This piece first appeared in our February 2021 Magazine.
While life has changed for many throughout the pandemic, one Blazer never lost sight of his goals within the music industry.
When Kaleidoscope featured Rubin Stinson last year, he was a student musician at UAB. Now, Stinson is a recent graduate of the university. In the past year, he has released new music, created music videos and has gained thousands of listeners.
Stinson’s recent song, “One Less Lonely Girl,” received over 56,000 streams on Spotify. Stinson said this was a special accomplishment, as it was the first song he produced himself.
“I engineered the song by myself,” Stinson said. “So it’s a pretty big accomplishment for me to make a professional sounding song like that and to get as many streams as it did.”
Like many other artists, Stinson said the pandemic changed 2020’s plans for his music career. That didn’t stop him though, Stinson said he had to find new ways to promote his music.
“I found myself spending a little less time making music and more time on the business side of things like marketing, and just putting my music out there in front of new people,” Stinson said. “COVID happened and I was just trying to figure out how I can increase my brand and increase my exposure on internet, because that’s kind of like the parallel to being out there in public just doing it on the internet.”
As for Kidd Rifft’s future, he said he hopes to release an EP this fall.
“The name is ‘Cozy’ and I cannot wait for people to hear the song,” Stinson said. “It’s such a such a good melody and message behind it. I think anybody who listens to it will love it for real. It’s a different sound, a great message.”
Stinson said he and musician Jarrett Anthony have released songs on SoundCloud. Stinson said the love song, “Keeper” will likely be released close to Valentine’s Day.
Jarrett Anthony said he enjoys working with Rubin because he’s a consistent musician.
“I think it’s important to mention that he just has a God given talent,” Anthony said. “He’s able to freestyle with ease all while being lyrical and including metaphors. This gift allows him to provide a quick and quality turnaround time when you need a verse or you are working on an entire project all together.”
“My older brother and my dad [are]good singers but they’ve only [performed]in choirs,” Stinson said. “They’ve never jumped off the ledge and tried to make their own song, so I figured I would be the one to try it out.”
Under the artist name, Kidd Rifft, Stinson said the first single he distributed on major platforms was inspired by spending quality time with someone you admire.
“This song is based [on the]idea of just riding with somebody in the car and enjoying their company,” Stinson said. [Because] I enjoy driving and playing music, I thought [I’d] share the emotion of that quality time with somebody and make it into a song.”
Along with making music, Stinson is number 58 on the football team, and said there is a similar discipline between singing and playing football.
“I’d say the main discipline is that with music, you have to be self-reliant,” Stinson said. “I have to be disciplined and just finish one song at a time. In a certain season I grind out, so I have enough to put out later on in the year.”
Stinson said throughout his time of making music, his close friends have encouraged him to accomplish his goals.
“I’m always singing when I’m in a good mood,” Stinson said. “Just rapping and putting things together and my friends were like, ‘Hey, you should try this out’.”
Stinson said between keeping a close group of friends and managing time, he has been able to accomplish his musical goals.
“My advice is to plan out what you want to accomplish,” Stinson said. “If you have a project that you want to put out, just organize your thoughts and your timetable for when you want to do things and just stick to [it]. It also really helps to have a team that has the same goal as you. I have a friend that I make a lot of songs with and he helps make sure I’m on track.”
For Stinson, that friend is Jarrett Anthony, a musician that has worked with Rubin throughout his time making music.
“When it comes to music alone, Rubin is very gifted,” Anthony said. “His rap style is different from what people predominantly tend to listen to today. He shoots for sharing a message rather than just throwing anything on a track and releasing it.”
Anthony said he admires Stinson’s passion because he puts in extensive effort to achieve the result.
“I think it’s important to mention that he just has a God given talent,” Anthony said. “He’s able to freestyle with ease all while being lyrical and including metaphors. This gift allows him to provide a quick and quality turnaround time when you need a verse or you are working on an entire project all together.”
Anthony said that beyond music, Stinson has a determined attitude that contributes to his success.
“Rubin knows what he wants and how he wants it done,” Anthony said. “This is nice because I know that when I work with him, the job will get done.”
