Today we’d like to introduce you to Prince Frazier.
Hi Prince, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started playing music at a young age. My father constantly kept me surrounded by music and taught me about many different artists of various genres. From Prince to Public Enemy and Elisabeth Withers to Ann G to the point where we would be riding in his truck and if a certain song came on he would have me stop doing whatever I was doing to say the title and artist of the song like Love & Happiness by Al Green. I started school in kindergarten at “Parker Elementary” which isn’t too far away from Meyerland and in the first grade, I joined the piano and choir program they had.
There I learned from Mr. Half in piano and Ms. Simpson in choir the basics of music theory and honing my talents. In third grade, I joined the Jazz Band under Al Campbell’s leadership which is where I started picking out chords and creating ideas for my original music as I finished out in all three departments in fifth grade.
For middle school, I went to Meyerland Middle school which was formerly known as “Johnston Middle School” before our name change as I was graduating in my eighth-grade year. At Meyerland I was in piano and choir under piano teacher Ms. Grosscope’s leadership and for choir Ms. Conner. I started off trying to write poems in middle school but had so many ideas that they started to become more than just poems and instead turned into songs. I would sit during my piano class trying to come up with chords instead of practicing my scales (which I still did after figuring out chords) and started using the basic song structure to create a piece.
The earliest piece that I have written down is a piece called “Blackfire” which I wrote in seventh grade all because of me getting a bottom locker when in sixth grade I had a top locker. So I took all my frustration out in a healthy way by writing in an abstract way why whoever gave me a bottom locker basically should sleep with one eye open. I played it for my friends and they all loved it and thought it was cool and I started just taking whatever strong emotion I was feeling in a moment and writing about it. I pretty much started to establish my genre of Indie/Alt-Pop with influences of jazz and classical early on without knowing it. I then went on to write a couple of more pieces in middle school that I would later on rewrite or flush out to add a little more depth to it during high school.
I went to the “High School for Performing and Visual Arts” also known as HSPVA for high school and there I was a vocal major since you should only have one focus major there. I enjoyed my time tremendously at PVA and made lots of great friends who would go on to perform with me multiple times before my start in college. At PVA I learned many key skills for singing that would boost my ability even further and beyond what I could have ever imagined.
Of course, many of my friends helped me as well and especially on time when my friend once caught me in a somber mood a month after my flu-like illness back in 2018. I had made my way back to school. She was looking for a practice room and came into mine while I was crying because I didn’t want anyone to see, so she sat with me and I told her about my voice not being the same after being sick and she said that she went through a similar period of fear after she’d been sick and reassured me that I would bounce back better and I always think back on that moment whenever I feel unsure.
Taking those vocal skills I went on to perform a lot more and was getting better but still didn’t quite feel as though I was at a comfortable performance level yet.
Then 2020 came and just like everyone else my whole world got flipped upside down. I had had several shows lined up and were extremely excited. I was getting into the studio to start recording what I thought was going to be my first single and just many other amazing opportunities happening that were all shut down because of covid. It was hard at first and for the first couple of months, I was depressed and didn’t want to leave my room and would spend hours on the phone and playing on my Nintendo switch to try to forget about what was happening (or not happening) outside.
Then I had a sit down with my parents and just tried to figure everything out and my dad gave me the assignment to learn several songs and I did it and realized how much I missed making music and how just because the world stopped doesn’t mean I have to stop improving and writing. I then went into a frenzy writing new music, practicing my original music and even started watching youtube dance choreography tutorials through the rest of the year going into 2021.
In 2021 I started helping my dad record some of his songs and put together a band with friends from my school and an amazing drummer who I met I believe a year or two prior at a show who was also helping my dad with his new songs that he was recording.
And on May 1st after a full year after my last show, I performed an opening set for “Hot Whips” at High Volume Music Live where everyone had noticed the maturity in my stage presence and performing. Of course, I wanted more and pushed myself to do more for my next show. My next “show” was for my graduation dinner and there I still didn’t hold back even if it was just family and friends. I wanted to show everyone that I’m working hard to make everyone proud and that was my last show before I took the whole month of July to rehearsal with my newly formed band, “Mixed Events”.
We had our first and last show for a minute on August 7th 20201 where we performed a 2-hour set with a mix of different styles and music to show off a full range of instrument(s) mastery and performance mastery to make sure the night would be remembered for months to come. From american/k-pop-inspired group “K/DA” to an old classic may he rest in peace “Bill Withers” the night of August 7th had music for everyone and it was all music that I had already loved from childhood up to 2021. Of course, I performed my original music like my first official sing “Friends ends with Ends” and a song that I had debuted titled “Senioritis”. Everything that I had learned from all my teachers and mentors throughout all my years in school and performing throughout the city of Houston as well as New Orleans, Lousiana, and Dallas, Texas all collectively came together for a big blowout show and performance that I was extremely proud of.
Then a couple of weeks later I hopped on a plane to come to Massachusetts for college where I’ve been studying music technology and learning how to produce at a more professional level along with songwriting with loads of new music coming in the latter half of 2022 that I’m extremely excited about.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No true artist has ever had an extremely smooth road. Only quick hits and misses do. I dealt with doubt and unsureness in myself and sometimes focus too much on one thing and ignored my other duties, but of course, I worked it out and found my footing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a musician who creates Indie/Alt-Pop music with one of my most proud accomplishments is releasing my first single “Friends ends with Ends”. I believe my music and especially my personality set me apart from others. My writing is unique and quite different and my voice from what I’ve heard from countless people is nothing like they’ve heard before with a unique tone and quality to it.
Any big plans?
For future plans, I continue to work towards putting more music out and working towards becoming a fully established artist in the industry. I’m looking for to some things I have lined up for 2022 so be sure to stay tuned. I’ve also been getting a lot more into fashion and taking photos in order to add more to my resume as well.
Contact Info:
- Email: spmhtx1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prince_tchalla_official/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/princetchalla?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
- Other: https://linktr.ee/PrinceTChallaofficial
