Vokal Brings Cinematic R&B Vision to DJ Remedy's

Winston-Salem singer Vokal stepped into the booth for Episode 110 of the DJ Remedy Freestyle Podcast on K97.5, and the conversation revealed an artist with a clear sense of purpose and a sound built to travel far beyond the Triad.

Joined by collaborator Ray Leon, Vokal opened up about the spark behind his new record with Luke Nasty, produced by Conductor over live instrumentation.

The session, he said, came together almost instantly.

“Once we heard the beat, wrote to it, we cut in probably like 20 minutes,” Vokal told Remedy, describing a creative chemistry that felt effortless.

His roots run deep in the music that shaped him. Vokal credits Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words” as the album that made him want to write.

“That’s the lane I’m always gonna go in,” he explained, noting that R&B and hip-hop remain his foundation even as his sound stretches into pop and global territory.

Looking ahead, Vokal is crafting two projects, Frayed and Red Thread, with an ambitious sonic blueprint. He pointed to director Christopher Nolan and composer Ludwig Göransson as his inspiration.

“I want to tell a story with my music with a cinematic sound, the same way that they do in movies,” he said, aiming to bring film-scale storytelling into his songwriting.

Beneath the artistry sits a deeper mission. Reflecting on his school years and the music that carried him through them, Vokal shared his ultimate goal. “I want to be a beacon of hope,” he said.

“If I could just be that for at least one person, it’d be worth it.”

That spirit of giving back echoed throughout the studio. Ray Leon spoke about a nonprofit recording studio he and his brother built for the Boys & Girls Club in High Point, North Carolina—a free space where young people can record music and chase their passions, with hopes of expanding across the Carolinas.

For two artists representing Winston-Salem, the message was bigger than any single record.

As Remedy put it, “This is global, y’all.”