New York, NY (Top40 Charts) It's estimated that more than 560,000 people in the U.S. are homeless. According to a 2016 report from the
National Alliance to End Homelessness, more than half a million people were living on the streets, in cars, in homeless shelters, or in subsidized transitional housing last year.
Andre Footz was one of them. The hip-hop artist from La Marque,
Texas found himself in a desperate situation when it was discovered that a roommate he'd been living with hadn't been paying rent, and they were forced to evacuate. For a few months, Andre lived in an abandoned building with a friend, who was also homeless. The two began to refer to the building as "The Trap."
But hard work, perseverance and a couple of lucky breaks have helped Andre out of that situation, and today he's beginning to experience some early success with his music career. His most recent album is testament to the journey he's taken. Appropriately, it's entitled "Long Way from the Trap."
"It's a little different than your traditional album in that this is going to be totally a visual album," Andre said. "Instead of just putting out songs, we're going to be putting out an album of videos that taken all together will almost play like a movie. All of them together will tell a story. I'm trying to do something different because everybody drops albums and mixtapes, but I want to try to approach this industry a little different. The title of the album explains where I came from. My friend and I used to live in 'The Trap,' but now I have my own house and car and some success. I've come a long way from where I used to be."
As he looks back on those months in The Trap, he realizes that some of those moments were almost pre-ordained in that they gave him time to explore his music. He remembers that the building had some lights still working, which gave him the ability to work on writing songs late into the night. Over time he compiled a library of songs from which to choose from.
The first single off the upcoming album is called "Get To The Money." It's a single that he said is almost foreshadowing the success at the end of the road, but which is hard to envision when you're at the end of your rope.
"It's like me getting to the money through music," he said. "I'm talking about where I was before - being homeless - and where I am now and how I got there. It's more of a laid back song with a melodic trap type of sound. It has pianos and drums and gives you a little of the best of both worlds."
As an artist who not only writes his own songs but also makes his own beats, raps, sings and engineers everything, Andre said he stands out from others in that he has control of his unique sound from start-to-finish. That allows him to create the exact things he wants to create before sending it out to the world.
As for the message he wants to pass along to fans through his music, it's simple: Keep grinding, no matter the circumstances.
"It's never too late to do anything," he said. "If you want to do it, go head first. I don't care how old you are, or how tall or skinny or short or fat … just keep going. I've been at it for awhile and I've had a lot of setbacks, but it's never stopped me from making music. So just keep on pushing."
