One of my favourite artists coming up this year, Toronto vocalist WILL recently teamed up with City Fidelia to release a brand new track titled “No Rain, No Flowers” (produced by Eardrumatics). This track comes to us following WILL’s monstrous video release for “Palisades” earlier this year. That song remains one of my favourite releases of 2017 so far.
“No Rain, No Flowers” is a collaboration that came about really organically between City and WILL. The two have been friends for years and WILL has often assisted City with backup vocals. The track was initially slated as a solo cut, but when WILL heard City’s part, she knew the track had to be a collaboration.
The song itself is about the breaking point in relationships when you’re faced with the decision to either leave or hit refresh. And regardless of which path you take, you’ll have to trek through the storm in order to get to the other side and see the rainbow. Listen to “No Rain, No Flowers” below, and check our Q&A with WILL.
You can follow Will and City on Twitter @keishawill_, @CityFidelia.
Q&A: WILL
HipHopCanada: Start off by telling me what this track means to you on a personal level.
WILL: I was trying to express the fact that whether it be a relationship, friendship or partnership, there’s only so much toleration an individual can handle. And if things seem to be going south you can choose to leave. But if it’s worth working on, there’s always a chance to “break down and rebuild again”.
HipHopCanada: I love simplicity of the “No Rain, No Flowers” message and that idea you need the storms and darkness in order to fully appreciate the beauty in things. And more specifically, you need to experience pain in order to become resilient. Talk to me about your own experience with that.
WILL: This song wasn’t specific to just one bad experience; more so a combination of them. I think a lot of the times people think they are alone with certain unfortunate experiences they go through. But you truly have to go through the storm in order to appreciate the beauty of the rainbow. I just wanted to be a voice for the people and have them understand they aren’t alone.
HipHopCanada: Tell me the story behind how the collaboration with City Fidelia came about for this, and what your guys’ work process was like for putting this together.
WILL: City and I have been friends for many years and I’ve always enjoyed doing backup vocals for him, so this collaborate was a long time coming. City said he had a song for me that he had already written most of. When I heard it, I loved it. We decided to hop into the studio one night and the whole thing came together in just a few hours. Originally, it was supposed to be a solo track, but when I heard his part and how well it fit with the song, I decided to keep it.
HipHopCanada: This stands out as a really interesting song to release in the summer so what prompted the release of this particular track at this particular time?
WILL: I don’t believe in time limits pertaining to when a song should be released. I believe in emotions and I also believe that human beings have a variety of emotions all year round. With that being said, it doesn’t matter if they vibe with it today, tomorrow or next year. If the song is related to how they feel, they will vibe with it any day of the week.
HipHopCanada: So true! Talk to me about the significance of your cover art.
WILL: It’s clear to the eye that the emojis symbolize the title of the song. But in a more deeper sense, the slight animation on the picture means I’m breaking free from who society and certain individuals think I am and coming into my own as a strong and very much capable woman. I’m smiling in the face of those who do not believe in my potential, hense why those tears are being shed in such a humourous, digital world manner.
Written by Sarah Jay for HipHopCanada