UG Digital Magazine: How do you feel about it now, given you’ve done so well with it. Chris Brown’s “Back to Sleep” was so big.
August Rigo: I mean, it’s different now. I enjoy the process. I actually schedule my time out, and try to write songs that specifically are not for me. A lot of times, you write songs and you grow attached to them. It’s hard to give them up. They’re like your babies. You birthed and created them out of nothing. My mindset on it now is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If the name of the game is to expose the music at a grand scale, and there is a Chris Brown or Justin Bieber willing to perform the song, it’s a good look for music, and a good look for me. To some extent, I’m still making an impact on popular culture, even if it’s not my voice; it’s still my words and vision. It’s actually an honor to have an artist like Chris Brown represent a song. It’s like having the cream of the crop of the industry. I have a different view now than when I first came out.
UG Digital Magazine: Obviously, you’ve done vocal coaching, which is also huge, and with the executive production work you’ve done, you’ve been able to go so many amazing directions.
August Rigo: You just have to get in where you fit in. This industry is real fickle. You have to create those income streams and diversify to stay in the industry. Music is cyclic. When I start following the trends, I become less of myself. I like to stick to my guns and do the things I enjoy. Sometimes what you’re into is not the vibe or what’s happening at the time. You have to figure things out. Having a bunch of different skill sets has helped me to stay relevant. If I’m not writing, I’m producing, and if not singing, I’m mixing as an engineer, running a label, or doing vocal coaching on America’s Got Talent. I do music for a living, and at the end of the day, that’s all I wanted to do.
UG Digital Magazine: You’re that perfect example of someone who has worked hard, and is now experiencing the fruits of their labor. Your career is going in the best direction ever. Two albums out, and they’ve been hugely successful. How do you feel like your work has helped you in creating these albums?
August Rigo: The first album was at a time in life where I was signed to Def Jam. I was being shelved at the time because L.A. Reid signed me directly, and he had left to do X-Factor. I was dropped, but luckily a label in Japan wanted to license my album. That’s how the first album came about and I was able to release that through Manhattan Records and maintain a relationship. When it came around to this album, I was able to do the same thing with them, as well as release it worldwide on my own label. The ability to go through all those motions, and then come back and create this last album has been peaceful. I’ve been able to find myself and figure out the things I want to do and don’t want to do. It’s felt like forever, but all the things I’ve done, including the vocal coaching and writing, have helped to craft the musician I am now. When I did the Musiq Soulchild and Justin Bieber stuff, I was in a different place. I had never written a song for anyone in my life up until that point. It was a different time for me, but now that I’m comfortable writing songs for other people, I can separate my identity. The funny thing is, sometimes I write songs that I think are good for someone else, and end up keeping it for me. It also happens the other way around. I write for me, and it ends up being better for someone else. Those experiences helped me to recognize that. I’m a little less pressured about the songs. At the end of the day, my goal is to let them be heard.