TheIssa

Early musical training

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, TheIssa began playing violin at about six years old. He trained with the Suzuki books through approximately Book 6, then moved into trumpet in grade-school and high-school band.

He credits his band instructors with helping inspire his interest in production and making his own soundtracks. Before he began recording his own songs, playing music was already part of his life.

2013–2016: beginning to record

Around 2013, TheIssa got his first laptop for college and began making songs in his free time. In 2015, encouragement from a group of friends helped him take the work more seriously. He bought his first microphone, a Shure SM7B, that year and has described recording steadily ever since.

During these first years, he worked on “Otherside” around June 2015 and “Diamonds” around August 2016.

2018–2022: building the music

Between roughly 2018 and 2020, TheIssa worked on projects including “Forest,” “Demons Aren’t Around,” “Work Mode” and “Justice.” Around late 2018, he was also working on “REeinvet yourself this year 2018,” followed by “Jewlery ALl on Me” around early 2019.

His work around 2019 included “Eye of the Storm,” “Roots” and “Breeds of Nature.” “Odyseey” was another project from the broader 2018–2021 period.

Around spring 2020, he worked on “Hardly Noticing.” That year’s projects also included “Damages” and “Slow Jams.” By late 2020, his setup included a MacBook Pro running FL Studio alongside a hardware controller.

Across late 2020 and early 2021, he worked on “Uncovering Myself,” with “Your Desire” and “Rocket Ship” following around spring 2021. “Focusing on Us” was part of his work around 2021–2022.

In March 2022, TheIssa was recording at home and sharing “Exiting Abyss” while it was still taking shape, as he considered the next steps for his songs.

Keeping the music moving also meant dealing with equipment setbacks. In August 2022, he wanted to add more parts to records he had produced, but needed to repair his mixing board and laptop before he could continue recording.

The songs and the world around them

Personal experience runs through TheIssa’s songwriting. For “Inside My Skin,” he developed the idea of a song about lessons learned from women in his life. While developing “Black Sheep,” he looked to the introduction of a DMX album as a reference and worked on ideas for a second verse.

Looking back in June 2024, he described “Uncovering Myself” in terms of self-rediscovery and triumph. It is part of a body of work that connects his music with personal storytelling.

He brought together songs including “MoneyFame,” “Fine Again,” “Roots,” “Indian Curry,” “Rocket Ship” and “Breeds of Nature” in a collection he called “TheIssa best sessions.” Alongside “Indian Curry,” he also worked on “6Retroacte” and “17. RnB_2,” which he included in that collection.

TheIssa’s catalog includes Decentralized, Sleeping Dragon II: Fledging Phoenix and Enter The Empire. Music leads his wider creative world, with fantasy influences, portraits, fashion and art woven into how he tells his story.

Character Development brings that story together through songs and portraits across chapters set from 2016 to 2027. “The Battle Has Been Won” accompanies the 2025 chapter. The 2026 selection remains unreleased, while the final chapter looks ahead as a pledge for the future.