Meet Stu Fransman | Paradox: Rapper, poet, actor, short story writer, and comedian. Find me on Instagram at @Paradorapp

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stu Fransman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stu, why did you pursue a creative career?
Sometimes we choose what we pursue, sometimes we just have fun doing things that interest us and that turns into a pursuit. When I started writing poetry and music, it was an enjoyable experience. It was something to do to exercise my creativity and feel productive. When I started rapping, I hadn’t yet cultivated a voice that felt uniquely mine, I was consciously looking for rhymes and letting whatever happens to rhyme lead me. As I improved, writing rhymes became more than a hobby, it became a passion. Something I would do in class in high school, only to rush home to immediately write more and practice rapping what I wrote over and over. It was meditative. Often times when people are fully focused, they call it being “in the zone”. I am fortunate enough to live in that zone for years and be able to maintain it through motivation, discipline and consistently challenging myself with new ideas and ways to express myself through hip-hop.
Writing and music has been a transcendent part of my life, slowly growing from an interest, to a hobby, to a passion to part of my identity. If we truly are what we do, like batman says, then I am a writer, poet, rapper and performer. I can’t emphasize enough the importance finding something in life to be passionate about. We all have needs; safety, food, shelter, love, but passion is that spark that gives life that extra flavor. It allowed me to become someone I am proud to be, the feeling I get when people tell me my music helped them or meant something to them is the essence of artistic fulfillment. I rap because it’s who I am, I didn’t choose to pursue this career. I chose to become the best version of myself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When making a song I’m never aiming for a hit song or trying to appeal to a different kind of listener. I get an idea for a song stuck in my head, a song that doesn’t exist, and the only way to hear the song is to bring it into existence. Sometimes when I make a song, it sounds like how I planned, sometimes it sounds vastly different. When that’s the case I have to accept the version that’s created doesn’t match the original vision, which is okay. I’ve learned to let songs be what they need to be, instead of what I want them to be. It’s hard as an artist to let go of a song and call it finished but there’s a certain feeling that says “its time”. When I have that feeling, I know it’s time to move on to the next song.
Performing is a completely different animal; it takes endurance, breath control, microphone technique, choreography, and crowd engagement. It’s the next step after the beat selection, writing, recording, mixing and mastering. Once I have a song fully memorized, which means listening to it dozens of times and singing along with it, I rap it without the vocals only to the beat. I’ll rehearse specific movements at certain parts of the song, but keep it fairly loose. I try to vary the movements up performance to performance while maintaining similar choreography that the audience has historically responded well too. Each time I perform and move in a way that enhances the performance, I take note of it and incorporate it into future shows.
When an audience is fully engaged, their eyes light up, sometimes they’re dancing or waving their arms, other times they are jumping up and down, screaming or singing along, sometimes they are just silently looking up at the stage reminiscent of a storyteller telling faraway tales to their tribe. When this happens, the nervousness gives way to this adrenaline rush that feels like going slowly up a roller-coaster and when I start rapping the roller-coaster drops and speed away. It’s as exhilarating as it is validating. When I perform a song that’s meaningful, there’s a level of vulnerability. I’m alone on stage, feeling the heat of the bright lights on my face, blocking out much of my view of the audience who can see me perfectly. I tell the audience who I am, what I’m about to do and then it’s time to go to work. My role on that stage is entertain and make the audience feel something, it doesn’t have to be a positive emotion but it has to be a compelling one. The crowd always starts off like a first date, they need a little time to get to know me, even if they already do, each performance I start from zero and need to earn the audiences respect. When the audience enjoys the song, when the performance is well rehearsed and I’m fully committed, the audience feels it. It feels like being a wizard casting a spell, when all the words are said in the right order, with the right movements and the right power behind it, there’s an energy that takes over, where everyone feels connected by the music. They may be feeling different things, but they are feeling something created by the same source. It feels like magic. Showing emotional and artistic vulnerability to a large group of people despite the nervousness, then being rewarded with that audience smiling, jumping up and down, and singing along is beautiful. It’s the type of connection that only exists in performance between the performer and the audience.
I never knew finding this connection would simultaneously provide me with artistic fulfillment and a community with other very talented performers. Boston has some of the most clever, supportive and incredible artists I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. My friend Greatness ASF occasionally refers the weekly open mic he hosts as the “Church for Creative’s”. I always liked that, the idea this is the creative space where all the singers, rappers, comedians, magicians, storytellers, poets go to share their creativity, and see the others creative work. This is a community built on open mindedness, mutual support, and respect for the artists and artistic process. It is a wonderful community to exist and I’m blessed to be a part of it. Sometimes we don’t know we need something until we experience having it. It’s similar to not knowing you’re hungry until you have a bite of food.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Jungle Community Music Club, Midway Cafe, Middle East Club, MFA, Red Sox Game, Celtics Game, Patriots Game, a walk down Newbury St, Boston Commons, Harvard Square

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The following are people who have provided me much appreciated opportunities:
Greatness ASF, Bars over Bars, Hustle Killers, The Jungle Community Music Club. Z the Stranger, Nico Hustle, DJ Hero, Rugged N Raw, Roslindale Porch Fest

creative collaborators, friends, family and people who inspire me.
Burn Herm, Soft Drink C, Magnifa$ant, Ley, Jack Crosby, Shinnozuke, Jay Tragedy, Kold Kwan, Yamainregret, Hazel Allik, Shay Rosa, DJ Wolfbane, J-Rem, Cryptic Wisdom, BlackJack Michael Weiffenbach, Paul Shuster, A-C, Elliot Blueberry, Philosophical G, Kev Semedi, Pranah, Vik Vendetta, Andy, Dee, Jeremy, Rebecca

Instagram: @paradoxrapp

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@paradoxrap6574