“Eric Heron is a 25-year-old hip-hop artist. Born in Miami, raised in Texas and came to the Christian faith a couple of years ago.”

“I remember listening to hip-hop, Three 6 Mafia and stuff when I was like four or five years old.” Eric Heron said that hip-hop has always been a part of his life. He wrote his first raps in high school but didn’t take it seriously until he got to college.

“I figured out that I really liked making music and wasn’t actually bad at it. I started producing songs in my dorm room.”

Last month he released his second full-length album, called Neon: A Somewhat Adamant Sequel. “Since the very first mixtape I ever released, I have [had] this light-based theme.” He hopes that listeners will see how he has grown as an artist and a person since its prequel, Afterglow: A Somewhat Complicated Story, came out in 2017. “I think you’ll find a lot of connections between the two albums.”

“I think the whole thing is about being somewhat adamant. There’s a lot of beliefs and feelings and life experiences that… I believe strongly.” 

On the flip side, Heron also talks about how he deals with doubt and struggles. “It’s somewhat adamant because it is and it isn’t.”

During Neon’s writing process, he often found himself writing down lines that came into his head. “Then there will be times when I hear a beat and I’m like, ‘Wow, I’ve gotta write to this’ and I’ll write an entire song.” The album was recorded in its entirety during a 2-day period in December with producer Ryan Vetter, known for his work with Kings Dream Entertainment artists.

The album cover was designed by Kevin Hackett, who also made the cover for Afterglow. “We said ‘It would be really cool to have a neon light,’ so he ended up making that look amazing.”

Neon begins with “Take It Over / A Somewhat Adamant Intro” featuring Vic Sage. Heron considers himself somewhat of a philosopher.

“Our philosophy is reaching people positively through the music, but also, we are very confident in ourselves.”

All “25 years of” his life went into “All I Know.” “I’ve been a believer who has been very goody-two-shoes. I’ve been a nonbeliever who has been drunk in bars and smoking. I’ve been even a believer who has done those things.” He wants listeners to understand that though he tries to live a virtuous, holy life, he remains a sinner who stumbles and is far from perfect, but always seeks to come back to God.

The album continues with “Die Down” featuring Jude and Caleb Cruise. Producer Jude shared the track with him, which already had Cruise’s hook and Heron knew he had to have it. “This is amazing… I started singing on the verses.” In the song, Heron spoke about personal experiences but said “I think its more about the vibe of the whole track. It’s the first track we did that has a house-trap kind of feel.”

“Vegeta” is inspired by the anime show Dragonball Z, named after one of its characters. “The main race of aliens in that show are called Saiyans, and their power is that they can level up exponentially, that was the idea.” Heron wants to continually grow and “level up” in his life, faith, and his music, saying that this song and the whole Neon album is an improvement from his past projects.

The next song, “Halcyon / A Somewhat Adamant Interlude” features Dillon Chase. “That’s dude’s amazing. He was a big bro for me the whole time I [lived] in Oklahoma.” Halcyon is the name of a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, where Heron currently lives and where he and OnBeatMusic first collaborated.

This post Eric Heron Gives Us An Inside Look at His New Album was seen first on Jam the Hype.