”
Vo Williams
He concludes with, “people can go to VoteForYourLife.com to check their voter registration, register, learn about your early voting options, and get to the polls.”