Errio Boyd, also known as AyoMarz, believes that life couldn't function without love, prompting the creation of an amour-centric album.
Boyd, 24, is a public relations major at the University of Memphis, but better defines himself as a poet.
"Love is the interest of all things good," Boyd said. "Anything that promotes good."
In light of Valentine's Day, he recorded an album entitled "Lovetape #1690", also known as "Love art with your whole heART."
According to him, he got the idea about three months before his birthday in January.
"I wanted to give something instead of receiving, and what's a greater gift than love," Boyd said.
The album will feature seven tracks laced with his personal battles and experiences with love. According to him, love is not always all lovey-dovey - there's a painful side of love that has to be accepted along with the happy aspects.
"There's loving friends, loving community, loving God, and loving lovers," Boyd added.
In one song, he features a poem entitled "Love and War" that expresses his heartache.
"People should listen because it's something beneficial," Boyd said. "You'll be inspired to create out of love."
As an attempt to get other people involved, Boyd is also taking personal requests.
Aside from his album, he has created "Lovegrams," which are poems dedicated to loved ones. He will be writing "Private Poetry," which are poems for secret admires. Lastly, he will write "Battle of the Sexes," poems to better understand the opposite sex, and "Selfie Love" poems written for oneself.
According to Boyd, recording an album is a long process - he spent many long nights in the studio working into the early hours of the morning.
"It was a lot of time and work, but everything worth having in life is worth the effort," Boyd said.
His cousin Kino, a local musician, helped him produce the tracks. According to him, working with his cousin is perfect because he has his best interest in mind.
Boyd has been writing since the age of six and performing spoken word since age 12.
He first heard poetry as a child when his aunt, Jacqueline Brown, would recite poems around him. In the summer of 2007, Brown suffered a stroke and is now paralyzed on her entire left side.
"She's the reason I have admiration for the art," Boyd said. "I used to write when I wanted to, but after her stroke, I knew I had to get our message out."
He said that her stroke pushed him into his artistry. Brown said she constantly encouraged Boyd to write the way he wanted.
"Poetry is a way to express who you are and how you feel," Brown said. "It doesn't have to rhyme, but it does have to have a meaning."
According to Brown, her nephew performs at every family function. She believes he is naturally talented.
"His poetry is in his mind, and he doesn't even have to write them down," Brown said.
Boyd is also a member of The Underground Poets Society.
Stephen Robertson, sophomore African-American studies major at the U of M, co-founded the society while in the Navy. He has been writing poetry since the age of 7.
"The Underground Poet Society is where poets, people and artists express themselves," Robertson, 23, said.
Boyd said he and Robertson share a mutual inspiration for each other's work.
"Ayo is my favorite poet in the whole world," Robertson said. "He's able to match the words to the flow. It's a gift, and it's disrespectful to call that a talent."
Both artists describe themselves as passionate about love, noting that it embodies all of their work.
"Love is something you definitely cannot live without - a spiritual, mental binding to something," Robertson said.
