Luna Byrd
Written by ColorBloc Magazine
A proud afro-latinx, born and raised in the heart of New York City and flavored with Dominican Haitian roots, I am Luna Byrd. Having spent most of my upbringing with my Dominican mother, my Saturday mornings were perfumed with the sounds of artists like Marc Anthony, Luis Vargas, Paquita La Del Barrio, Pedro Fernandez and Juan Luis Guera just to name a few. We lived in a one bedroom apartment with one TV, so I always ended up watching Univision along with my mother. I noticed very little representation as you can imagine. When I think of an artist that inspired me greatly growing up, I immediately think of Cuban singer Celia Cruz. I admired her bright smile, her full dark afro, and her glowing brown skin. She started off as a nightclub singer in Cuba but then made her way to the United States where she was named the “Queen of Salsa Music”. She created a path for herself during a period in time where features like hers weren’t necessarily celebrated. I remember watching her perform on TV, with bright eyes, shimmying my shoulders to the rhythm of her music, yelling out “ Azucar!” as loud as I could. Watching her dominate stages, stadiums, and shows made me realize that I could become a singer too. Before her I didn’t really know it was an option for me.
Aside from the other childhood aspirations of being a singing fireman princess president, (haha) I always envisioned myself sharing my story sonically with the world. My family migrated to the US to build a better future for all of us. There were many sacrifices made along the way, and many were not able to follow their dreams. It means the world to them that I’m now able to follow mine!
I began writing poetry as a way of navigating pain and loss which I otherwise had a hard time expressing. It became my only means of release. I would write and read aloud to anyone who would listen. I realized that my story echoed that of so many, and gave reassurance that none of us are truly alone. Eventually, and I guess, inevitably; my poetry transformed into song lyrics. Though, to be completely honest, in my opinion, they weren’t initially any good, I just really enjoyed being my authentic self and living out loud unapologetically via my lyrics. I still write that way to this day and I think that people want to hear that kind of honesty and frankness. I write for the people suffering physical, emotional or mental distress so that they feel heard, but also with a voice of encouragement. I want people to celebrate themselves when they listen to my music. I hope to continue to be bolder, louder, and always fearless.
Lie To Me’ is NYC songstress Luna Byrd’s second single of which she was inspired to write whilst in the midst of a toxic relationship. Luna speaks on the rollercoaster of emotions she felt whilst being in love with someone that she knew was no good for her. These conflicting emotions are displayed in the visuals for the single where Luna allows the viewer to take a closer look into her thoughts with you seeing and hearing the back and forth conversation she is having with herself.
Luna states “I wanted to write about that time because sometimes you aren’t the strong one, sometimes you have to learn how to be strong, and that experience made me stronger. I wanted to show the steps I had to take in order to get there because it isn’t always pretty. I hope this song resonates to people who are fighting for love, those that are currently happily in love, and those blinded by love”.