Interview: Pink Sweat$ Opens Up About His Biggest Fears, The State Of R&B, And His Debut Album 'Pink Planet'

Pink Sweat$ is a 27 year old R&B singer and songwriter who wants to leave behind a legacy for the next generation of R&B. With only 2 EP’s out and 16 tracks released, Pink Sweat$ has garnered a great deal of attention and has been recognised for his unique characteristics. Set apart from an industry of trap beats and percussion, Pink Sweat$ soothing harmonies and acoustic ballads shows he wants his music to be unforgettable. Being raised in Philadelphia, the United States, Pink Sweat$ hopes to become a role model to the kids in his neighbourhood, to show them that there’s more to aspire to than just being a drug dealer or rapper. Pink Sweat$ is a genuine soul and an inspiring individual and it is reflected in his music. His stand out tune “Honesty” has over 28 million hits on YouTube and over tens of millions of streams on the one track alone. Considering it’s only his first year of being a performer, Pink Sweat$ has captivated the hearts of many.

In a little studio in Eden Terrace, Auckland, Pink Sweat$ sat down with us to reflect on his journey in music and his aspirations for the next generation in an inspiring chat. Two nights beforehand Pink Sweat$ played a nearly sold-out show to an adoring crowd in Auckland City. Pink Sweat$ is very kind, truly humble and an authentic character. In our discussion, Pink Sweat$ touches on making music that means something in a climate where most music has no meaning, his biggest fears and overcoming them, being an example for the next generation and what inspired the creation of “Honesty”.

I know this is a bit late but welcome to New Zealand!

Aha, thank you.

I know you’ve been here for a few days, what do you think about the place, like, have you done anything exciting?

Umm, particularly this area I like it because it’s super like asian-ey.

Really? (laughs)

Yeah, like all this Asian, Indian foods and stuff like that. That’s like all the food that I eat so... I’m a big food person. If I don’t like the food, I don’t like the place.

Yeah we have a lot of diverse food places around here which is really cool for our city. So, congrats on a successful show on Saturday night!

Thank you!

I really loved your crowd engagement and especially when you got the girls to jump on the stage..

(laughs) yeah yeah, that’s always fun

That was very entertaining and since I think it’s your first time touring internationally to New Zealand and Australia..

Yeah, it’s my first time

How did it feel performing for crowds outside of your home country and seeing your fan base on this side of the world?

It was exciting. I feel like I was a little bit nervous because like… I notice you guys lingo is different so it’s like sometimes when I’m on stage I like to talk and I’m not always sure it’s translating right. Like I might say a word and somebody might be like “what does that mean?” You know? So that kinda makes me, like, hesitant a little bit but other than that, it’s great.

Well, it’s clear that you’re a great live performer

Awww, thank you.

(laughs) you’re welcome. Is that something that has come naturally to you or something that you’ve had to work on overtime?

Ummm, I guess a little bit of both because, like.. I think I’m going on my first year of being a performer, so I think just growing up around seeing people perform.. also just being an observant and absorbent person like I can adapt easily. Once I see something I can get a gist of how it’s done and then I just jump into it which is essentially what I did like, when my music came out. I had only ever done one show and it was like my friends and my team just started booking all these shows and I was just thrown- you know, I rehearsed literally like one rehearsal. It was kind of insane but that’s the kinda person I am. I like to just jump into things, just get my hands dirty like let’s get to it, SO I think it’s just partially both. It’s like a little bit of natural and then the rest is like build-up, repetition…

This is really only the beginning of your career, right. The crowds and the venues are only gonna get bigger and better and there are so many people saying you’re up next. Could you speak on how that feels to you?

Well, it’s like pros and cons to everything right. I feel like it’s super flattering to be like, you know, having this dream to be like, you know.. 2 years ago I wanna make this music that like, to me, means something and in a climate where most music is just like, whatever. And it’s intimidating because how like I’m competing essentially in the arena with people who are willing to do anything and I’m not willing to do anything. So how can you… you know, mentally you have that battle that’s like if we’re at war or something and somebody’s willing to sacrifice their life and you’re like “YOOO what the f-” (laughs). You kinda think a little bit about strategy and that’s how I feel about music. It’s not really a competition as far as like “oh I’m gonna destroy you” but it’s a competition for attention. So it’s like, I have a message, something that I think is important and I have to compete with someone, you know, like maybe drinking battery acid. That might be more entertaining for someone. So it’s like how can I- you know, it’s just a lot of different feelings so yeah overall, I’m just grateful to even be in the conversation.

I think that’s a great mindset to have, definitely in today’s industry that’s for sure. So you recently posted on Instagram a paycheck from an old job saying you had just started music and you were afraid to quit. What made you want to take that leap?

Honestly, it was just… I got tired of being afraid. It felt like… I don’t know it just felt like really real to me. Where it was like damn, this could potentially be my life, forever... if I don’t make a decision cause like me choosing to stay out of fear is me forfeiting a decision like “oh oh, ima just stay here”. When you’re putting in these hours, this time into this thing where there’s a cap, there’s like only so high you can go. And I knew I didn’t wanna be there. It was just like, I have to do something drastic right now. What I ended up doing was moved out of my parent’s house and I wanted to, uh, I lived with my grandma in like her tiny one-bedroom apartment. It was nice but it’s not built for like multiple people so.. She literally would always offer me her bed like “you can sleep in my bed!” you know. I just had a spot on the floor and I had… I was afraid of that ‘cause you know, especially for men, you always feel like this “I gotta have this, have that”. Especially if you wanna date and stuff. Imagine you meet a guy, who's like the perfect guy and he tells you “yeah I ain’t got no money and I sleep on the floor” you know like awww damn! (laughs) you gotta think more like dang, can I see a future with this person so it’s like, for me, it was a hard time and I was afraid of that time but it was like it’s either live like this temporarily, make that sacrifice and give yourself a chance or live on the left side of my Chick-fil-A job and live like this forever. So it was kinda like alright I’d rather be lowest of lows as far as lifestyle for a temporary time when then one day I can live like a king.

Well, here you are (both laugh). Was that like the same mindset you had, I know you used to be a songwriter when you made that transition to becoming a singer and a songwriter. Like, why did you decide to become a singer?

Oh yeah, I was just telling this. The biggest thing for me was having something to say and I feel like a lot of people don’t have much to say. They just talk in gibberish and they don’t care what they say, how it affects someone, they just wanna get their money and be on their way. By the time I was of age and of mentality, it was like, what can I give back to my people? My people who grew up in the same neighbourhood as me, that look like me, that they see rappers and drug dealers and they feel like that’s the only option. ‘Cause singing is not really that popular. How many black singers do you really know that's at the higher level. I guess tons out there but at that peak level, there’s not many. It’s mostly rappers. So it’s like what if there’s a kid that’s me? Who wants to sing and he’s 10 years old and he sees a guy wearing pink who looks like he’s got his life together. That’s just a spark that could set off something or just somebody that might wanna be a doctor like yo I don’t wanna sell drugs, I wanna go to school, I wanna get a degree like, I want people to be able to look at me and every part of my life reflects something that I didn’t see, you know.. I wanna be that example that I didn’t really see growing up. Somebody might have money but they might not have a good love life or they might have a good love life and not much finances so it’s like if you’re a kid and you’re in poverty, you’re just looking and hoping for something that looks like hope. Like, “alright I have something to look forward to”, you know.

Wow, inspiring! So, let’s talk about Pink Planet. It’s your debut album, it’s all very exciting. Can you give us any hints on when the album is dropping or if there are any features?

Yeah, yeah! Uhh, there are no features… which is intentional. It’s coming in March… ideally. If everything goes according to plan. And I will probably be dropping a single next month. Yeah.

Very exciting, yeah! So your music is known for having little to no percussion or beats in it and yet, in your sets, you playing the drums seems to be quite a big part of your live show experience. It’s an interesting contrast. Why is that, if you don’t mind me asking?

Um, I feel like the music part, as far as the recording process, I wanted to give something to people tangible and historically that people can go back to this time and his era… in 30 years and say “oh this is a gem”. I always tell people my biggest fear and obsession concerning my career is being forgotten and it’s like a lot of musicians and artists, you devote so much of your life to this thing, you sacrifice time with your family, you know, sometimes you develop sicknesses… you’re consumed by this career and it’s like, how dare I be forgotten? Like I don’t wanna make anything that I feel is, oh it could be hot today but I don’t care about today. I wanna be on your.. Uhh, when you got your flying cars in 30 years I want you to be bumping Honesty cause you’re like “this is the one… ayy, ayy” like telling it to your kids like.. I don’t wanna be something that I feel in my heart, is forgotten. So, yeah.

So what are your thoughts on the state of R&B at the moment?

I think it’s cool. I think it’s in a decent space. I think that, for me, I’m a big fan of time and history but as far as me… I didn’t grow up listening to R&B, I didn’t grow up listening to a ton of rap but I can tell you timeless stuff because it’s timeless. If it makes it to somebody who doesn’t listen to the genre that much, that should tell you something. So it’s like my thing with R&B is that a lot of people, they sound the same. It’s like when you go to the 90s and people sample 90s music all the time. People sample music from the 80s, people sample music from the 70s, 60s, 50s. Like nobody’s gonna sample our era. It’s nothing. It’s all mostly, 90% of the content is… replaceable. It’s like oh, whatever. On to the next. Once that song runs its course, who’s hot, who’s the next- you know, like, to me I wanna be that person that somebody wants to sample. I want people to like flip my beats and oh I wanna put this guitar a little bit here and I wanna put that beat here. That’s what it’s about. That’s legacy. That’s something I’m leaving for the genre of R&B versus using a bunch of samples all the time, like man what am I leaving for the next generation? Who they gonna sample? (laughs) you know? They’re gonna be sampling 3 songs for the next 30 years.

Yeah, nowadays it’s really hard to find some originality but I feel like you’re a very unique artist so I think you’re doing really well.

Aww, thank you.

Your song “Honesty” is quite frankly beautiful and has been heard practically everywhere. Can you talk about your experience creating that song and what inspired it?

Ohh yeah. You know how they sometimes say the best ideas come when you’re not even thinking. It’s like you could be trying to put this table together, wrecking your mind like “oh I gotta put this table together” and as soon as you sit down.. “Oh here’s the screw”. And Honesty was the perfect example of that. It was like I was working a ton, just like trying to make it happen. As a songwriter, you hit plateaus in everything, at my career at that time I felt like I hit a plateau ‘cause it’s like okay, I don’t really wanna write these kind of songs anymore which is what I considered at the time forgettable songs just cause I’m tryna maintain a living. So it’s like okay I wanna do something important, something that I feel like is important to me. Like okay, cool, let me take a seat… and I’m literally just having a conversation with a person, just like, just as we’re talking now. And, you know, I was having a drink or so, just relaxed, completely off guard and then the next day I heard this melody in my head and then I was like I should record that. And then I started singing and all the lyrics and the melodies just flowed. (starts singing) 🎵 Baby I’m afraid to fall in love 🎵. And everything was just… (makes whooshing noise) and it just essentially stemmed from a conversation. Yeah it was probably the most effortless song I’ve ever written.

That’s great. Do you have any other hobbies outside of writing and singing music?

Um. These days, no. I feel like I’m so busy and consumed by music at this point especially as I am an artist. I’m ever rarely home so I’m just like always on the go but I guess if I could, I like playing basketball with my friends and stuff. And I like to uh.. I like love watching YouTube videos, like recently. Just like searching for things. I love learning about like, cultural things, about different mentalities. I would just like lookup controversial things. I love doing that now.

Well, thank you for taking time out of your day to chat with us. I hope you have a safe flight back home!

Interview: Breanna Tugaga-Rogers
Photos: 10Daniel16

About The Writer:

Breanna is a 21 year old uni student who was born in Australia and raised in South Auckland. Half New Zealand European and half Samoan, Breanna is undergoing a Bachelor of Arts, double-majoring in Communications and Sociology. Currently residing in Auckland, Breanna loves hip hop, rap, RnB music and enjoys watching TV shows, movies, travelling, going to concerts and keeping in touch with the latest of pop culture. Breanna especially enjoys writing and using it as an outlet to talk her sh*t. Breanna loves to always integrate her worldview, her background and her experiences into her writing and values your feedback.

About The Photographer:

10Daniel16 is a man of many talents. A photographer, videographer, editor and director, Daniel is a pillar in the local creative scene working with names like SWIDT, Melodownz and has shot some of the best gigs in Auckland city. 10Daniel16 has shot concerts of iconic musicians like 50 Cent, Jhene Aiko, Bas, Denzel Curry, Lil Pump and so much more. Popularly known for his music videos, 10Daniel16 is continuously expanding his skill set and since breaking through the international scene, he is excited for what 2020 has in store for him.