Artist spotlight: Meaux discusses mental health and inspiration

By DALEY JENNINGS

Staff Writer

Fredericksburg is home to many talented artists, one of them being Maurice Levi Nowlin Jr. He is known mostly by his stage name Meaux, which he uses on Spotify where you can find his 2018 album “The Taijitu Tapes, Vol. 1.” He also goes by the alias “thosenewyorkkids” on Instagram and Soundcloud, where his previous works are listed.

Meaux is a man of many philosophies, but the main thing he wants to communicate in his music is balance, which is why he has a mix of fun and upbeat songs on his album such as “Red” and “Gucci my shirt,” but doesn’t veer from tackling the harder aspects of his life with songs such as “Life” and “Dog sees God,” which is a song that chronicles his respect for God during a manic episode, where he believed that he was God.

“This happens to a lot of people that have become manic, they actually say that they are God, and I was having a difficult time coming to terms with that, when I wanna respect and give thanks to God, at the same time I think that I am God, and all this other stuff,” said Meaux. “When I wrote ‘Dog sees God,’ I wanted to make it so I gave respect to him as well, so that we both could share the song and speak on it.”

Mental health is never something that Meaux has tried to hide, his struggles with bipolar disorder and anxiety being a big part of his more heavy songs, as he hopes to send a message to his audience of finding the balance of embracing mental illness without letting it take hold of your life. He believes that mental health isn’t taboo.

“Mental health is something that should be talked about, so if I had a chance to, and I have had a chance at places I performed at, I would [talk about it], I wouldn’t do it all the time, but it’s not like, something I’m hiding,” said Meaux.

He looks at artists like Kanye West, who has also been public with his struggles with mental health and hopes to one day be able to handle it in the same vein as West, minus the Presidential controversy.

“If I become successful with my music, like Kanye, I would probably pursue trying to find out what would happen without my medicine again,” he said.
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He has an array of artists he looks to for inspiration, including the likes of the artists Raury, 24hrs and Trevor Hall.

“Raury, he’s awesome. There’s a singer right now, he goes backward with his message, but the way he can sing, I love it, and his name is 24hours, so I like that. There’s a guy named Lilgotit, he’s a new rapper, he’s pretty good,” said Meaux.

“Listen to Trevor Hall,” added Meaux. “He’s got it on lock, like he’s amazing. I don’t even know how to explain it. He let his music guide his journey. He could stop music today and still have the people that music blessed him with, and he’d be fine.”

His inspirations aren’t exclusively musical artists. He drew inspiration from the painter Keith Haring, who he saw a video of in an exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum of Modern Art.

“In that video, it’s not like he’s waving at the camera for all the people watching, he’s so enthralled with his work, and I was enthralled watching him. It inspired me so much to become an artist, just to see what he did,” said Meaux.

Along with his message of balance, he wants his music to inspire people to follow their artistic dreams as Haring did him.

“I just want to be so into what I’m doing, that it inspires people, to either do what they want to do, maybe bring a little of what I do,” he said

On Nov. 9 at the Katora Café on Caroline Street, he was joined by other Fredericksburg artists in a small show in the upstairs of the coffee shop. These artists included Dirty Dabs, Lil Jeuce, Notorious Prince and 2wogirlsonecup, with who he’s in a rap group called “The Tragic Collective.”

While the show was small and did have its technical difficulties, it really highlighted how Meaux’s efforts for the feeling of enthrallment came to fruition when he performed.  Much like other Fredericksburg shows, the room was full of friends and other artists, who were just as excited for each other’s sets as they were for their own. Meaux had the room jumping during songs such as “Red” and “Gucci My Shirt,” and almost in a trance when he was spitting his lines for “Life” and “Dog sees God.”

Meaux highlights that something special about the blossoming music scene in Fredericksburg, which is the passion in the artist behind it. With the energy he puts into his performance and music, it’s nearly impossible not to feel enthralled.