Purpose in the Pain: The Rise of Vavrix Owens

Nearly five years after his debut album, Over Thinking, Vavrix Owens continues to be a leading voice in the Phoenix music scene, his journey far from where he started but his dream, passion, and message staying true. 

Born and raised in the south side of Phoenix, Owens grew up listening to the “real” compositions and music of old school artists like Aretha Franklin and The Temptations, their sound transforming his relationship to music. “Music has been near and dear to my heart since I was young,” he says. “But [their music] planted the seed of sound and the multiple possibilities of what direction you can go with music. [After that seed was planted], I was like, ‘All right, this is my thing, I love it.’” 

Music is indeed his thing. With a degree in Psychology, Owens crafts songs that don’t just belong in one genre. His jazz-rap, soulful songs combine dreamy, lo-fi sounds with classic bum-tiss beats and lethal rhymes reminiscent of J. Cole. He describes his music as vulnerable and painful, honest and open, his songs serving as the bloody bandages that helped heal his wounds in a time when he needed it most. Owens often discusses battling his demons and the importance of struggle before success, his Polarity Chase album ending with Alive “Interlude” Pt. 1, a story in which a guru invites a skeptical young man to the beach in order to teach him how to be successful. The guru tells the young man to get into the water, where he holds him under until he’s about to pass out, the near drowning necessary for the guru’s message to hit home. “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful,” the guru tells him, a sentiment apparent in Owens’ journey as an artist. 

Following his return home from college post-graduation, he dedicated his days to learning everything he could about music: how to release music, what to do to become a better artist, what works and what doesn’t, and how to become a better performer. “I had to earn my stripes,” he says. “[If] there was something in the hip-hop community or the music community that an artist was doing, I was there. I was shaking hands, I was seeing what was going on, getting in the mix, building real relationships.” These relationships and experience would later open up doors to new opportunities that would shape Owens’ influence on the Phoenix music scene, leading to the production and release of his independent work and freestyles, as well as his involvement in Phoenix Psypher and its role in creating an uplifting community for local artists. 

Owens’ songs regularly reference other themes of freedom, escape, fear, change, celebration of Blackness, finding God, and belief in self, among others. He explores mental health and his psychological journey with music in his first project, Over Thinking. The nine-song album reads as a list of thought processes with each song related to overthinking in some capacity, these lessons coming to Owens as gifts from God for him to relay to his listeners. “I just have the message,” he says. “I don’t know who it’s for, but I just know it needs to be said and created, [so] I’ll allow the rest to take care of itself.” 

His hope is that his message will find those who need to hear it, much like music found him when he wasn’t looking. After suffering career-ending injuries, Owens was forced to medically retire from collegiate football and subsequently struggled with anxiety and depression. The lack of sports left a hole of untapped passion that was difficult to cope with, leading him to creating music. “I always say God blessed me with finding another passion, and that was music,” he says. “Music found me, I wasn’t searching for [it].” 

Looking back on the five years since this discovery, his struggles with mental health and his involvement as a behavior health professional has revealed an important reminder: It’s not a linear process. With his newfound wisdom, Owens has gone on to be a prominent presence in the Valley, participating in community events, hosting fundraisers, teaching children the power of music, and encouraging his fellow artists. His undeniably genuine personality and his destined-by-God motivation are the perfect recipe. “[Community] is my lifestyle,” he says. “It’s not just in the music, it’s my everyday life. It’s what I’m here to do.”

Owens looks forward to continuing his work with the community, with plans to revamp operations at Phoenix Psypher and explore other collaborations in the upcoming months. He also hopes to end his music-releasing hiatus and is excited to share new singles or freestyles by early 2026.