Bigger the album is a reflection of what’s happening in the world. The album is a call to unite. And as important as I think it is that we all need to Say Something, Rise Up, and to Learn to Fight, I don’t think we will get very far Without Love and unity. So, in addition to speaking up and having our voices heard, I think we also need to continue to listen and learn. We were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. That is why my bravery is silent.
We are all looking for more hope in our lives especially as the pandemic continues. It really feels like a grind every day and that we are all fighting our own personal battles. It's my hope that this album unites, helps and inspires people to think and dream big and to manifest their dreams to reality.
Say Something: 'Say Something' was the first song written on the Bigger album and I always knew I wanted to open the album with this song. I love the complexity of this song. At the surface the message is simple. Speak up and 'Say Something' regardless of whether you are right or wrong. However, it is actually much more complicated and there is a 'Bigger' message. To me it's actually suggesting to listen carefully and speak wisely and find some common and middle ground. "
I know we all have our problems, it's going to take more than words just to solve em, I am trying to find a common ground with ya, from the jump I been down with ya." At the heart of this song, it's a call for unity. And in order to unite, it all starts with the golden rule which is treat people how you want to be treated.
Bigger: Bigger is the title track from the album. The song is about seeing things in a bigger way, having a bigger vision, and giving your all in seeing your vision through to fruition. To me, ‘Bigger’ is a consciousness of living a more fulfilled life. It’s not about having more possessions or bigger toys, but it’s about feeling more fulfilled by what we do have. The title felt appropriate for this album, in that I think we all might feel a little more urgency in our lives to the live them to fullest since the pandemic hit. I think we all had to do a deeper dive internally and see if we were living the way we wanted to.
Having a life altering sports injury for most of my life, I had learned early on that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. I learned to go chase my dreams and to think and dream big at a young age, but not everyone thinks this way. As the first line says, “Can’t go big if you are thinking small”.
Spark Up the Fire: I knew I wanted a reggae inspired track on the record. My previous reggae cuts “To Give (feat Matisyahu)” and “Drunk off the Sun” are not only a couple of my own favorite tracks but fan favorites as well. When I first heard the beat that Russell & Sanjoy were working on for this song, I believe the first thing I said was "this song is fire!". I think that was the spark we needed, as the song came together very quickly and organically when Mitchell and I wrote the lyrics. It just felt really good, like a summer anthem, and hot!”
Rise Up: With the world being affected by the Corona Virus, I pushed to release this song early. It felt like people really needed something positive to hold onto when the pandemic first hit. I love the positive message in this one. It has a little bit of that 'its always darkest before the dawn' vibe to it on the verses and the chorus just feels so uplifting and unifying. It felt timely to release that song early and share its message with the world when we needed it most. We need to turn fear into faith and faith into resiliency and ‘Rise Up’ and overcome this pandemic!
The Reason: “I’m one of those people that believes that everything happens for a reason. I believe in energy and karma and love. Those topics can be a little difficult to tackle in terms of a pop song but I was really happy with the overall outcome of this song and how they all combine here. Lyrically I think Trevor and I were able to combine all those elements in a way that felt very natural and organic.
And I was very impressed how Russell and Sanjoy were able to do the same, especially combining the EDM element into the song. It's one of those things where it just felt like everything flowed organically and simultaneously felt like it was pushing boundaries at the same time. It definitely felt like it was all happening for a reason!”
Run This City: This one has a bit of that Benny Blanco Halsy East Side Vibe to me. It's a song about growing up, making mistakes and learning from them, and having your friends to lean on when things are going tough.
Learn To Fight: This is a song about empowerment and fighting for the things that you believe in. Fight is not meant literally. It's about being mentally tough and learning to pick and choose your battles. Its knowing that good things often don't come easily and putting in the time and energy for the things you want in life is the best way to manifest them.
Kiss Your Mouth: "This song could be the dark horse song of the new 'Bigger' album. When recording it with my team, Russell Ali said he thought this would be the song to break My Silent Bravery into the mainstream. The song has a pop accessibility to it. This song feels like the male version of a Taylor Swift romance song, and I mean that in a good way. I'm not afraid to wear my heart on my sleeve. Who doesn't like a happy ending with a big, long-awaited kiss?!"
Break Me Down: With this song, I wanted to do a modern day Rocky, Eye of the Tiger type of song. I like the vibe and the anthemic nature of the song and chorus. The hook feels very relatable to me too. I think we all often feel that we have so much coming at us every day in terms of challenges, and they can feel very overwhelming at times. The Bigger picture of the song and album is idea of rising to the occasion in our own personal battles, recognizing we might lose some small battles but we won't lose the war.
Without Love: This is one of the realest and rawest songs I have ever written. It was a little risky releasing the song as a single as the lyrics in the song are a little on the heavier side. However, people have really related to them and embraced its message. The song is about questioning relationships without love. Many relationships today are built on the superficial like looks and immediate gratification, which has led many to give up on fulfilling relationships.