An argument can be made that playing basketball is the second best thing Essence Carson does, with creating music being number one.
That’s impressive considering that Essence is a pretty accomplished WNBA player (she was once an All-Star, and this year she’s the second leading scorer on her team, the New York Liberty.)
But it also shows what kind of an artist she is.
Essence is a rapper, who produces her own music, and she seems to be very good at it. Need proof? Check out the super smooth “Love Letter” track she debuted last year.
She has more music coming this year: notably her debut LP, Broken Diary.
We recently chopped it up with Essence and talked about her upcoming music, juggling music and basketball, and some of the gear in her closet (she’s also quite the dresser.)
Check out the interview below.
So tell us what’s new.
What’s new is the album that’s going to come out. I’m going to drop another single sometime soon, and a video — the third video —sometime soon, within the next couple of weeks.
The last single was “Hater,” this one is what?
The next single should be called “Bye.”
What’s that song about?
It’s pretty much: you have a lot of people around you that leech off of you, especially if you’re someone with some kind of status. You see people at a club, with all these people around, and you don’t even know ’em. They always trying to get something from you. You just tell ’em bye. It’s pretty much a dismissal of whatever you don’t like.
Can you give an example of using “bye” in a real life situation?
Everything I write about is pretty much stuff that I’ve gone through: So one situation would be, like, we’re in the club, and we have our own section, and we buy some bottles and as soon as you buy bottles they all run to the front. Like, they just be chilling and as soon as those sparkles come everyone wants to run to the front of the table. Like what are you doing? Back up!
What can you tell us about the album?
It’s just a reflection of my life so far. It’s called Broken Diary, and I named it that because everyone always asks me ‘E, what are you about?’ Sometimes they look at me as a mysterious person. They don’t know too much about me, other than I play basketball. So it’s pretty much opening my diary to everyone: whether it’s lost love, to newfound love — whether it’s experiences in clubs; it’s real life experiences of mine.
Do you think it’s true, that you’re not very revealing to people?
Yeah, it is. That’s why I was like, everyone has all these questions about me, I’m going to go ahead and give you guys insight on a couple of things.
What’s something people will learn about you from the album?
They’ll learn that I’m a regular person. When you make a name for yourself, people tend to put you on a pedestal, like you’re not normal. Like you don’t go through the everyday struggle, dealing with certain things in life. I can tell you I experience the same things you experience and the next person experiences.
How does music affect your basketball responsibilities?
It doesn’t. I was actually studying music before I joined an organized basketball team. I been doing music since I was 9-years-old. I started playing basketball on a team when I was 11. I went to high school for music. I went to college for music. I’ve always been balancing both, so it’s nothing new to me. I’m really smart about dedicating the right amount of time to things.
The team digs your music. Do they play it in the locker room?
They play it sometimes. They dig it. They know the words.
What do you do better: pay basketball or make music?
That’s tough. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago, I would have said basketball. But right now, I believe it’s getting to the point where I’m really trying to hone my skills as an artist, as a producer. Right now they’re running pretty neck and neck honestly. I was an all-star with basketball, so I hope one day I’ll be able to win a Grammy or something like that, so I guess the two will be equal at that point.
What’s the last piece of clothing you copped?
I copped something from Oak NYC. I think it was this oversized shirt, dress thing that I wear as a t-shirt. It’s pretty dope.
Last pair of sneakers you copped?
Probably some Givenchy sneakers.
Most you ever spent on a piece of clothing?
Umm. I don’t know. Maybe a G for a pair of shoes.
What’s the sneaker of the summer going to be?
High-end, right now, it seems everyone has got into the Balenciaga Arena sneakers. Margiela got a couple of nice ones coming out. But it seems like Balenciaga is really trying to step in there, take over the urban street lane.
As far as regular streetwear sports sneakers: that’s a toss up. Jordans come out every two weeks and people are always waiting on line for that. The all-red Yeezy 2s look pretty dope, also.
