For most folks, childhood nicknames fall into one of two categories: Embarrassing details from the past, or proud titles they still answer to among close friends. But Lewis M. views his former moniker as a window to an alternate version of himself — a window he tosses wide open on his new album fka Reggie.
Stepping back into life as “Reggie” — a shortened version of Reginald, his middle name — the Boston artist unearths old mindsets and perspectives as avenues for self-exploration. The record (which arrived March 22) juxtaposes two versions of Lewis M., placing the modest, naive Reggie alongside his confident and musically adept older self.
“Lewis and Reggie existed at deeply opposite ends of the spectrum that is me,” Lewis M. shares on Bandcamp. “Reggie was meek, quiet, and humble. A child of the autism spectrum, he was mostly in his own head, imagining movies and tv shows starring him. He’d also imagine music. He would have entire albums in his own head. But he never put pen to paper. He never expressed any of the fireworks happening inside of him.”
With fka Reggie, Lewis M. grants that little boy with the wizened words to reflect on his surroundings, rapping about violence at school (“Casualties of 4th Period”), family grief (“Psychic Hotline”), and climbing upwards despite being “born at the bottom” (“Vision”). His recent time in therapy was essential to retreading — and reflecting on — each memory, he says. Featured Boston acts like Tim Hall, Brandie Blaze, and Haasan Barclay also help Lewis M. restructure fragments of his past, as he reconnects with Reggie’s reticence.
“What this project seeks to do is to peel back the layers of confidence and false bravado to find what all of that is covering up,” he elaborates to Vanyaland. “Why do so many folks (especially Black and Brown folks like myself) hide this quiet from those around us? A lot of this project is focused on that false bravado, and digging into the cracks that start to show over time. In short, I’m exploring childhood, nostalgia, identity, trauma, and how our ascent must include what we’ve left behind.”
Get to know Lewis M. via Reggie below.