Isaia Huron Doesn’t Make Music for Fun

Isaia Huron is a supertasker. When he joins our Zoom call, he’s mid-match on Call of Duty, where he’ll remain for the entirety of our conversation.

“I’m not a serious gamer or anything like that, but I usually play during interviews because, honestly, it helps me think straighter and helps me get to the answer quicker, so I’m not rambling,” he tells Rated R&B from his home, headphones on and eyes fixed to his screen. 

The multi-hyphenate is used to juggling tasks. His sophomore album, Mr. Lovebomb, his first release under RCA Records, is self-written and self-produced, much like his previous works.

For Huron, keeping his creative process insular yields his best work. “The magic is not being around people,” he says. “I don’t use anybody outside of my band — my guitarist, Ethan [Polk-Trauman], and my bass player, Stefan [Haerle], who also arranges the horns for me. I trust these people; these are my brothers and I don’t want to go anywhere outside of that. It keeps the music distinct and fresh.”

Mr. Lovebomb follows Huron’s debut album, Concubania, released in August 2025 via Slang. The album was preceded by the singles “W.T.A. (Way Too Attached)” and “This Girl Wants Everything.” 

Earlier this year, you announced your deal with RCA Records. How does it feel to be part of the major label system?

It’s about taking different steps to expand the team. If there’s a company with experts in the things I’m notably lazy at, let’s say marketing, that I can attach myself to, and they can spread the music as vastly as possible, that is something I want to do. So far, it’s been great. Everybody’s been receptive. Obviously, there’s a bank attached to it — I always have these ideas that require a lot of money anyway. The good thing is I own my masters. It’s a pretty fair situation. 

It’s only been eight months since you independently released your debut album, Concubania. But how has life been for you since then?

Well, I did a major label deal and people recognize me in the street more. My life in general is super simple. I don’t really leave the house unless I have a show or film a video or something. My daily routine has not really changed at all. I’m thankful for my team because they block off all the things I would find unnecessary and bring the things that are ultra-necessary. 

I read that you recorded Mr. Lovebomb before you released Concubania. What was your intention with that?

I was in a mode. Before I signed with RCA, I was with Slang. We had another 10 tracks left in our deal. I know most people are like, “Don’t speak on what happens internally, business-wise.” But that is my compass; I don’t make music just for fun. I make it out of obligation and necessity. We had finished shooting all 12 music videos for Concubania in one day in Toronto.

The next day, I flew to Greenville, South Carolina, where I’m from, and started on “Side Slider,” then made Mr. Lovebomb in six days. The reason for that was so I could be like, “OK, I finished Concubania, let’s finish the other 10 so I can start working on the next stuff.” So it was purely contractually obligation-based. I don’t have much more motivation than that. There has to be a reason for me to do this shit; that’s a big reason why I do deals. 

It’s cool that you are so open about that. Sometimes, it feels like we take music for granted. At the end of the day, artists still have to get paid and make a living.

Yeah. I have people DM me like, “Yo, I want to gatekeep you.” It’s like, “OK, so I can’t live?” People want to gatekeep because “I’m cool and I know you and nobody else does.” That can’t happen for much longer unless you want me to f****g die. I think fans need to be let in on the insider things because it makes the context of my storylines a little more dense and compelling as well, which is why I am so transparent about it, because it’s a part of the process. I don’t want to have to lie about anything or pretend that things aren’t going on behind the scenes. I always try to break the fourth wall. That’s why the videos look the way they do, and the Mr. Lovebomb shit, where you can see the crew. I want my fan base to know that’s how my brain works and that’s what I want to portray.

Let’s dive into the album. Who is Mr. Lovebomb?

I feel like Mr. Lovebomb is the male version of Whitney Houston singing “I’m Every Woman.” It’s like, “I’m every n***a.” I feel like, at some point, every girl has experienced this story in some way, but this is probably their first time hearing the male side of why these things can be the case. For n****s, it’s like, “Dang, bro, you can’t tell them how we think about it.” I think there’s a song for everybody on this project. I look at it as an amalgamation of all n****s combined.

Mr. Lovebomb kind of feels like a prequel to Concubania. Is it?

That’s a really great point. I love that perspective because that’s what listening to it is for. I didn’t even look at it that way. I looked at it as being the same person. But if you look at it more as an origin story, it would make sense because — people don’t even realize it but — “Side Slider” is more like an “I know what’s wrong with me” type of song. It’s like: “All of my life, I’ve seen vows and wedding rings never meaning anything. This is why I am the way I am.” When you fast-forward to Concubania, it’s, “This is the result.” If there were a movie, Mr. Lovebomb would come first and Concubania would have to go second.

What would you say is the character Mr. Lovebomb’s greatest strength and weakness?

His strength is being accurate in his self-reflection. His weakness is not choosing the most optimal way to go about things.

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You released “This Girl Wants Everything” as a single. What’s the story behind that song?

I had maybe eight or nine songs done within a four or five-day period. I had a song called “A Prayer” that I was going to start the album with, but it sounded too soft. It didn’t work. I was actually going to throw away the whole album concept because I didn’t think it fit. I listened to the eight or nine songs I did have that I liked, and I remember being like, ‘This project has something. It just needs a closer,” which would technically be an opener. I went home and was like, “It needs to open up with something that ties it all together.” So, “This Girl Wants Everything” was out of necessity of trying to complete the story.

“Breakfast and Matcha” is an instant standout. What were you trying to achieve with that song?

I needed to get to “Versions.” Working backward, you go from “Side Slider” to “Propane.” That’s the second one you make. It’s like, “How do you get there?” And it was like “Versions,” this is a big aha moment. From Mr. Lovebomb’s perspective, after you get done emotionally cheating, “Breakfast and Matcha” needed to be a bridge from calculated manipulation to actually going to do the thing that is morally incorrect. That was my headspace — and something cheeky. Girls love matcha now. It literally tastes like grass or recess (laughs). But I wanted something kind of gimmicky. I had the visuals in my mind before I even started: I’m coming into the house and apologizing to the girl for not being there when she woke up. I have to have something in my hand. That’s how “Breakfast and Matcha” was born.

Each record on the album is intentionally placed. You brought up “Versions” in the sequence. Where did you pull from to bring that record to life?

Honestly, I wanted something that could sing really well. I wanted something that sounded like it could be on the radio, but was also very integral to the story. It’s one of my favorite songs on there. 

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You end the album with “Side Slider,” which has a two-step groove. I know you recorded the album while visiting your parents but where were you when you made that song? 

I was beside a grill on the back deck. I was like, “I want to make something n****s can do the electric slide to or just play at a cookout.” People are always like, “What musically inspires you?” It could be a mosquito. It’s always what’s next to me or whatever. It was trying to make something Black people could do, a little line dance, low-key.

I know Mr. Lovebomb and Concubania are two separate albums, but is there any connection between them? The cover art for Concubania breaks the fourth wall like the visualizers for Mr. Lovebomb. And, they share a similar color palette — red and off-white.

I think that’s just me being a fan of congruence in general. I don’t look at it as a trilogy or anything like that. If it were, it’d be f****d up. I should have put Mr. Lovebomb out first and then Concubania. The deluxe I’m about to put out for Mr. Lovebomb, the story gets deeper. It takes a darker turn in some sense, so I would like to see how it’d be comparable to Concubania. It might inform me on how to approach the next project. It’s probably, subconsciously, a trilogy in some sense. I can’t really tell. I’m too in it right now. Maybe one day, after I’m old and retired, somebody can look back, listen to this and write a thesis on how these all connect and what it said about me at that time.

When do you plan on releasing the Mr. Lovebomb deluxe?

I have no clue. I don’t even know how many songs are on there. I feel like it’s not going to be much. I don’t ever like to go outside of my contractual boundary lines. It’s going to be a few more tracks that deepen the story, but I’m trying to see whatever I want to add and take out, what can be embellished a little bit more because it does take a little turn, I’ll be honest. I don’t know if there’s a window. I think as soon as I finish it, we’ll see how the tour does, and we’ll know after that.

Are the songs on the deluxe from your Greenville sessions?

Nah. They were made when I went to Palm Springs for my birthday. I worked in the kitchen in my Airbnb and made everything there. I was originally trying to make a separate project — and these songs came from that project — but I listened to them the other day on my way to a meeting, and was like, “Wait a second, this actually is like Mr. Lovebomb continued.” It’ll make the story make way more sense, I think.

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Stream Isaia Huron’s Mr. Lovebomb here.

Featured Photo Credit: Jack Peros