Meet LUPO | Artist, Pianist, Producer, & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with LUPO and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi LUPO, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I am an independent music artist from Italy currently living in Los Angeles, who started studying music at the age of 4, and grew up in a music family. I had a constant event in my life due to my mother’s job, she used to work for the Italian Embassy. For those of you who don’t know, that means that every 3-5 years we had to move from any country to different countries in the world, which also allowed me to become fluent in several languages. This experience gave me the opportunity to see the world and immerse myself as a child in different cultures and their music. However, at the end of every period, we would have to leave the country, and as a child, it is very difficult to say goodbye to friends and family not knowing if you will see them again. I have seen wars, human cruelty and children in unimaginable poverty that I could do nothing about, and I was very hurt in these moments. The only thing helping me cope with those losses and traumas was music.

My father was also a prominent musician in the 70s in Rome, so I also grew with music reverberating between the walls of my home. The warmth and support music would bring to my heart, made me realize that music is what I want to do for the rest of my life. That is why I studied piano in my childhood, and once my family moved to USA, I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from Loyola Marymount University, with an emphasis in Piano Performance, Music Theory, Composition and Percussion. To expand knowledge in my passion, I am currently finishing my UCLA Extension course in Independent Music Production.

Over the past few years, I have been writing, composing and producing extensively. Even though that process includes a lot of drafting, scratching, deleting, I have finally released my debut single “FullMetal” that has brought me great joy and knowledge in how the industry operates in the real world, and allowed me to connect with people/fans who feel like they’ve built a suit of armor after being hurt too many times, and that, is priceless.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
“FullMetal” is a song written about the experiences from my life and how they shaped me into the person I am today. Many times in life, experiences shape us in a way where we have to suppress emotions and bottle them up inside, but deep down we know the world is an ugly place and we all, in one way or another, wear a suit of armor in order to protect ourselves from the hardships of life. Releasing “FullMetal” has been one of my biggest achievements and is one of the most important milestones in my life. I have been wanting to pursue music as a career and be an artist since I was a child, it has been my dream. I am extremely excited to have released this work into the world and hopefully it will connect with people all around the globe and touch their hearts.

Getting to where I am today was an extremely difficult and painful journey. However, this journey has taught me many invaluable lessons. I was able to overcome the challenges and face them head on because I was lucky enough to have a family who would support me and my dreams along with an invaluable member of my life, Rebecca Posavec, also known as Rebelle. These aforementioned people have been my support emotionally and throughout this journey and I could not have asked for a better group of people.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned along the way is that we all believe that our problems are the end of the world and we all must learn that they are not. At the beginning it definitely feels like the end of the world, however there are other people out there who have it much worse than us. This DOES NOT discredit that in the moment our problems feel like Armageddon, but my father once taught me “One day you will look back at this moment in time and laugh, and realize how minuscule of a problem it was compared to the bigger picture”. Don’t get me wrong, I have been through A LOT myself, and those events, whether good or bad, have impacted my life and shaped me.

So I suppressed those emotions and built myself a suit of armor in order to protect myself from the hardships life would bring me along the way. This was the inspiration for the title FullMetal. I am leaving out a very big portion of details in this story, but you can only imagine how traveling the world and going to all sorts of countries to start all over again affects one’s mind. As I was growing up I saw a lot of things in this world and not all of them were positive, which weighed heavy on my heart. To protect ourselves, people subconsciously surround themselves with a suit of armor in order not to be hurt, and that’s what I did too, and that is exactly what this song talks about FullMetal armor. I want my artistry to speak the truth and allow people to be themselves when singing/screaming/reading along to my lyrics.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Firstly, I would take my best friend to Venice beach and Santa Monica Pier. Two of the most iconic spots in my high school years in Los Angeles and two spots I have sat in and written songs. They hold a special meaning in my heart. I would take him to Universal Studios in Hollywood and walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We would eat at iconic places like In-n-Out, Da Pasquale in Beverly Hills, The Apple Pan in Westwood, Bestia, Nobu, Spago and MANY more. The things that make Los Angeles ICONIC, mostly because my best friend is from ITALY. We would drive down PCH, Downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Griffith Observatory, my University LMU and UCLA, to name a few places. Even though I truly believe the beauty of Los Angeles cannot be admired in its entirety in a week long trip. Los Angeles has much to offer.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are A LOT of people I would like to Shoutout and Thank for all the support, LOVE, Encouragement and LOVE AGAIN. First off, my family who have always supported me in my dream and my ambitions and were my Number 1 Fans.
Secondly, I would like to thank Rebecca Posavec, also known as Rebelle, for all of her support in my musical endeavors in life and all my other journeys. She has been through thick and thin with me and I couldn’t even begin to thank her for all that she has done to help me.
Thirdly, I would like to thank Bernard Yagee for all of his support and help with the release of “FullMetal” and being a friend who picked me up when I was almost too far gone. Thank you.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has played a role in my musical expertise and my musical training. Thank you for having taught me everything that I have learned and thank you SO MUCH for having patience with me.

Website: https://linktr.ee/lupotheartist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lupotheartist/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gualtiero-minelli-43776b122

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095284027992

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4wC22BZjt30VWWNMLfSVA

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lupotheartist FullMetal AMV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_xFitqILY8

Image Credits
Ralph Geronilla: @Godspeed.photos Ben Shipley: @Benshipleymusic