Jeffrey Ochoa-Alvarez is currently 17 years old. He lives in Long Island. He consider myself not a pioneer, but a hopeful reinforcement towards the origins of meaningful music. As popular music leans towards the more catchy and easily enjoyable, he hope to bring back the grit into leaving a message behind through sound, words, and general lyricism; something that adds layers and extra elements to someone who not only hears my songs, but also listens.

Jeffrro: is just his nickname that his uncle gave him which just stuck as his Stage-Name. It’s a combination of his first name – Jeffrey, and his most distinguishable feature: my large, curly, Afro-like hair. So, his uncle would call him Jeff-fro. He learned recently that it’s spelled Jeffrro, but he kept the second R since he had already used that form for several years as an identifier.

He just starting out and haven’t released too many songs except for a few singles and a collaboration track with the great MoonLee. He is highly motivated and working hard to grow his discography.

This exclusive interview with Jeffrro (Jeffrey Othoa-Alvarez) has so much to learn from a young artist, read more.

Questions:-

1. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Jeffrro: Writing poetry was something I immediately gained a liking to as a small pastime during my childhood and I learned to enjoy music as a medium of expression through my years playing the viola. However, these two interests never really intertwined until I heard Kendrick Lamar’s album DAMN.. I felt like I fell in love with that project, which really motivated me to discover more about human nature and our day-to-day interactions between each other. The two aforementioned details are some examples of what Lamar had focused on in the album.

2. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Jeffrro: During the summer of last year, a friend of mine needed me as an actor for a personal project he was filming. During the filming day of the scenes, I had the chance to learn about one of the other members of this cast. I learned that we both had a thing in common; we make music. I had them listen to the only song I had out at the time: Toxic. They told me that they enjoy it and they recognize my hunger for meaning in music. They then offered to send an unfinished song of theirs where I could add a verse, which ended up becoming the catchy summer-vibe song Sleeping Beauty on the album Ascend by MoonLee.

Basically, this collaboration came to fruition out of pure luck.

3. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Jeffrro: I was unaware of how complex music is to produce, especially when it comes to mixing and mastering. To be honest, I thought music was as easy as recording, something I still did wrong, adjusting the volume, and adding a beat underneath. My music would sound muddy and my voice lacked presence, rendering it more of an annoyance than a compliment to the instrumental.

I learned that music isn’t just something you can waltz into without real knowledge, especially if every responsibility for producing the sound is that of the artist’s. This experience gave me a chance to sit down, slow down, and actually do some research on how to make me sound clearer and more defined.

4. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Jeffrro: Growth of A Boy is my upcoming album, which I’m projecting to release towards the latter end of the summer.

I was also working on an album that I dedicated to a number of people I can attribute my mental and personal growth to. It’s called DTMWIWIDK (Don’t Tell Me What I Want, I Don’t Know) and I will resume its production following the release of GOAB.

5. Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

Jeffrro: I’ve spoken to a few people who are also starting off their respective music careers such as VIOLAINE and with MoonLee, both who I resonate with on similar levels. It’s great to see that we all share the same motivation for music: to spread a message and to express themselves. It makes me feel comfortable in my own journey and ensures that I’m not alone.

6. Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Jeffrro: Make music that you personally enjoy. If the style you say you enjoy changes, then try it out! If you’re always doing the same thing, you’ll feel like a robot or a machine just churning out music and that can get boring. Especially if it only brings about average results.

7. You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Jeffrro: Keep trying new things but keep everything you make online. Sometimes, a song you made a while ago is actually a banger, but people just haven’t recognized it yet. So, don’t just give up if you don’t see numbers immediately.

8. Can you share with our readers any self care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Kindly share a story or an example for each.

Jeffrro: Honestly, just writing music is really what helps. I don’t follow any specific routines or practices since music is really my therapy. There’s been times where I have hit low points personally and that only fueled the idea for a song. Self-doubt, love, relationships, etc. That all will be reflected in my music, since I feel it makes me thrive.

9. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

Jeffrro: (1). Don’t try to make songs to impress people. Sometimes simplicity is better, and sometimes the message you send through a song isn’t to impress but to set a tone. If you make music just for the “wow factor”, you restrict yourself to certain things.

Jeffrro: (2). Be confident! My early music sounded monotone and lacked real creativity. I didn’t feel comfortable adding certain elements to my music, such as background vocals or other effects that could seriously improve its uniqueness. My songs were linear and predictable.

Jeffrro: (3). Always write down ideas. During certain events in my life, no matter big or small, I would kind of dream of what instruments I could use over a song about what I was experiencing. Unfortunately, as time would pass, I would simply just forget these ideas. Even just writing these ideas down in a note on my phone would’ve been enough to prevent certain periods of writer’s block.

Jeffrro: (4). Write it down, come back later. As J. Cole said recently, “Sometimes you just need to step away, some living”. I’ve noticed that I become a perfectionist when I write, trying to write rhymes in a way that guarantees it can be understood, when the sole purpose of music is to discover its meaning, not for it to be told. The numerous times I would stop writing when I noticed my imagination stopped flowing, I realized I would pick up right where I had left off after a few days of thinking and learning.

Jeffrro: (5). Be yourself. Don’t try to be the next person in line, is what I tell myself. While I’m inspired by greats like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, I know that everything I’ve heard from them has been heard by many others. Anybody who has listened to any music artist can detect when an aspiring creator tries too hard to sound like them, in an attempt to replicate their success. This can only lead to comparisons or being viewed as corny. That’ll restrict the chances people give your music.

10. Can you please give us your favorite  “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Jeffrro: “Your happiness relies on yourself only.”

As I have mentioned before, I have seen myself making music that is meant to just impress people, even if it doesn’t satisfy my heart’s desire for expression. Slowly but surely, I’m beginning to write about personal ideas that are meaningful to me, knowing that there are so many people out of the 7 billion on this earth that can relate to me.

11. None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Jeffrro: My mother. She has allowed me to think freely and chase my own dreams, not imposing any of her personal desires for what my life should be. A lot of stories that she has told me also fuel my music, especially in Growth of A Boy. I can tell this holds true, considering she loved my verse on Sleeping Beauty when she heard it the first time, sharing it with a lot of my family members. I can tell that whatever I do with this career, she’ll be there to support me.

12. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Jeffrro: To become self-aware, which can also bring about general awareness for others. Emotions are becoming more and more valued as time goes on considering the important conversation we were having about mental health. Personally, I feel as though we are our own destroyers when it comes to this, since some people choose to ignore the effects of certain mental disorders or syndromes. Being at least aware of them can cause us to be more welcoming towards progression and treatment, which can help a lot of people down the line.

13. We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

Jeffrro: Kendrick Lamar. He really opened my eyes to music. To being expressive, to having meaning. I wish to just have a conservation with him, to learn more about what he deals with, how something so internally painful can become perceivable by those who don’t experience it. I think he has a lot of valuable knowledge on humanity.

14 How can our readers follow you online?

Jeffrro: Follow me on:
Instagram: @jeffrrorl
Twitter: @goab_2021