If you’re looking for a musician similar to John Legend and Jason Mraz, Gyasi Ross’ music is definitely the right choice for you. Blending hip-hop, R&B and soul together alongside acoustic guitar, Ross has slowly crawled his way to the top, not only as a musician, but as an artist who knows how to captivate an audience.
A native of the Bay Area, Ross grew up getting his start around the area, eventually relocating to Los Angeles. Yet, the musician remembers his musical awakening happening in Pasadena after watching his brother create music with his friends and wanting to do the same.
In an interview with DoLA, Ross said, “I idolized my brother and his friends as they created music in a circle, they called it a cipher. I was a fly on the wall in the 7th grade and desperately wanted to participate. At the time I didn’t understand how. My voice didn’t move or sound the way theirs did and I nearly gave up.”
Luckily, Ross didn’t let his own anxiety get in the way of pursuing a musical career, later joining his high school marching band after a friend tricked him into it. From there on, the singer started taking jazz trumpet lessons from Nolan Shaeed, the former musical director for Marvin Gaye.
In his junior year of high school, Ross transitioned to guitar, taking lessons from Gary Bell, an American blues guitarist. After graduating, the singer earned a degree in Jazz Guitar and World Music from San Francisco State University.
As his musical career began to flourish, Ross was able to play alongside Bay Area musicians such as The Park, Denizen Kane of the Typical Cats and Brett Dennen. At the time, he was also finding inspiration in mainstream artists like John Mayer and The Roots.
Finally, Ross started releasing his own music. In 2015, he dropped his first single, “She,” and an album to accompany it in the same year, “If You Really Knew Me.” With only seven songs, the album was still a major accomplishment for the singer, an album all about growing up and dealing with the challenges of being in a relationship.
The album also helped Ross book opening gigs with artists such as Method Man and Brett Dennen, even causing him to be a finalist for NPR’s “Tiny Desk” contest in that same year.
After experiencing first hand the success of his work, Ross took a break to focus more on his craft. Six years later, he dropped a single titled “A Song About Hope” Like its title suggested, the song saw Ross adopt a more positive attitude compared to his previous work, reflecting on his future and hoping for the best.
This year, Ross has continued to work, releasing his most recent single, “Different”, which dropped on Nov. 4 through CatBeach Music. Produced by Bobby Hartry, the song tells the story of a young Black kid, growing up with the racial and cultural tensions within the urban landscape of the United States. In an autobiographical tale, Ross paints a picture of his childhood, with a hopeful tone that implies everyone can get through adversity thrown at them.
Now, Ross plans to release a visual for “Different” this Friday, with Ross hinting, “The music video features a series of tableaus based on life experiences I've had.”
Gyasi Ross is someone who is continuously looking ahead, always trying to create work that is meaningful and relates to those from the same background as himself. He’s always one step ahead, using his music to stretch beyond the boundaries typical of standard R&B.
