Meet Bri Carter, the New York-based artist who has been making strides with her recent debut EP Me vs. Me, a therapeutic, raw infusion of pop, hip-hop and hyperpop. We caught up with Bri at the end of 2022 to talk the new single Too Much To Handle:

Too Much To Handle is great - we especially love the lyrics. Tell us about what was inspiring this song when you wrote it? 

Thank you so much! This song was inspired by me pursuing a music career. Last December I graduated from college and I felt so much pressure to choose between getting a 9-5 job in the field of my degree or following my heart and doing what I love. Music was something I always wanted to do, but I felt like being in school kind of held me back from being able to pursue it in the way that I wanted to. I was always busy with schoolwork, or just trying to have the “college experience.” So, when I graduated I felt like if I didn’t try to follow my dreams, I would never get the chance to ever again, and then I would live my life in regret. The lyric “Maybe I’m just too much to handle, I’m a forest fire when they wanted a candle” represents being an uncontrolled entity (a forest fire) when your whole life people have wanted you to remain a single flame - something that is easy to control and predictable. 

Where did you create it? Who did you work with on the track? 

I created “Too Much To Handle” in my little tiny bedroom studio. That’s pretty much where I’ve created all my songs - at my desk with my mic and a laptop. I worked on this track by myself, except for the beat which was created by a producer. I find that I work best on my music when I’m alone and can be free with my ideas, but I’m always sending my friend’s snippets to get their opinion! 

Tell us about your musical journey - when did you begin singing and writing etc? How did you get to this point on your journey? 

I dropped my first song on Soundcloud the summer before going into my freshman year of college (which wasn’t very good haha) but then I dropped a few more songs on Soundcloud here and there but nothing was consistent. When covid happened in 2020 and we were all in quarantine I had a lot more time on my hands so I was able to work on much more music and focus on it in a way that I wasn’t able to when I was in school. But I really started to take my music career seriously when I graduated college and was faced with the crossroads of whether to follow my head or my heart. And ever since putting the time, effort, and focus into my music career, I have grown in ways I could have never imagined and I’m so happy with how everything is going so far. 

You’re based in New York - how does it inspire you there? 

It’s tough because I don’t live in New York City. I'm about an hour and a half outside of the city so I don’t really get to experience it to the fullest extent. But whenever I do shows there it’s so much fun and to be surrounded by that energy is definitely super motivating. One of the most inspirational things to me is seeing bigger music venues like Radio City Music Hall and just imagining how it would feel like to sell out a show there one day and that really pushes me to be the best I can be. 

You have a very distinct sound that’s super coveted right now - which artists influence you? 

Thank you so much!! Lately I’ve been super inspired by hyperpop artists specifically Brakence and Ericadoa - they’re amazing. I’m also super inspired by alt-pop artists like Blackbear and Chase Atlantic, and of course JuiceWrld and the Kid Laroi give a big influence to my hip-hop side. 

Who would you love to work with on an album? Features, producers, engineers, directors etc. 

I would love to get something produced by Brakence, his production style is insane. His new album “Hypochondriac” is a masterpiece and I’ve never heard something that was so well and cohesively produced. I would also love to get on a song with him. A collaboration with 070 Shake would also be super cool. She's one of my favorite artists and I look up to her a lot since she’s a female in hip-hop. I’ve also been really loving Julia Wolf - she brings such an original vibe to pop music and I think working with her would be dope. 

We love following you on TikTok. Have you felt like social media has been an important part of your journey? 

Absolutely! TikTok has really been the foundation of building my music career. I’ve met so many supporters, friends, and fellow artists from it that without it I don’t even know where I would be or how I would be able to grow my audience. TikTok is literally the best promotion tool and I think anyone who is a creative that is trying to promote themselves should use TikTok because it is a free way to directly engage with real people and the pay off can be huge. So many people’s lives have changed from their video blowing up. I haven’t had my big break yet but before promoting my music on TikTok I had about 300 monthly listeners on Spotify, and yesterday I just hit 20,000 monthly listeners which is a huge milestone for me. :) 

We love your style - are there any brands or designers you love? 

Thank you!! I honestly don’t have any specific brands that I wear, I just kind of wear what I like and what I think looks good. I mostly wear black so I don’t really care what the brand is, if it's black and fits me well then I’m happy haha. I get a lot of my clothes from Pacsun and H&M though. 

What else, aside from music, do you love deeply? What are you passionate about? 

That’s a great question. I'm pretty boring besides my music haha. But I do enjoy art and making all the visuals for my songs. It’s cool to create something that’s entirely yours. I also really love my cat. 

What’s next? Can we expect an album? :) 

My next goal is to open for some bigger artists and hopefully go on tour with some of them! As for an album maybe at the end of 2023, but for now you can stream my 7 song EP “Me vs. Me” :) 

Listen to Bri Carter HERE.

@itsbricarter