Butterfly Ali - Interview + Preacher's Kid (EP)

With his previously shared singles ‘Pray For ‘Em’, ‘Testimony’ and ‘Truth Is’ gathering huge support from the likes of American Songwriter, EARMILK, The Independent, WONDERLAND, Wordplay Magazine, RECORD OF THE DAY, Grit Daily, ATWOOD MAGAZINE, Spindle, YUCK MAGAZINE and much more in recent months, fast-rising artist Butterfly Ali has now released his eagerly-awaited debut EP ‘Preacher’s Kid’ alongside the energetic new single ‘Ain’t Ready For Me’.

With so much buzz and acclaim moving his way, ‘Preacher’s Kid’ shows itself as a fresh and soul-enriched collection that perfectly illustrates the bright and euphoric sound he has been cultivating for himself this past year. The collection’s final single ‘Ain’t Ready For Me’ marks this occasion perfectly. A bold and soaring return that showcases some of his most potent energy, wrapped up in a warm and bouncing production that will keep your toes tapping from start to finish.

Wordplay Magazine: It's been just over a year since last time we spoke, I think you were still recording season 3 of The Rookie then?

Butterfly Ali: Now, we’re going into season 4. It's been a while!

WPM: It just dropped over here, 3 or 4 weeks ago, I’ve only done 1 episode so far, but its excellent already! Have you got any other acting work lined up?

BA: No nothing on the acting side, we’re in a window where we only have 3 months off in between seasons, we film for 9 then off for 3, so it's kind of hard to fit the perfect movie at the perfect time and be done before we start again.

WPM: I want to talk about your new EP “Preacher's kid”, if I remember correctly, your dad was a preacher, so a fitting title! The EP drops really soon and I’ve been lucky enough to have listened to it already, it is everything I hoped for. It’s great! Could you explain to our readers though what they can expect from the EP?

BA: For one, thank you very much, that's very kind of you! What I did for each song is I wrote from the perspective of a preacher's kid. Somebody like myself, my life, my love and each song show’s that differently. You’ll hear different colours of Butterfly Ali. It covers my thoughts on racial injustice to literally just a song talking about my life and my journey. There’s another for all that is Butterfly Ali, there’s a lot of different colours in it. But they all come from the same voice, here’s what a preacher's kid is, and here are the thoughts that this preacher kid might have and how they view the world.

WPM: Last time we spoke, we chatted about your name deriving from a song you wrote called “Butterfly Ali”, there is a track on the EP called “Butterfly Ali” is that the same song?

BA: It is the song I wrote a couple years ago that I never released, that is the song I wanted to name my artistry after. When people hear that song on the EP when it comes out (June 11th) they will know the thought behind that. It’s a very free, quirky, fun song.

WPM: The next video that drops is “Ain't ready for me” (June 17th), I’ve been lucky enough to watch the video already and I understand that you have Bruno Mars’ saxophone player featured on the track and the video, how did that come about?

BA: Yeah, he's the one in the video but he didn’t play on the track. With the video I wanted to create a live performance and be a lot more chilled, so it was like you were watching me perform and it would feel intimate. I was just looking for someone who knew how to play the sax for the video and one of my friends, who plays guitar in the video, recommended him and he wasn’t busy, he said he was down, so he showed up! He thought the track was dope, so a friend of a friend became a new connection!

WPM: The EP is 5 tracks long, a few of the tracks are out as singles with videos already, were most the tracks recorded for the EP or is it a whole new body of work?

BA: It was about half and half; some were ready to go and already in my arsenal, but some were made for the project. I’ve always done something like that. I keep hold of songs till the time feels right and they match the release.

WPM: Was there a reason you went for an EP before an album?

BA: That was intentional. I wanted to do an EP, partially because I believe people's attention spans are a lot shorter now. Unless you are well established, I think it's rare to download a full album. So, let's continue to build the understanding of who Butterfly Ali, fill a space with more content, and develop the alias.

WPM: Hopefully soon, we will be able to return to live music. Are you thinking about planning some live shows or a tour?

BA: I would love to go back, but at this point, I feel it's too early. The reality is though, if we can come back with a full swing, I’d love too, if I can come back and do some support for some great artists, that’d be great!

WPM: I’m holding on to hope that someday there will be some UK Butterfly Ali dates?

BA: That is for certain, my management are all UK based they are all trying to get me over there so it's inevitable!

WPM: Have you been listening to anything new recently? What’s on heavy rotation on your spotify, that we and the readers should check out?

BA: Of course! It's not new but obviously “Silk Sonic”. I stumbled upon the song “Good Morning” by Alex Aiono. That song is really interesting. Another one is called “Juice Remix” by Young Franco & PLL.

WPM: What’s next for Butterfly Ali? What can we expect over the next 12 months?

BA: More music! We’ve been starting to work with Cobalt and setting up a lot of sessions, ploughing out a lot of songs. I just want to keep building Butterfly Ali, because I was just Titus for so long and we’ve scrapped that. I just want to get Butterfly Ali familiar and know who I am and what to expect and to keep elevating!

WPM: I really appreciate you taking the time out to chat with me, as always, it’s been a real pleasure, good luck with Preachers Kid! Until next time.