Today we’d like to introduce you to Ja’Cory Lavine.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ja’Cory. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Not to sound corny or anything, but I think it was kind of like fate. I was born January 24th, 1997 in Port Arthur, TX, but grew up in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve always had a wide variety of music and art around me. My mother was a beautiful singer and writer, my father played nothing but classics growing up, my older sister would write, sketch and even rap, and my little sister was/is the fashion-forward free-thinker. All of that in one household eventually inspired me and stuck with me like a magnet. In 2008/2009, when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I decided that I wanted to learn music.
I started by teaching myself the piano and the guitar once my mother agreed to buy them for me. I would try to write my own songs while I practiced, but I wanted others to do that with me. I eventually asked a couple of friends to form a band with me, and from then on, I was writing songs, covering bands like Paramore, One Republic, Lincoln Park, Gym Class Heroes, etc. It was heavenly hearing our ideas come to life and I couldn’t have been more excited.
However, I eventually realized I had to sing the songs I had written and recorded for my fellow band members. Once I started doing that, I really fell in love with how I could use my voice, my ideas and what I learned. I was the absolute WORST singer and the WORST songwriter ever, haha. I also had my two sisters making fun of me and my voice and song lyrics the whole time. It was all in good fun, but they were extremely tough critics. I still have all of the songs and lyrics I wrote and recorded back then. I’ve used them over the years to better my craft and find my strengths and weaknesses.
Though my siblings were pretty mean about it, I couldn’t bring my self to stop because I liked doing it too much. I also thought I could change the world; really say something for kids my age.
In the Summer of 2010, I moved from California to Galveston, TX where I formed an entirely new band for a year and then moved to Alief in the Summer of 2011. Though I was no longer on the Island, my band (Drowning at Dawn) was my biggest passion project, so I was consistently writing, recording and promoting this band every chance I got. We released one LP and 2 EPs on sites like Bandcamp under Drowning at Dawn. It was an escape for me that lasted for 4 years, ending my Junior year of high school in 2014.
By this time, I had moved back to Galveston and decided to continue music by becoming a solo artist. I started out doing what I was familiar with which was pop music with a rock edge, but somewhere along the line, I learned more into R&B and tapped into a more mature side of myself. I graduated high school in June of 2015, made a ton of music in a variety of genres, and then decided that I was ready to release more music. At this point, everything was on Soundcloud or Bandcamp under my legal name, Ja’Cory Lavine.
At the end of 2016, I went under the pseudonym ‘Cortéz”, releasing one single and a five-track EP called “B.E.D..” I was in a new space mentally that ended up not being very reflective of what I could really do and who I could really be. So I took an unexpected break in 2017, re-branded myself, and came back as “Rxbyn.” Fast forward to 2019, I now have four singles and a full-length album under “Rxbyn” on all streaming platforms and all social media.
My new record, “WNDW,” was released on January 25th, 2019. It took me two years to create, and I’m so much more than proud of it. I believe it is an accurate reflection of myself and where I came from. I also believe that it introduces me to those who have never heard me before really well. This is the project that made me decide to keep doing music for the little boy who just wanted to sing but couldn’t, haha.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I feel like the obvious answer is no, but I think that’s what makes this all the more rewarding. I’ve lost friends, lost people I really loved, lost possessions that meant the most to me, starved so that my family could eat, watched my mother struggle so I could make music if nothing else, been teased for being different, told to give it up, been through some extremely low mental states and more.
But every time I’ve wanted to say something that I couldn’t put into words, I would just put it into the music. From my childhood to now, I’ve used my music to mend relationships, end relationships, create new ones, etc. The music has always been fun, limitless, heavy (but in a good way) and therapeutic. It’s the things that go on outside of the music that would stress me or make things difficult.
But even in the hard times, my music is what I feel has helped me get through a lot of the hardships. Life is only as bad as we allow it to make us feel. I didn’t always realize that, but now I do, and I’m so glad I know that now. It’s good to know that you always have a home, an outlet. Music is my home.
Rxbyn – what should we know? What do you do best?
My business, my company, my brand is myself. Rxbyn. I am a singer, songwriter, producer, engineer and so much more. I specialize in the arts. I can’t do everything per se, but I strive to always give 210% of myself to anything that I do. Videography, photography, music, writing, composing, sketching. There are so many aspects to what it is I do, that I don’t claim one more over the other.
Some people see me as a singer, some people know more of me because of my music videos, some because of my production and instrumentation, people who work closely with me might tell you they notice my attention to detail and determination to get what I envision to come to life no matter what.
I am an artist, I want to push the boundaries and provide transparency and honesty in my music, videos, etc. At this point in time, I’m most proud of my work ethic. When I look back at the things I did in the past, whether a year ago or ten years ago, I can always clearly tell that my determination and my love for what I do has not strayed or shifted in the slightest. I try to be consistent in that sense.
I think what sets me apart from others is my outlook on everything. I try to see the world through a different lense than most others in my demographic would. I work so hard to understand everything from every point of view so that I could more accurately write about it or sing about it or film it or even change it.
I feel there’s a bigger fight to be had in the world than myself versus anyone else. I want all of us to succeed by being who we are and help break a broken cycle.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Marc Anthony.
That is the definition of success to me. I don’t want to be filthy rich or sitting at home all day, not working. I want to work, I want to provide for my family. I want to constantly create goals for myself and reach them. But I want to love every second of all of that, otherwise, it’s all for nothing.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://rxbynofficial.wixsite.com/rxbyn
- Email: rxbynofficial@gmail.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/rxbynofficial
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/rxbynofficial
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/rxbynofficial
- Other: https://song.link/album/us/i/1449858087
Image Credit:
Mosaab Ali, Octavia Garcia, Courtney Taylor, Krista Villarreal
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