Pluto Is Cashing in On a Broken Heart

After speaking to Pluto for an hour, I walked away feeling like I had just watched a Nietzche-inspired ending of 500 Days of Summer. For Pluto, the ultimate purpose of his music is just that; to start conversations about love and loss that people can relate to. When it comes to love, Pluto, like most of us, has no idea how to handle it. After hearing his tales of losing battles in the game of hearts and the eroding hope of “finding true love the first time,” an almost sombre connection is forged between Pluto and the listener, a connection he hopes to utilize to be the next big act in R&B.

As a youth in Scarborough, Pluto grew up with a natural affinity for soccer and music, playing as a striker for various clubs across the city while drawing musical inspiration from the likes of Queen and Frank Ocean. Eventually, he would get involved with a local after school program that came equipped with a recording studio that allowed him to start making his own music. Through a friend in the program he would meet producer and future partner- in- crime, Kaz Matic. According to Pluto, their musical chemistry was instant, although at the time soccer was his main focus. “I feel when you do something, you’ve got to truly focus on that one thing, and soccer was it for a time,” he says. “I wasn’t always serious about music because I didn’t know that kind of life was available for me …but eventually, [me and Kaz] reconnected.” Together, the pair started working in the studio, coming up with ideas for future songs and concepts. However, it was a broken heart that would give birth to Pluto’s debut in the form of the EP, Jessica. Inspired by the break-up of his first love, Pluto’s spry falsetto recounts each emotional stage through Kaz’s versatile production, with lyrics that favour honest vulnerability instead of the circle jerk of apathy that’s become a staple in current R&B. Aside from bad romances we caught up with Pluto to talk about whether music needs emotion, his admiration for Tyler the Creator and Michael Jackson, and keeping music “real.”

Noisey: Tell me about the person you were before Pluto.
Pluto: The person before Pluto was…incredibly shy. I was a really shy kid, but also with very few friends because I didn’t want a lot of friends. I like having a real connection with people. I loved a lot, I love women, but I didn’t go through a lot of different girls, I just had Jessica, and I kept my life pretty small.

Going into that, the Jessica EP has a very clear narrative that represents your mind state during and after your relationship with her. Did you write it with that concept in mind or did it happen organically?
It’s like reading a book; you got different chapters and every chapter is different. So, in 2013, I was basically alone and I went through different chapters of how I felt about the relationship, and I expressed that [on the EP]. I just wanted to write about letting her go because you know how you go through denial, acceptance and anger when you lose something? Those are basically all the stages I went through [over Jessica] so it’s like everybody can relate to it.

Why is it so important for your music to be relatable?
I can make songs about clubs, bottles, women, but that shit gets old. The reason why I love Michael Jackson to this day is because he made meaningful music. When he started singing about the world, people appreciated it for what it was because they could relate and they realized they’re part of the same world that he [was singing about]. I want people to actually know what I’m talking about and actually experience it. Instead of someone saying “Yo, that track was dope” and two months later ask where’s the next banger, I want people to have a conversation about my songs. Although I’m an artist, I’m still a listener and I like music that means something because music is art, it’s not just something to toy around with. Why do I care how much money someone like, Drake makes? I don’t. I care about how he feels in a relationship because I can relate to that and that’s when music gets real.

What was the most painful song for you to write?
“Breathe,” was the hardest one because it represents the stage of letting someone go that meant so much to you. It’s like owning a lion that’s grows to be too aggressive and you have to release it into the wild but you still love it. It was very painful writing that song and it took me a bit of time to finish. When I was writing it there were times where I was like, “I’m not over it, I’m just fooling myself” and I’d have to stop because it would be hard to continue. It’s hard letting something go.

Are there ever song ideas that you come up with that you think might be too much to put in a song?
Sometimes, I wish I could say whatever the fuck I want, but I mean I also got to keep it PG-13. I think some of the best things come from some of the most vulgar places. Like Tyler the Creator, people think he’s talking bullshit but if you really listen he’s deep as hell and he just gives you the twisted side that I want to start putting in my music. Love isn’t always about I miss you; I want you, this and that. Sometimes, it’s “you know what I’m angry at you and I want to fucking tear your head off” that’s real emotion. There’s a twisted side to love that no one sings about and that’s what I appreciate about [people like] Tyler and it’s something I want to try, but I have to hold off on that because of the kind of artist I am right now.

Do you still feel you’re putting your 100% into your current relationship or any relationships since then?
You know what [at this current point]? No. Me and my girlfriend right now are on a break because as I said I don’t know how to love the same. It’s difficult to put yourself in [that situation] again.

In a vulnerable position?
Exactly. I don’t try as hard you know what I mean? I didn’t try as hard as I did before. I don’t remember things, I just don’t do good, but I’m working at it.

Do you think there’s strength in vulnerability?
Me and a friend were talking about that same concept in terms of how someone like Drake put his emotions out in his songs for anyone to critique but if you think about it, it takes a certain level of mental strength to expose yourself to the public the way he does. I remember when the relationship ended with Jessica and she said, “love yourself” and then hearing Drake drop a similar line on one of his songs saying, “know yourself” and it reminded me of what she said. When you’re in a relationship you really do need to know yourself because there is strength in vulnerability. If you know and recognize you’re a vulnerable person you can save yourself from getting heartbroken a million times. Being emotional and in touch with your feelings, it’s not about being a bitch it’s just knowing who you are. You don’t have to be a hard ass everyday of your life. I mean why would I try my whole life to get to know the person you are and not know who I am?

Do you think there’s a point where you can give too much of yourself where it can come off as being insincere?
If you’re being true to yourself and put your all into it that’s all that matters in your music there’s nothing fake about it. I mean it’s the fans music too but it’s also yours.

So, do you think music needs emotion or do emotions need music?
Your emotions need music but-– holy shit that’s the best question anyone has asked me. Shoot, I’d say both, but just to give you an answer I think music needs emotion nowadays. The shit that sells is the shit that doesn’t mean shit and there’s a lot of shit. Music just allows you to express yourself in ways that you don’t even know. The way you sing something, how you say it, how it sounds, how loud it is, how quiet it is, music helps just as much as a friend. When you’re going through a rough time music always will be there for you no matter what time of the day, no matter when how or where, it’s always there. On the other hand, music has to have a meaning because it’s just like a glass of water; if it has meaning it has water, if it doesn’t it’s just a cup with no value. The reason why we remember people like Aaliyah and MJ is because their words had meaning. People like MC Hammer nobody really remembers because he didn’t have those kind of songs that really resonated with you.

Do you think women will be the end of you?
Yeah. They just play such an important role in my life. As I said before I’m vulnerable too and I just put so much into them that when shit goes wrong it feels like a house is burning down, like what do you do? So, yeah sometimes I feel women will be the end of me.

Jabbari Weekes is a writer living in Toronto - @Dayandweekes