suicidal.shotzAlexander "Eskeerdo" Izquierdo has written a lot of your favorite songs, and you didn't even know it.
It's no secret that artists seek other talented writers to help them create their music, but have you ever wondered who's behind these infectious lyrics and beats? We did, and that's why we met with the Grammy-Award winning Eskeerdo. He's worked Fifth Harmony, Rihanna, Big Sean, Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5, Demi Lovato, and many more huge names. Oh did we mention, he's only 28?
This songwriter and producer's story is all sorts of inspiring, and he's already making his mark as a performer with his new album Cuban Jesus. Does he ever sleep? Probably, not.
The Cuban-American artist sat down with E! News and calls Fifth Harmony's "Work From Home," which he co-wrote, his most prized possession.
"Songwriting is something that I love to do because I can express myself in ways that I couldn't as Eskeerdo. When I write for other people, I become a chameleon, and I try to get into that person's head," he explained. "I try to figure out what they're trying to say. When I'm writing for me, I'm using an entirely different side of the brain."
We asked Eskeerdo if he'd ever written a song about an ex. He quickly replied—yes.
"People around us are our muses. We get inspired by things that happen in our lives whether good or bad—we write about it," he admitted. "One time I was talking to a girl, and she told me that she has a boyfriend. Next thing you know, I go down the hall to the studio and write, ‘You will be mine, even if you're somebody else's, girl, not for long, girl, not for long,' which ended up being a B.o.B and Trey Songz record."
Historically we've seen that if you date a songwriter, you better be prepared to have your love life featured on a song. But Eskeerdo says some women in his life have deliberately tried, from the moment they met, to be the inspiration for his lyrics.
"Just a couple of days ago, I had a girl tell me, ‘I'm going to inspire you to write some breakup songs about me,'" he explained. "And I was like, ‘Why would you want to inspire that? Why wouldn't you want to inspire me to write some happy songs?'"
Eskeerdo wrote every track on his new album Cuban Jesus and his song "HIA Hamptons" is all about his hometown of Hialeah, Florida. The "Weekend Behavior" artist says he just wants his hometown to be proud of him, more importantly, he wants teens to see that you can achieve your dreams and do everything that you set out to do.
Folks back in Hialeah have a lot to be proud of, Eskeerdo along with childhood friends, Washington Nationals' pitcher Gio Gonzalez and celebrity photographer Derick G, are making it their mission to give back to their community. Through mentorship and annual charity events, they're hoping that the next generation of their city will be inspired and will pursue their calling—just like they did.
We'll be seeing and hearing a lot more of Eskeerdo, according to the artist, he's just getting started.