For LovelyOcean, a full-time focus on music will pay dividends for years to come.

The Los Angeles hip-hop singer-songwriter relishes the freedom and gratification of pursuing her emerging creative endeavors on “No Down Payment,” now available on all streaming platforms.

“I like to think of ‘No Down Payment’ as a form of background motivation. It’s like, ‘Yeah, this music isn’t paying any of the bills yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t someday.’ I think it’s important that we continue to work on things we love as to not get worn down by work, life and other bullshit,” said LovelyOcean.

“Up until this point, I had been working in the social work field, and it was killing my spirit. But it served as the biggest motivation to work on music so I could get out. I quit my job back in March, and I’ve never felt better.”

LovelyOcean celebrates her “No Down Payment” independence as shiny, cyclical synths, jumpy bass and gentle percussion smoothly glide alongside hypnotic, ‘90s-esque beats.

She reflects, “Just trying to break the mold/They warned me as a youth/Back when I played with dough/Things come natural/Need it off top/The world is gonna feel my flow/No static/We live from the radio/Tryna make it through/Ima shine like I was radial/And have a packed house/Up at SoFi Stadium.”

“Somedays I’m like, ‘Damn, I really wish this shit would pay off soon.’ It can be really discouraging to put your all into music, but no one is really fucking with it. I don’t like to have to ask people I’m close with if they’ve listened to the song. I don’t like begging for support,” LovelyOcean said.

“I’ve been using this time to recover and refocus so I can work on an album, but at this moment my songwriting waterfall is kinda dry. I’m glad I don’t feel stressed by work anymore, but I do feel more pressure to be artistic.”

LovelyOcean started co-writing her creative autonomy anthem with Chuck Chill in January. They recorded the track together in their magical closet studio and watched it quickly flourish over several days.

“It took about two days for the song to be written and probably two days to record it. I’ll spend one day recording it so I can get comfortable with it, and then I’ll record it another day so I can really solidify the vibes. Chuck Chill came up with the concept for the song and the majority of the lyrics,” she said.

“This is the first time I have ever let someone else take over the writing, but I knew he would do the song justice because he’s an excellent artist. Chuck Chill and I have collaborated on multiple tracks so far. He was featured on ‘Theta Waves’ on my last EP, and I’ve been featured on a few of his mixtapes.”

Forever to Future

“No Down Payment” serves as LovelyOcean’s first new material since dropping her vintage-inspired debut album, LovelyOcean Forever, last August. The eight-track reflective project functions as a modern underground mixtape to inspire emerging and established hip-hop artists looking for a new musical shoreline.

LovelyOcean discovered her musical vessel while growing up in Monrovia, California and listening to her father’s expansive vinyl collection. Led Zeppelin, Lil’ Kim, The Fugees and a smattering of Death Row artists captivated her as she developed an interest in the guitar and started penning poetry as an accidental precursor to songwriting.

With a penchant for writing rhyme and verse, LovelyOcean started taking singing lessons in 2017 and purchased her first audio recording set on eBay. A year later, she recorded her first mixtape, Her Way, in her bedroom and adopted her husband’s former Instagram handle, lovelyoceanwaters, as her artist moniker.

In 2019, she dropped another mixtape, Universal Energy, which sought inspiration from “Star Trek” and intergalactic life. The two-track release features the buzzy, space-age anthem, “Fly Introvert,” and the jazzy aspirational ode to LA life on “The Hills.”

After releasing two mixtapes, a debut album and her latest single, LovelyOcean plans to ride her creative wave throughout 2021. She will make a guest appearance on Chuck Chill’s upcoming new album, My Friends Are Too Famous, and release a new video for “No Down Payment” later this month.

“I really want to produce and release an album this year. I’m still learning how to produce so I’m not exactly sure about the direction I want to go in. I already have the title and the album artwork done for it; I just need everything else,” LovelyOcean said.

“As for releasing singles, I might release one or two when the album is done, but part of me just wants to release the whole thing at once because I want this album to truly be an experience.”