Born into a musical family in Compton, Ca., Loren Oden grew up in the church. This served as an incredible training ground for Oden, where he not only studied gospel, but secular greats like Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. Being that those icons were bred in the church, Loren discovered sanctity in using his voice as a spiritual guide for love: a way to express his vulnerability, passion and struggles with handling reciprocal affection. Oden’s transparency, or in other words, connection to people is what makes him one of the most captivating vocalists of the modern era.