London Beck doesn’t hesitate to share what’s on their mind.

The singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer sings about reclaiming their power and undergoing a personal transformation on Vengeance Be Mine.

“When I started to put together this album, this was a way for me to say … I’ve gotten to a place where if [something] is really bothering me, I’m not going to keep that secret because I’m protecting somebody else,” said Beck about their latest album, which features infectious elements of R&B, soul, house, dance, and hip-hop.

“Someone very close to me said, ‘You’re going to worry yourself to death and then you’re going to pass away. And the things that are happening that are grieving you will continue to happen whether you’re here or not. So why are we going to hold that in and keep that in?’”

Beck followed that advice after recently experiencing an illness, a vocal cord injury, and the death of their grandmother. They channeled those struggles into 17 bold tracks about identity, growth, and heartbreak on Vengeance Be Mine. 

“It was me putting things out on the table. I am a fiery spirit, but if I want to get a message across, I will put it in my music. The people, if they have heard the music, whoever those songs are for, they now know I am no longer keeping secrets,” said Beck, who hails from Ann Arbor and is a past fellow with the Amplify Project, a partnership between Grove Studios and Leon Speakers to support African-American creativity in Washtenaw County.

“I am no longer putting up with anything. I have been through a lot, and I have worked hard to get to where I am—not just as an artist, but as an individual. I don’t intend on going back because I have a good sense of who I am, and I have a good sense of my purpose.”

I recently spoke with Beck about the album and the inspiration behind it.

Q: You encountered some health issues while working on this album. How are you feeling now? 
A: In early December 2022, that was when [I] started to discover all of my health issues. I have completely rebounded and managed it. I do have an irregular heartbeat—and it’s caused by a stomach issue—so sometimes my heart beats more than it should. I would be in a work meeting, and all of a sudden it would feel like I was getting ready to faint. I couldn’t catch my breath all of a sudden and that was so scary. And that snowballed until I couldn’t record anymore.

Q: In 2024, you launched your music production company, Renivere Recording. What projects are you currently working on? 
A: I’m happy with how things went, being able to start this company. It wasn’t even a month in and I was able to get in with The Seven Series. Lorian [Janine] and I have been working together and making music. I put out music of my own [last] year. I found myself in these spaces and environments with all these things and these people to keep me inspired. I plan to announce my sponsorship program, and I will be doing that … [this] year. I’ve been able to fine-tune and tweak some of my processes and things with Renivere. When I start to work with even more artists, it’s important to me that not only do they get what they came to collaborate with me for, but also that the other aspects of that experience are flawless, smooth, and easy. It’s important to me to appear as a professional, whether it’s in the musical space, whether it’s in the entrepreneur space, or whether it’s in my day job as an analyst.

Q: Vengeance Be Mine explores reclaiming your power, yet being vulnerable with yourself and others. How did personal challenges inspire these themes on the album? 
A: It had been a long period of things happening. Because of the not-so-great things I had been through as a child, it is my first instinct not to be vocal. I am an open book, but I will say that there are people who are more forthcoming about the things that are bothering them and that is something I have to work on. I am in such a habit of just compartmentalizing it. I function well under pressure and you would never know I’m screaming … on the inside.

Q: “Justify” explores being true to yourself and moving forward after a relationship ends. How did writing this track help bring you closure? 
A: I had an experience earlier [last] year where I tried to give a personal relationship another chance … and sweep things under the bridge. And unfortunately, I was let down. I was raised with the concept that when you are part of a family, a family is part of this collective that will support, uplift, and love you, it’s not about loving people into your vision of how they should be. It’s about embracing their humanity in totality, and I wrote that song because we were taught this.

And there are some people who preach this to others, but they themselves are not able to practice it. I wanted to send this message: “Love isn’t supposed to hurt, but sometimes it has to hurt because we are all human. One of the things that we are supposed to be doing while we are here on this plane is we are supposed to learn, grow, and evolve.” Sometimes, when you are evolving, whether you mean to do it or not, whether it’s intentional or unintentional, you’re going to step on people’s toes. And there may be times when you have to be someone’s villain in their story. It is the way it is because we are all different and individual. And the magic is being able to balance your humanity and individual essence with someone else’s and being able to find synergy in the dissonance.

Q: “Justify” includes a feature by the Amplify Project’s Rod Wallace. What was it like to work with him on it? 
A: We had always talked about collaborating, and I think there was a brief moment where we had talked about doing something that was going to end up on The Black Satin Sessions. The one thing that I love about Amplify … once you become part of the ecosystem, and they get to know you as an individual, you get adopted. It’s incredible to have a network of like-minded, brilliant people at my disposal that I'm part of and get to interact with. Rod—with his own music—there’s a lot of wisdom, and when he releases music, you get that wisdom balanced with a lot of strength and grounded forces. I felt like I needed that energy in this track—it’s about not being grounded. It’s like having a roadmap, but you’re not following it.

I got to explain to him what I had been going through and what the track was about. Once I told him, he said, “I’m all in.” [After] I finished a rough demo to give him a good idea of where I wanted to take everything, I sent it over. He was able to knock out his verses and he sent them back. He told me I had free creative rein to rearrange some things, but I was so happy with the stems he sent back. Once I heard it in full and in contrast to everything else, it felt complete at that point. I am super grateful that he could carve out some time and lay down a verse or two for the song.

Q: “Be There Not” is about giving someone an ultimatum and then leaving a one-sided relationship. How does it serve as an important reminder for vocalizing your needs and setting boundaries? 
A: It was very cathartic, and it forced me to be honest with myself and realize that it was time for me to tighten up boundaries. After I wrote that song, it helped me let go of some things that weren't working in my best interest. It also helped me improve some things that I could hold onto. It was a turning point in my life because I thought: “I can’t keep allowing myself to be in these positions. It is not my fault that I am ending up in these positions, but it is up to me to figure out how to navigate them.”

It was me deciding to take a stand. I have a lot of things going. I just launched this company, I am getting back into music. I was able to move a little distance with my previous albums. If I can get back up, I can move even more. Some of my relationships ... they’re going well with my friends and my loved ones. I want to continue pouring into those, and I need to ensure I am doing my part.

The song is about making a decision. If I’m doing everything I can and the other parties are not, then ... you can only do so much to show them the potential that you see that they may not be able to see at that moment. If they want to be properly supported and not just enabled, that’s great. But if they’re not there yet, at some point, [I have to say], “I gotta leave you, I gotta let you go.”

Q: “Bounz” spotlights the importance of sharing taboo emotions, actions, and desires. What inspired this candid tale of sexual freedom and empowerment? 
A: I was scared about writing that song, and I’m sure some people would find that crazy because it’s not the first time I’ve written something like that. I just wanted to write something and be free. It’s about me and my own growth, and I wanted to destroy the invisible camera.

What does anybody else’s opinion matter at this point? It’s my life, my destiny, and whatever I want to do. It’s also very taboo—the things that I sing about in “Bounz”—especially as a queer person. Writing those types of songs has significantly [allowed me to] be comfortable with myself. I came out to my friends when I was 14 or 15, and I didn’t start to realize that I resonated with identifying as nonbinary until 2018 or 2019. The things that society has taught me, they don’t feel like me, they don’t feel like home. Being able to embrace my sexuality and talk about being sexually liberated. ... Those are the songs that have made me feel empowered and [helped me] gain a sense of self.

Q: “Red Dragon” examines your fiery spirit and ambitious nature. How did this track empower you and encourage you to channel your inner strength? 
A: A major shout-out to Dani Darling, it was [inspired by] one of our conversations. We keep in touch and text or call from time to time. I was telling her one day [about] some things that were going on in my life, and she said, “It’s great to be ambitious, but be wary of the red dragon.” The red dragon is symbolism for all of those things that you are pursuing within your ambition … and you try to have that inner dialogue with yourself and ask, “Do I actually want this because it’s a part of my path, or do I just want this to want this just because it feels like it’s never enough?”

I took that concept, but it’s also about channeling all the anger that I felt [from] the different things that were happening. I’m grateful to say that a lot of people consider me very humble. I don’t like to toot my own horn because it doesn’t always feel great to me, and I don’t want people to feel like I’m tooting my own horn too much. Another thing I’m learning right now is that sometimes you need to vouch for yourself, and you need to be able to vocalize who you are and what you’re capable of. Writing “Red Dragon” is me saying, “I know that I am talented, and I know that there are a lot of things that I can do that other people can’t do.” It’s allowing that voice of the red dragon to speak … but it’s definitely a reclamation anthem.

Q: “Four Horses” highlights finding relief and joy in a chaotic world. How did writing this track help you embrace those emotions during difficult times? 
A: “Four Horses” is also a call-out to my love for literature and the literary realm. I also love history. When I first started writing this [song] in 2017 and 2018, I wanted to pay homage to that. This is a song that’s evolved … but it sounds completely different [now]. When I came back to it in 2022, I was thinking about what I had written in the context of today. The album, in general, is not just about my personal experiences, but I wanted to capture what’s happening [now]. Nina Simone is one of my favorite musicians and biggest influences. In one of her interviews, she said, “An artist’s job is to reflect those times.” It’s to be a zeitgeist, and it’s not just about music, it’s anyone in a creative field. We are the storytellers of what is happening right now and we are capturing the good and the bad in real-time.

At some point, I rewrote it, and I was going to put it on ANGXL—my concept album about the seven deadly sins. It also speaks to my relationship with spirituality, light versus dark, and God versus the devil. I called it “Four Horses” because of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. There have been a lot of great things happening in current times, but as we see, there are also a lot of not-so-great things happening right now. There is war all around us, there are innocent people who have lost and continue to lose their lives outside of our borders. Of course, we’re very familiar with what’s happening within our borders. It’s becoming more televised and more of a spectacle, for lack of a better word. For “Four Horses,” I thought, “This is our reality, but we’re just gonna dance through the shitstorm.” We can’t be angry, sad, and depressed all of the time. We have to be able to find joy in the smallest of moments.

Q: You collaborated with Dani Darling, one of your Amplify Project peers, on “Four Horses.” How did she help you elevate that track sonically? 
A: Dani, being a psychedelic queen goddess, her previous project, The Future was incredible. I am so blessed that I could listen to that before anybody else. When it came out, I wore my car speakers out. I felt like this [track] would be the perfect vibe for her to come and be Dani.

Q: “20/25” examines the growth you experienced over five years. What was it like to reflect on that personal evolution for this track? 
A: I’m 28 now, and life is a lot different. I wanted to capture that feeling. While I was working on this project, I thought, “That’s the way it goes. You’re learning to be alive, and at 20, you’re so green to a lot of things.” There are so many things that have happened that I didn’t anticipate. When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to be an adult, and now when you ask me, that still reigns true. I always wanted to be in a position where I could make my own decisions and be in charge of my destiny. And if I fell, it was because of my doing and not because of someone telling me that something [was] my doing. I wanted to be free and autonomous in the big, vast world. Lots of things have happened, and even for the things that hurt and caused unimaginable pain, I wouldn’t change a thing because I think there has to be good and bad for you to get the best out of yourself. I’m learning to be grateful now that I’m getting a little bit older, and I’m starting to start my life.

Q: “Down to the River” explores finding refuge in different spaces and embracing your true self. How did this song become an unapologetic queer anthem for you and others? 
A: Growing up being queer, especially in a family where religion is … one of the main pillars, it has not been easy finding my space within that. I wanted to write that because I have come full circle. When I was younger, I thought, “Well, I don’t want to be a part of religion or spirituality.” All of the glimpses that I got, it was like, “You’re supposed to find refuge within God, but then why are people saying that God would set someone on fire?”

Now that I am much older, I have figured out how to reconnect with my spirituality, but I'm able to reconcile it and view it in a way where I say, “At least the God that I know does not persecute people.” I’m someone who believes that if you happen to be in love with someone who is the same sex, but you devote your entire life to other people and do it genuinely and earnestly and are committed to helping your community and uplifting other people, it is hard for me to believe that God would look at you and say: “You did all of these great things and you lived your life in a way that resonates with a lot of the things that I taught and said. But then there’s this one thing, and because of this one thing in contrast to the other, I can’t subscribe.”

“Down to the River” is about finding love outside of spaces where the love really should be, but it’s not. I say, “I go down to the river to pray cause the church doors only close.” I think the concept of a church is not just a building … but a church can be anywhere that you can make that connection. For me, music is my church. It’s not a tangible place, it’s a concept, it’s an ideal, it’s a feeling. When I am creating and making music … that is where I am most connected in terms of spirituality. I wanted to release a song for those people who are just trying to live their lives, and other people are trying to stand in their way of that, and all they want to do is find their church.

Q: For the album, you pulled from a pool of 50 songs and narrowed it down to 17 tracks. What inspired this prolific songwriting streak for you? How were you able to select the right songs for this release? 
A: I had a ton of material. Having to take time off from my vocal cord injury [in 2023] ... it was amazing how it opened up my mind. Not only did I create and write a lot of new things, but it also helped me breathe life into a lot of ideas that I had sat on as well. The collaboration I did with Dani [Darling], “Four Horses,” I had sat on that since 2017. It has gone through different evolutions, but I couldn’t have asked for a better final form for that song.

Some of them were written around the time of The Black Satin Sessions, [but] most of them were written within the past three years. I just kept creating and creating, and then I was able to pick from the pool. Overall, I [usually write] an entire project with that [throughline] in mind, so I don’t have to worry about picking [songs].

Q: How did the production for Vengeance Be Mine come together at Renivere Recording? 
A: Making the album was incredibly fun because I got to use a lot of new tools and experiment and see what I could create and how I could create. When I released Blinded by Hunger and when I had produced that—even though it wasn’t as polished—I felt like I was a lot more creative sonically. And by the time I got to The Black Satin Sessions, it was very A-B-A-B format—it was very cookie cutter. There wasn’t a ton of deviation sonically. Also coming from an instrumental background and my viola background, I thought, “I want my music to do more.” Being able to use those tools and change up the songs was so much fun.

Q: As a producer, what new insights did you gain while working on this album? 
A: I think part of the reason why I have released music more frequently in previous years is because it helped me stay fresh in my production and engineering techniques. But working on the album … in some ways, I had to relearn how to get back on the horse, so to speak. It was relearning how to balance different instruments and how to mix and master them. Production-wise, there’s a lot more that I realized I hadn’t been putting into practice. It was forcing me to dust off those skills, but if there were any new techniques that I learned, it was mixing and mastering and how to properly pan [things].

I listen to music all of the time, but I especially listen to music when I’m working on my own. In terms of mixing and mastering, I’ll put together a playlist of songs that identify key things I want to bring out with each track. I have been inspired by different types of music. Not only by being able to sing, but I can also play it and engineer it. Even as a person, it’s reflective of my personal journey, and a huge part of my artistry is if you can’t find your own lane, so to speak, make your own. I’ve learned that by making my own lane, especially in terms of the music, as long as I do that, I am able to make some very memorable pieces of art.

Q: What plans do you have for new material in 2025? 
A: This album that I just put out has meant so much to me, and I have plans to re-release it. And to add even more music on top of it—I know 17 [tracks] is already a lot—but I honestly couldn’t stop making music. I’m thinking about spring because there’s a lot of music that would be very big when it’s warmer and people can be out. I want to add some of the other ideas [since] I forced myself not to have enough time so that they would make the cut. 

Lori Stratton is a library technician, writer for Pulp, and writer and editor of strattonsetlist.com.