He and his friends drove from IU to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. One of his friends, a rapper, was talking about a project he was working on. Clardy said he made a bet with his friend that he was a better rapper, so they decided to make a mix tape together. That was when Clardy realized he could write music.
“You know how everyone has a dream?” Clardy said. “I always pictured myself on stage.”
Clardy, a member of IU’s Soul Revue, is pursuing a telecommunications major and a minor in music.
Directed by Tyron Cooper, Soul Revue is an audition-based performance class that also discusses black culture and music.
Clardy said he has been singing ever since he was a little kid, but he didn’t find his love for performance until he joined show choir his senior year of high school.
He didn’t start writing his own music until he got to college, Clardy said.
Everything he has written so far is rhythm and blues and love songs, but he said if he could get in front of people and just rap, that is what he would want to do. Clardy said he tries to write about material that is relevant in the media, and for his songs, he usually sticks to emotion.
“I’ve always been drawn to love songs, so all of my stuff is about love and affection,” Clardy said.
Clardy said he doesn’t want to force any of his music, so he draws his inspiration from personal experiences and personal emotions.
Clardy is the exact same person in real life as he is in his music, IU junior Mary Williams said.
Williams and Clardy are currently collaborating on music.
When it comes to writing music, Clardy said you can’t be afraid to be wrong.
“Putting your personal ideas out there is hard,” Clardy said. “You want people to like your music, but at the end of the day it shouldn’t matter.”
Clardy raps, sings and even writes folk songs, but he said he grew up listening to soul music and that is what he loves.
Clardy is one of the 11 vocalists who perform as part of Soul Revue.
Clardy said Soul Revue has several performances throughout the semester, and one of them is at the IU Dance Marathon from 11 to 11:30 p.m. Oct. 30. Being part of Soul Revue has been an amazing and valuable experience, Clardy said.
“I do music because I feel like everyone has something to say, they just have a different way of saying it,” Clardy said.
He said music is how he explains how he sees the world or how he sees it differently.
His dream is to tour and have a loyal fan base, Clardy said.
But most of all he just loves giving people energy, excitement and happiness.
Clardy said he is drawn to music because it is so universal — you can listen to a song in a completely different language but, if it’s done right, you can still feel it, he said. With music, he said you just get to evoke everything.
“Stay artsy,” he said. “I just think people need to stay artsy.”
