Heaven: A Lover of Love

We first met 22-year-old Heaven Connor in June when she dropped her debut single. “Can’t Live Without You” was the world’s introduction to a sound Heaven has been developing since the early age of 12 years old. 

“My mom’s side of the family was all involved in the music industry. My grandpa was Bob Marley’s road manager, and my mom’s mom used to manage a record label, and my mom’s stepmom was a recording artist. All of my family on that side were in the music industry, and my dad used to be in the band in school, so I’ve always been around it,” Heaven says. 

Based on her family history alone, it’s no surprise that Heaven was musically curious as a child and was no stranger to being outspoken in her creativity.

As a kid, I used to rap about everything. And I would just bang on a lot of things, like the back seat of a car, and tapping on things because I wanted to be a drummer, like my dad.

Heaven shares while recollecting her childhood. Not many people have the privilege of knowing what they are put on this earth to do early on, but Heaven’s family ties allowed her access to a part of herself that was the key to her purpose. 

Even though Heaven had been surrounded by music her whole childhood, it wasn’t until recently that she discovered her own voice and sound among those around her. “I didn’t really start making music until December 2020,” Heaven states. She was able to develop her sound with the help of her cousin, Joshua Cowan, who has his own studio set up. They would bounce ideas around and lay down tracks as a form of creative therapy that began to mature into something more than just a jam session. “Can’t Live Without You” was born when Ken (another producer friend) sent a beat that sparked a memory of an experience that she turned into her first single.  

Every creative creates in their own unique way. For Heaven, it’s all about how the beat makes her feel. “Ken will send me a couple of beats, and I’ll write multiple things to it..I might write two or three songs to the same beat to see what catches my attention,” Heaven says. She goes on to explain how important sound is to her writing process. “I love lyrics, but I also love beats too. If it’s not banging in my ears, and rocking my car…it’s just not loud enough.” As a part of her process, there are times when Heaven takes a break from creating if she feels as if there is nothing to be said for the moment. Heaven shared with me that most of her songs come after time spent in meditation. She is the type of creative that does not believe in forced work. As proof of her belief, even when songs are all said and done, recorded, and finished, there is no guarantee that they will make it onto the next project. “I’ll record my voice over the beat on my phone to see if I like how it sounds, and if I do, then I go to him (Ken) and we’ll put it down. If it’s not sounding too hot like I thought it would, then I just let it die. When it comes to songs that spark my attention… it’s definitely more of a feeling than me thinking I need to put out another song by a certain time,” Heaven explains. 

On November 5th, 2021, Heaven dropped Nostalgia, her own quirky spin on an extended play (EP). When asked why a “singles pack” and not a bigger  project she says, “when Drake dropped Scary Hours 2, I noticed it was only three songs and that they were all singles, so I said ‘I wanna do something like that.’” 

Heaven uses her latest project to speak on the distinctive memories of a love that used to be. Nostalgia gives a fresh perspective on what it looks like to reminisce without the achiness of regret. I inquired further on Heaven’s stance on love and in response, she says, “I’m always in love. I’m in love with everything.

I just really love love. I feel like love can transpire in multiple ways. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a song about love, but love can guide it into being.

“Little bit”, the first song on Nostalgia, is fun and carefree but also places her in a state that she explains is difficult to put into words. “When I heard the instrumental it reminded me of “Used To” by J.I the prince of New York, a song I listened to during quarantine. And during quarantine, I was going through this…spiritual awakening, so I was very lonely, even though I was surrounded by friends. It was a good time, but it was also kind of sad,” Heaven expresses.  In short, “Little bit” represents what it feels like to miss someone but also accepting the memory for what it’ll never be again. 

The second song on the project is one that Heaven claims to be the most emotional song she’s ever recorded. “Heartbroken” was written at 2 am in the dark spaces of her bedroom. “It reminds me of this really bad heartbreak I went through,” she shares. Regardless of the pain she felt, Heaven is still able to see the beauty in her experiences and believes that everything still worked out for the better. 

All in all, Nostalgia speaks on the vitality of how to love in the moment and enjoy where you are. “You don’t want your nostalgic times to necessarily be sad, or regretful. I feel like nostalgia can be positive.” – Heaven C.

You can listen to Nostalgia by Heaven here.