Being true to yourself and staying authentic to who you are is not always easy. It takes some life lessons for many of us to find who we are and learn to be okay with being vulnerable. What might be hard for some is as easy as pie with Stringz EMB, AKA Gregory Bowdry. Stringz EMB has an authenticity and vulnerability about how he performs and the way he produces his songs. That’s what’s been drawing in audiences all over the country, putting him in a league of his own. The new single “Perfect” is the seamless combination of vulnerable and meaningful messages but with the same classic soulful sound and feel we all know and love.
“Perfect” is a musical masterpiece of fast words and soulful music to back those vocals up. The St. Louis native father of two opens up his heart, sharing everything going on in 2020, from the ongoing pandemic to the perception of “perfect” people see when they look at him, not seeing that he has all the same challenges and obstacles just like the rest of us. The soulful music coincides perfectly with the important, possibly frustrated message Stringz EMB is trying to get across. He opens up about depression and anger and having a complicated relationship with his brother. The lyrics remind listeners always to stay humble no matter how successful they might become, and have the same feeling of comfort of confiding in a close friend and getting the weight off your chest.
Shot and edited during quarantine, StringZ takes a different approach for the “Perfect” video: instead of being shot in front of a green screen, this video is entirely animated, something that’s been a goal for StringZ EMB ever since his musical career began. He connected with video producer Recokh on Instagram, and this dope visual was created. The clip starts with a cartoon version of StringZ staring out his window and watching the news as they report on the pandemic. Throughout the clip, we see Stringz talking face-to-face with a featureless person wrapped in a glowing blue hue; come to find out he’s been talking to another version of himself the entire time. The clip ends with the animated version of his wife, son, and daughter, the kids climbing onto their dad as he tries to get work done, and the whole family trying to take a picture with their goofy dog. If there’s one thing we’ve gained from quarantine, it’s more time with our immediate family.
