Ari Musa, better known by her stage name “Ari Rox,” is slowly stepping into the spotlight with her upcoming album “Gilded”, which has been her dream since childhood. Musa said the decision to make and release the album was spontaneous, and it came naturally to her. “I have already been writing songs with the intention of making an album, and when most of them were finished, I just said Oh my gosh, this is a perfect time,” she shared.
Her decision sealed the deal by fully committing to creating this huge project. “It’s like I still get those moments of disbelief and I don’t really remember my first time. I think my first time was probably when I was meeting with the producers and we were like, OK let’s do this. We were planning things out, but I still get those moments when I’m performing or promoting my music and it’s sort of still like an everyday thing.”
When she was little, she saw this moment happening, she had a big dream and aspirations. Musa thinks if she told her younger self she was making an album today, she’d be excited but curious with many questions. “She would probably have expected it, but it’s just cause my younger self wanted to be a singer, she knew that all she wanted to do to was perform and write songs so I think she would believe it; but she would ask a lot of questions about it, and she would be happy that her dream is coming true,” she admitted.
Of course, with all the excitement and the happy moments, Musa sometimes doubted herself or was too scared to share these great opportunities with others. She mentioned, “It’s still like something you’ve worked really hard on, you’ve put your time, your work, and your feelings and emotions too, so yeah, at first you get a bit scared but then you realize like this is something that needs to be shared.” There was also a time when her energy gave out, and she felt the need to quit even when she knew she needed to persevere. “There are sometimes if I’m being honest, but I never let those moments get to me because I start to realize that it’s just my brain trying to be lazy or it’s just me trying to take the easy way out, and I have to realize that this is what I love and that the bad moments will pass,” she said.
The creative journey and process let Musa find a way back to her old connections and her childhood roots. “I used to perform so much as a kid in Cuba,” she explained. “Then the more I grew up, the more I stopped, but I’ve gotten back into it a lot- it’s just really guided me back.” Writing songs for the album slowly reconnected her with her childhood memories.
As expected, balancing home, school, and a music career isn’t the easiest. “It’s very, very scary,” she said. Musa mentioned that “But at the end of the day, it is very satisfying to know that you have songs out there and you are doing what you love!”
Thankfully, Musa’s parents, other distant family, and friends were also very supportive. Her producers helped her as well in the long run, and she is, in fact, “very grateful for them.”
“To me, success would be to be happy doing what I love,” she said. “I hope I inspire young women to be themselves, be happy, and be confident,” she added. With her very first album on the way, Musa hopes listeners will perceive her for who she truly is and how she expresses herself through her music. Ari Musa’s upcoming album is more than just a random collection of songs; it is a very thought-out and put-together project that she spent time, money, and effort creating. The details aren’t yet fully released, but people will be awaiting this new debut album, “Gilded”.
