No War

Album: released as a single (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • With information overload and cultural infighting, many Americans have become inured to war and injustice, which are destroying lives. This song is a wake-up call of sorts. Bradd Marquis explained to Songfacts:

    "'No War' is my first release since 2017s hit single 'Who Let You Go.' 'No War' comes straight from the depths of my soul! Written, produced, and performed by me, this song captures the frustration and concerns plaguing the world today. 'No War' is the first song from my upcoming EP and the beginning of me embracing my full purpose; using music and the stage to provide perspective and love to the conditions and challenges we face as individuals and a community."
  • Marquis grew up singing in the Family & Friends gospel troupe and started making R&B music in 2006. "No War" reflects his spiritual upbringing. He told Songfacts how it came together:

    "'No War' has been under construction for over two years! In 2016, I began working on a project that I believed would be a good follow-up to my Billboard-charting third album Thank You, but I was in a bad space at the time. I had lost my grand(father), my grand(mother) was terminally ill, I had a son but shortly after his mother and I separated for good. I had to move back home to live with my mother and help care for my grandparents as they transitioned. Music was the furthest thing from my mind - the process was difficult, it wasn't flowing. I had a hard time finding producers to work with and I didn't like the music I was writing. I couldn't see myself performing the songs I had written. It wasn't who I wanted to be as an artist.

    With my music career stalling and not progressing the way I would have liked, I decided to take a break and reevaluate what I wanted from it and my life. When you lose people that important to you, you tend to reevaluate things. What was important doesn't seem as important anymore. I had to restart my life from ground zero, making sure my foundation was solid, building brick by brick with the right intention and focus. I made sure to take care of what was really important to me and not what I had convinced myself was important based on external or superficial pressures. That also meant deciding if music was really what I wanted to do. The highs weren't as high and the lows felt even lower! It wasn't as fulfilling as it once was.

    I wasn't excited about music but I did want to stay connected, so in 2018 I decided to take piano lessons. Piano lessons led to purchasing a piano, which led to me purchasing more equipment and building a studio. In my musical hiatus, I determined my music and career had to be about God, about the message. It had to be about being of service to the world. I couldn't do it for any selfish reason, not money, not fame, not keeping up with the trends or the Joneses. If I produced music from a place of purity and purpose I would never be disappointed by the results. I also needed to fully commit to doing it myself. God wasn't going to send any producers to interpret the messages placed in my spirit. What was to be produced and written had to come directly from my soul. With the help of the extraordinarily gifted Marcus Machado on guitar, Shaun Roberson on bass, and Jeremy Cochise Ball handling the mix and master, 'No War' is the first installment of this revelation and the first song I ever produced. I am extremely proud and hope it speaks to the hearts and minds of the many!

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