Grammy-nominated singer SiR is one of the most talented artists in the world of R&B. A native of Inglewood, California, SiR grew up surrounded by music with his mother  Jackie Gouché, an acclaimed gospel musician who sang backup for Michael Jackson and Anita Baker, and his uncle Andrew Gouche, a noted bassist who played for Prince. He is the brother of Grammy-Award-winning rapper D Smoke and Davion Farris, who are also Grammy winners. 

Along with his siblings and cousin Tiffany Gouché, they formed WoodWorks, a songwriting collective that penned hits for Jaheim and The Pussycat Dolls.

A graduate of Los Angeles Film School, SiR worked as an engineer for Tyreese Gibson before co-writing songs for Stevie Wonder, Jill Scott, and Ginuwine and making a guest appearance on Anderson Paak's album “Venice.”

In 2015, he released his debut “Seven Sundays,” followed by “November” in 2018.

It’s been almost five years since his last album, “Chasing Summer,” garnered rave reviews,  was released. Since that time, he has undergone a personal transformation that he details in his forthcoming project titled “Heavy.”

Set to be released on Friday, March 22, the long-awaited album continues SiR's evolution as an artist and as a human being. The project seamlessly captures the highs and lows and the ups and downs of SiR’s journey, which he says reflects the human experience.

“The intro to the album explains it more, but “Heavy” describes the weight of the world on my shoulders and the pressure of being in the position I'm in. I know it's the same pressure that other people feel,” SiR explained. “Everybody is different, but everybody is the same.”

“We're all going through something, we all have ups and downs and we all sometimes get lost. This album is an example of that happening to me and how I overcame it. You can see that with the through line, we start in a very dark place, a very heavy place,” he continued. “And then towards the end of the album, you can see me working through some things and going into life.”

SiR’s vulnerability and honesty about overcoming addiction is the project's nucleus.  

“When I really look back in retrospect, I never had a choice in the matter. problem got me. This album helped me to realize how close and connected I am to God and how my gift is connected to my life. This was ordained, as we would say in church,” SiR said.                                                                                                                                                         

SiR’s last album, “Chasing Summer,” was released almost five years ago, which is unusual given the current music landscape, in which projects are dropped at a rapid speed.

When describing the album, SiR said the project is his version of Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed LP “Mr. Moral and the Big Steppers.”

“People are always curious about how long it takes TDE to drop projects and stuff. I think that everything happens at the right time. I always talked about how Top is very protective of people. He gave me an opportunity to heal and go through this and I think that transparency on Kendrick’s last project is what I'm comparing mine to. But sonically, I definitely feel like I did SIR's version of “Big Steppers.”

“When I first started, I was depressed, I was sick, going through addiction issues, and trying to work and write music through it all. I started to see this playlist of pain start to kind of develop. By the end of it, I had just a stack of music that didn't represent where I was anymore. So I had to work towards connecting the dots and, bringing it back to my new space. 

Coming to grips with his addiction was a strenuous process for SiR and his family. However, overcoming his struggles has allowed him to tap into another dimension of his creativity.

“It’s probably one of the hardest times in my life working through relationship issues that I had messed up,” SiR recalled. “Now that we're healthy and happy, it's just about us presenting the music properly to the fans. It's been five years, man.”

“No Evil,” the first single from the album, was produced by Taylor Hill and has been received, leaving his fans even more excited about the new LP.  SiR said that the track is “for the misunderstood.” Loris Russier directed the visual and pays homage to D'Angelo’s classic video “Untitled (How Does It Feel).”

“That visual was just an ode to D'Angelo. I wanted to present myself and all the changes that have been going on. But the connection between D'Angelo is more so about the respect that we wanted to pay him in the visual. “No Evil” is just a story of seeing people for who they are,” he explained. “I'm glad people like that song because it's left field for me. If you are a real SiR fan, you know that I like to step outside of my box. I don't have to do one thing. I'm very experimental with my sound. But people love the song and I'm just proud.”

When describing his sound and new approach to his art, SiR called it “Nostalgia Incarnate.” He expressed his excitement about sharing his musical journey and growth as a man with his new album.

“I'm just trying to make something that feels new but feels old, you know what I mean? Something that feels familiar,” he explained. “With this music in particular, I did a great job of pulling inward and pulling outward to make sure it hit home for me first. Then, I could share it with other people.

“With my music, the deeper I dig, the more my music resonates with other people. So, I'm proud of my work and I think that this is going to be a great year for us. We have a lot of stuff coming and the music is my best stuff for sure.”