Iowa based singer-songwriter Asher Browndescribes himself as a self-made man. His new album "Pitchforks" is an autobiographical album about the realization that he is transgender and his transition to life as a man. During this Talk of Iowa interview, he talks with host Charity Nebbe.
Brown says one of his biggest concerns about transitioning was about his singing voice.
"That was my biggest concern in this whole process. I knew that I wanted to transition, and I knew that I wanted to do hormones," he says. "I worked with a voice coach who works with trans people to figure out their voice and their sound."
"I like my voice way better now," he laughs.
As part of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Contest, Brown submitted a song in honor of his late brother who died of a heroin overdose shortly before Brown came out as trans. You can find a link to that below. One of Brown's favorite songs on the new record is called "Hey Little Abigail," which is a letter he wrote to his childhood self.
"So, I wrote this song in about an hour or so, and it just spilled out of me. I was thinking about this kid who knew something was different but wasn't sure what," he says. "The last line in the chorus is 'one day you will like yourself,' and that's what really hit home for me. When you're a little kid and things don't make sense, that's hard. I want everyone to know there's nothing wrong with that kid."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNecJPL4D0Y
