Sean Paul issues a compelling video for the song entitled ‘When It Comes To You.’
The remarkable colour grading of the video and the sharp pictures boost the quality of the video.
Production is high class and the video will bewitch the audience for sure.
Sean sings the verses and the hooks.
Everything works.
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Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul broke into the global mainstream in the early 2000s with his pop-friendly party jams, while a late-2010s resurgence introduced him to a fresh generation of fans via high-profile collaborations with pop and electronic artists.
Born Sean Paul Francis Henriques on January 8, 1973, the multi-ethnic Paul (his parents had Portuguese, Chinese, and Jamaican forebears) grew up comfortably in St. Andrew, Jamaica; his mother was a renowned painter.
He was a skilled athlete, excelling in swimming and especially water polo, playing for the Jamaican national team in the latter.
Although his education was enough to land him a prosperous career, dancehall music remained Paul’s first love, particularly crafting rhythm tracks.
He became a DJ after he began writing his own songs, patterning his style largely after Super Cat and finding a mentor in Don Yute; he also found contacts in several members of the reggae-pop band Third World in 1993, which helped him foster business connections.
Paul released his debut single, “Baby Girl,” with producer Jeremy Harding in 1996; it proved a significant success, leading to further Jamaican hits like “Nah Get No Bly (One More Try),” “Deport Them,” “Excite Me,” “Infiltrate,” and “Hackle Mi.”
In 1999, Sean Paul started to make inroads to American audiences; he was first commissioned to collaborate with fellow dancehall hitmaker Mr. Vegas on a production for rapper DMX; titled “Here Comes the Boom,” the song was included in director Hype Williams’ film Belly.
Also that year, Paul scored a Top Ten hit on the Billboard rap charts with “Hot Gal Today.”
That fall, Paul released his first album on VP Records. The sprawling Stage One collected many of his previous hit singles and compilation cuts, plus a few brand-new tracks.
His breakthrough arrived in 2002 with sophomore effort, Dutty Rock (VP/Atlantic). The Grammy-winning album featured the hit singles “Get Busy,” “Gimme the Light,” and “Baby Boy” with Beyoncé.
In addition to topping the Canadian and U.S. Reggae charts, Dutty Rock entered the Billboard Top Ten and was certified multi-platinum.
Paul followed with The Trinity (Atlantic) in 2005. The album peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, his highest showing to date, and included chart hits like “We Be Burnin’,” “Temperature,” and “(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me” with Keyshia Cole.
Four years later he returned with Imperial Blaze. Featuring the singles “So Fine” and “Hold My Hand” with Keri Hilson, Imperial Blaze topped the Billboard rap chart but did not capture the same mainstream attention as his prior two releases.
The loose Odyssey Mixtape dropped in 2011 and was followed a year later by Tomahawk Technique, a more pop- and dance-oriented album with production from the likes of Stargate, DJ Ammo, and Benny Blanco. While the set yielded a handful of international hits, it stalled in the U.S.
Although his sixth studio album, Full Frequency, topped the U.S. reggae chart in early 2014, it didn’t make much of a splash in the pop mainstream. The effort spawned the singles “Other Side of Love,” “Entertainment 2.0” (featuring Juicy J, 2 Chainz, and Nicki Minaj), “Turn It Up,” and “Want Dem All” (featuring Konshens), which helped Paul score his fifth Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.
In the years that followed, Paul would appear on notable singles by Enrique Iglesias, Major Lazer, and Pharrell Williams, but it wasn’t until 2016 that he would experience massive chart resurgence, appearing on hits by Sia (the Grammy-nominated “Cheap Thrills”), Little Mix (“Hair”), Clean Bandit (“Rockabye”), and Dua Lipa (“No Lie”).
After Paul signed a deal with Island Records, he returned to the studio to record his seventh album. The first single from the album, “Mad Love” with David Guetta and Becky G, arrived in early 2018. Mad Love: The Prequel was issued later that year and included collaborations with Jhene Aiko, Ellie Goulding, Stefflon Don, Migos, Tory Lanez, and more. Paul extended his prolific streak in 2019, pairing with J Balvin on “Contra La Pared” and Wiley, Stefflon Don, and Idris Elba on “Boasty.”
Rosalía teams up with Ozuna to drop an amazing video for the song entitled ‘Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi.’
Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi is a mix of a female vocal and a male vocal with pleasing dancehall beat.
The costumes are eye-catching with tempting colours while the choreography will excite the audience.
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Rosalía
Rosalía Vila (also known as Rosalía) is Catalan-born, nuevo flamenco and Latin pop singer from Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Spain.
Her voice was described by no less a talent than flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela as “sharp and sweet, but with a bite, like the old ones.”
While her 2017 Los Angeles debut album garnered her attention from the U.S. public and earned her a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
She has also been involved on the traditional music since her teens and has continued her other musical pursuits, from hip-hop to soul and pop.
She has collaborated with J. Balvin (Brillo), Pharrell (De Madrugá), El Guincho (El Mal Querer), James Blake (Barefoot in the park)…
Her music video for the pre-release single “Malamente” by Canada garnered 20 million views in Spain within three months; as well as 5 Latin Grammy nominations, and won 2 for Best Urban Fusion/Performance” and “Best Alternative Song.”
Its follow-up, “Pienso en Tu Mirá,” racked up another 15 million views in its first month or so. This is no mean feat since Spain’s population is only 46 million people.
Rosalia’s second full-length, “El Mal Querer”, was co-produced by herself and El Guincho. It was released in November of 2018. It debuted at number one on the Latin Pop Albums chart.
Ozuna
Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado, professionally known as Ozuna, is a reggaeton singer and songwriter from Puerto Rico who writes positive, uplifting songs that encourage people to work toward their dreams while avoiding the use of profanity out of respect for his daughter.
He made his breakthrough in 2016 with the single “La Ocasion,” which peaked in the Top 30 of the Hot Latin Songs chart, and continued with a string of high-profile collaborations before issuing his debut, Odisea, in 2017.
A songwriter since the age of 12, he grew up in Puerto Rico, later spending time in New York City before his career took off.
In 2014, he signed a record contract and began posting songs online.
By 2015, songs such as “Si Tu Marido No Te Quiere” had become radio hits across Latin America, and he’d performed concerts in numerous countries.
In early 2016, he joined DJ Luian, Mambo Kingz, De la Ghetto, Arcángel, and Anuel AA on the track “La Ocasion,” which kicked off a modest chart run for the nascent performer. Months later, he released a remix of his song “No Quiere Enamorarse,” which featured superstar Daddy Yankee. The song racked up millions of streaming views.
He followed with “Dile Que Tu Me Quieres,” “Si Tu Marido No Te Quiere [Remix],” and “En la Intimidad,” all of which charted in the Top 30.
In 2017, he delivered his full-length debut album, Odisea, which featured guest appearances by De la Ghetto, Anuel AA, J Balvin, and others. Included on the album were the singles “Tell Him That You Love Him,” “Your Photo,” and “A Flower.”
In September, the album peaked at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart.
He also contributed to a handful of collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Wisin, J Balvin, Chris Jeday, and others. One of the most high-profile duets was 2018’s “La Modelo” with American rapper Cardi B, which marked Ozuna’s first entry on the Hot 100. His sophomore effort, Aura, arrived later that year and peaked in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200.
Deno releases new single Change featuring DigDat. Deno and DigDat go back to back on their brand new single Change ahead of his forthcoming EP release.
Following an unstoppable 2018, Deno spent a collective 36 weeks in the Official Charts with successive singles London, Pumpy, and freestyle Advice (Dele Alli).
2019 has been no different with Advice (Dele Alli) peaking at #14, follow up Lifestyle and featuring on the top 40 Da Beatfreakz single Motorola.
Deno has maintained himself as the teenager to watch in the UK. At 16 years old Deno has broken the mold for what it is to be a young artist.
After gaining viral attention by the likes of Stormzy and Idris Elba with a playground freestyle, Deno has since spent the past three years growing into a household name. Working with the likes of Dappy, Jae5, Geko, Team Salut and more, he has accumulated a staggering 100 million global streams, 1.1 million monthly listeners and 100 million YouTube views.
Outside of music, Deno spent 2018 exercising his acting skills, starring and scoring Idris Elba’s debut TV show In The Long Run. After being cast in the infamous role of Bailey in Rapman’s Shiro’s Story Pt.3 – he amassed an additional 60 thousand Instagram followers overnight; he has a solid fan base of over half a million followers.
He will also be launching a clothing collaboration with boohooMan this September.
Deno will be a force to be reckoned with in 2020, watch this space.
Craig David releases his new single, ‘Do You Miss Me Much,’ a perfect, fresh blend of Craig’s pioneering garage sound.
Whilst paying homage to his distinctive signature sound, the new single also shows Craig in a newfound light. It’s the same, instantly recognizable voice, but showing the progression of an artist that has truly come into his own – speaking to a new generation who are listening with fresh ears and sparking euphoric nostalgia in long standing fans of the UK’s infamous garage scene.
As one of the UK’s most loved artists, Craig has remained at the helm of his own unique, authentically British sound. A sound that made waves across the globe, making him the voice of one of the most pivotal eras in UK music, and in turn, making him one of the most successful artists in UK chart history.
Craig says, “This is for every one of my fans that asked me to drop a straight up UK Garage banger like I used to.
Can’t wait to drop this into my TS5 set at my SW4 stage takeover – It’s gonna go off!”
The release of ‘Do You Miss Me Much’ coincides with Craig’s debut ‘TS5’ takeover set at this year’s SW4 festival on the 24th and 25th of August, curating his own stage with a whole host of handpicked UK rising talent across alternate genres. Joining Craig on the day will be special guests Basement Jaxx as well as performances from Mabel, Big Zuu, Yungen, Nathan Dawe, Jax Jones, Martin Sloveig and Sigma.
Demand for Craig’s live performances is higher than ever following the incredible success of his world famous, critically acclaimed ‘TS5’ shows.
Starting out as the most exclusive pre-party in Miami, hosted in his penthouse home, Tower Suite 5, ‘T S5’ has gone on to become the must-see live event of the summer with Craig playing sets at the biggest festivals and clubs around the world.
Craig’s unbelievable sets combine singing, DJ’ing, MC’ing, incredible energy and the biggest party anthems which have helped turn ‘TS5’ into a global festival powerhouse.
After bringing ‘TS5’ to the UK, Craig sold out shows at London’s KOKO, Brixton Academy and even London’s O2 Arena in a matter of seconds.
In 2016 he took over Glastonbury’s Sonic Stage, bringing over 25k people to the tent and achieving the record for the biggest crowd at the stage in Glastonbury history. From there he made his Glastonbury Pyramid stage debut just a year later.
Now back in London full time, Craig and ‘TS5’ show no signs of slowing down. He’s recently returned to Ibiza for a record 4th season residency at Ibiza Rocks Hotel each Tuesday until 24th September 2019, bringing some very respected guests with him. Amongst the names joining him this year will be DJ Luck and MC Neat, MistaJam, Shy FX and Donae’o.
Craig says, “I’m excited to be bringing TS5 back to Ibiza for another season and have new rising talent also perform on the TS5 stage at SW4 Festival stage.”
Nineteen years since the critically-acclaimed, ‘Born To Do It’ changed his life, Craig catapulted back into the charts and into the nation’s hearts with Big Narstie on the platinum-certified single ‘When The Bassline Drops’, marking the beginning of his triumphant return.
Craig has since leaped from strength to strength on our airwaves and has been unavoidable on our TV screens and on the live circuit ever since. As a much loved and respected figure in British music culture, Craig has racked up an astounding 20 UK top 40 singles and seven UK top 40 albums in his career.
Discuss your recording experience with your producer.
I had a fantastic time with Invisible Heroes. They are three Berklee alumni working out of their home studio in Nashville, TN. It was a collaborative and experimental process for all of us and I learned a lot from them.
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Discuss what comes first and last while creating a song.
What comes first for me is the emotion of the song. That is extremely important!
What comes last for me is the lyrics, which might be a bit backward but that’s how it happens for me. I like to really spend time on the lyrics so I like to leave them last.
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Tell us the piece of advice you will give to a new artist.
Figure out what it is you have to say and trust yourself! Every person has something special to say and you have to stand up for that.
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Discuss your worse experience in the music business.
I was playing at a tiny bar at midnight in Nashville. I had a quite a captive little crowd who seemed to really be enjoying my songs.
I then announced my next song as “my gay country song” (I am bisexual) and instantly the crowd soured. One guy downed his drink and left. The organizer walked into a corner and didn’t watch. The other people looked extremely uncomfortable when I sang about having a female love interest. At the end of the song one woman clapped, and it was a pity clap. Haha, I didn’t perform that song around Nashville again.
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Tell us how you deal with rejection.
Rejection is hard to take but I let myself feel hurt in the moment and then I move on. There is no point dwelling on it. Looking to the future always helps me through it! There is always a tomorrow and another opportunity to put your music out there.
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Tell us what you are doing to impact the people around you.
My main objective is to be a kind, supportive person to the people around me. Happiness is infectious, and while it’s not always possible all the time, giving it to other people can really make the world better. I also really love supporting my fellow independent artist friends. I love being a fangirl to amazing upcoming artists!
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Tell us the music that makes you happy.
I love the new Maggie Rogers album. It instantly puts me in a good mood. The lyrics, beats, and sound are amazing. She’s a really creative and genuine artist.
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Tell us how you make instrumentation to your song.
Since I write on guitar my songs tend to always have the guitar in them – I then think of a drum beat and place other instrumentation around that.
I also love to have a lot of backing vocals to layer the sound as I sang a Cappella in college and I love that medium of composition.
Ultimately though, it all depends on what happens in the studio. Anything can happen!
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Tell us how you feel when you sing and your fans sing along to your song.
Singing is the purest form of self-expression that I have. My voice is not perfect, but I love how it comes from within me and I have complete control over it. I feel so much lighter and happier when I sing! When people sing along to my songs it’s a really cool feeling.
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Tell us the goals you aim to achieve when creating a song.
I aim to express an emotion as purely as possible. I want the listener to feel what I am feeling at that moment and I use the songwriting and composition tools I know to try and make that happen. It’s a work in progress but that’s what I love about songwriting!
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State your approach to writing.
I like to sit with my guitar for a moment and think about what kind of emotion I want to express. Once I have that I strum and sing for a bit and then find the melody. The lyrics tend to come last for me and I spend a lot of time working on them to make sure they fit. I then like to make a demo on my computer to save any extra compositional ideas I might have and then if I really like the song, I’ll bring it to the studio.
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Tell us how you plan to develop a unique music style.
I am in the process of figuring out just what that is. With the EP I experimented with a more relaxed vocal technique combined with pop instrumentation and folk guitar and lyrics.
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Tell us if you are collaborating with other songwriters or you write alone.
I love co-writing! Some of my favourite songs are ones that I’ve co-written. With this EP, however, it was a very independent project for me so I wrote everything myself. In the future, I am definitely looking to co-write more and record those songs too!
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Discuss your experience with fans.
Only positive experience! Having someone tell me that they connected with one of my songs can just make my day.
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State your experience with booking gigs and shows.
I used to work as a Booking Agent in Nashville for other bands so I’ve learned a thing or two about it. It involves A LOT of strategically timed emails! You also have to make sure your music and the size of your fan base suits the venue. It can be tricky, but if you persevere you can definitely make it work.
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Tell us if you consider a song placement in TV or Film.
I would love ‘Red Dust’ to be placed in TV or Film.
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Elaborate on ‘Red Dust.’
My producers and I set out to experiment with ‘Red Dust’ to make the sonic landscape reflect that of a desert. It is sparse and lonely and haunting and I think it would be great in a cowboy film or something! I love the Americana guitar riff after the chorus and it could be a cool motif for something in a show.
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Elaborate on your artist name and the title of the album.
My artist name is my real name. The title of my album is ‘Out of My Hands’ because I feel that that song from the EP really sums up what the whole EP is about. It is about dealing with change and being okay with it. Out of My Hands is quite an emotional song for me and my favourite song on the EP, so I wanted that to be the name.
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Share your press release and review with us.
Kodey Brims
Australian pop/folk artist Kodey Brims embraces honesty and growth with her new EP ‘Out of My Hands.’
After discovering her sound in the writer’s rounds of Nashville USA, Brims set out to create an EP that captured the intensity of growing into a young adult.
The opening track ‘Red Dust’ paints a vivid picture of feeling lost in one’s early twenties juxtaposed in the landscape of the Australian desert.
The title track ‘Out of My Hands’ is an honest confession of growth and accepting change with lush pop instrumentation and soaring vocals.
‘Neon Colours’ is an upbeat pop track erasing self-doubt and jumping into a relationship and the final track Thunder is a step into self-empowerment.
Recorded and produced in Nashville with fellow Berklee College of Music alumni Invisible Heroes, Brims set out to sonically reflect the story of the lyrics.
The ‘Out of My Hands’ EP creates stark desert landscapes, honest revelations and gathering storm clouds, beneath layered vocals and guitar textures.
Drake releases a video to the song entitled “Money in the Grave” featuring Rick Ross.
The video is one of a kind while the audience will enjoy the delivery of words by these two rap masters.
These two brilliant rappers are no strangers when it comes to teaming up to drop hit rap songs.
“Money in the Grave” for sure is another hit.
Drake
Canadian rapper and vocalist Drake sustained a high-level commercial presence shortly after he hit the scene in 2006, whether with his own chart-topping releases or a long string of guest appearances on hits by the likes of Lil Wayne, Rihanna, and A$AP Rocky.
Thanks to his introspective rap style, his sensitive R&B crooning, and his gold-touch songwriting, each one of his albums — from 2011’s Take Care to 2018’s Scorpion — topped charts worldwide, and his singles, like the Grammy-winning “Hotline Bling,” and many mixtapes did as well.
As his star rose, he helped others along, sponsoring the Weeknd’s early work, starting the OVO Sound label, and giving features on his records to up-and-coming acts.
By the second decade of his career, Drake’s constant chart domination, his Grammy wins and nominations, and his meme-worthy cultural presence made him one of the world’s most popular musicians.
Known initially for his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the Toronto-born Aubrey Drake Graham stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006, when he initiated a series of mixtapes – A year later, despite being unsigned, he scored major exposure when his cocky and laid-back track “Replacement Girl,” featuring Trey Songz, was featured on BET’s 106 & Park program as its “Joint of the Day.”
He raised his profile throughout the next several months by popping up on countless mixtapes and remixes, and as rumours swirled about contract offers from labels, he gradually became one of the most talked-about artists in the industry.
It did not hurt that he had support from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne.
By the end of June 2009, “Best I Ever Had,” a promotional single, had climbed to number two on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
After a fierce bidding war, Drake signed with Universal Motown in late summer and released an EP (So Far Gone) made up of songs from his popular So Far Gone mixtape. It peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and won a 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. Thank Me Later, a full length featuring collaborations with the Kings of Leon, the-Dream, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, was issued through Young Money in June 2010. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Still, the artist felt his debut was rushed, so its follow-up arrived in November 2015 with the title Take Care, referencing the increased time and effort put into the album’s creation. Receiving critical acclaim, Grammy Awards, and the number one slot on the U.S. Billboard 200, Take Care cemented Drake’s place as one of Canada’s biggest exports.
While on tour in 2012, Drake announced that he had started work on what would be his third studio album; Nothing Was the Same was released the following September. It spawned many singles, topped charts around the world, was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and was nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy Award. Soon after the album’s release, Drake hit the road on an extended tour, took part in some collaborations, and released a few singles, including the Grammy-nominated “0 to 100/The Catch Up.”
His next release was planned as a free mixtape before Cash Money decided they would rather charge for it. The decidedly downbeat If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late was released in February 2015 and debuted at number one, while all 17 of its songs entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In late summer 2015, he dropped a trio of new tracks on his SoundCloud page. One of them, the Timmy Thomas-sampling “Hotline Bling,” became a Top Five pop hit in Canada and the U.S. and something of a cultural phenomenon.
Later that year, Drake hit the studio with Future for a six-day session that yielded the mixtape What a Time to Be Alive. Upon the album’s September release, it became Drake’s second recording of the year to debut at number one.
After dropping three singles in the beginning months of 2016, Drake’s fourth album, Views, was released in April and debuted at number one. It revolved lyrically around his hometown of Toronto and featured production by longtime cohorts Noah “40” Shebib and Boi-1da, among others. Late that year, Drake issued another trio of singles, including the chart-topping “Fake Love.” They preceded the playlist More Life, released the following March with appearances from Kanye West, Quavo, Travis Scott, and Young Thug. The release became his seventh consecutive chart-topping album.
At the start of 2018, Drake issued the two-song EP Scary Hours. Both “Diplomatic Immunity” and “God’s Plan” hit the Top Ten, the latter becoming his second solo chart-topper. It served as a precursor to his fifth album, the two-disc set Scorpion, which was broken into a rap side and an R&B side that featured the hit single “Nice for What.” It was released in June and instantly went platinum, while also breaking records for most streams in a single day. At the 61st Grammy Awards, Drake took home the prize for Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan.”
In 2019, Drake raided the vaults for two archival releases, an official streaming release of his 2009 mixtape So Far Gone and the 17-track collection Care Package, which rounded up tracks that were leaked, discarded, or used as teasers for upcoming albums. The songs dated back to the Take Care era and the set was released in August, just as Drake was on a worldwide tour. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi
Rick Ross
Tattooed with pictures of AK-47s, Miami’s six-foot, 300-pound rap figure known as Rick Ross embraced his city’s reputation for drug trafficking on his debut single, “Hustlin’,” in 2006.
While Atlanta and Houston’s artists were establishing their cities as Southern strongholds, Ross aimed at putting Miami back in rap’s national spotlight.
Ross, real name William Roberts, grew up in Carol City, Florida, an impoverished northern suburb of Miami.
Influenced by artists like Luther Campbell and the Notorious B.I.G., Roberts formed local rap group the Carol City Cartel and began rapping in the mid-’90s. (He took his rap name from Los Angeles drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross, who ran one of the largest crack cocaine distribution networks in the country during the ’80s and early ’90s.)
Ross had a brief stint on Suave House Records, former label of Eightball & MJG before he ended up on Miami-based Slip ‘N’ Slide Records, the label home of Trick Daddy and Trina.
During the early to mid-2000s, he became popular and well-known locally through touring with Trick Daddy and appearing as a guest on a few Slip ‘N’ Slide releases but didn’t release any solo material until 2006.
Once “Hustlin'” caught the ear of a few executives within the national industry, a bidding war ensued that included offers from Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs and The Inc (formerly Murder Inc) president Irv Gotti. Nonetheless, Def Jam president and veteran rapper Jay-Z signed Ross to a multi-million-dollar deal.
The Miami anthem “Hustlin'” went on to receive gold status from the RIAA in May 2006 and sold over a million ringtone units before the physical release of his debut album, Port of Miami. Released on August 2006, Ross’ debut was Slip ‘N’ Slide’s first project under the Def Jam partnership, and it went to number one on the Billboard album chart.
His follow-up, Trilla, was released the following year, prefaced with the Cool & Dre-produced title track.
Early 2009 saw the release of Deeper Than Rap, an album greeted with numerous positive reviews in the hip-hop press.
In early 2010 he released the Teflon Don album featuring the hit single “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast).” The star-studded God Forgives, I Don’t followed in 2012, with guest shots from Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige.
At the start of 2013, he announced details of his sixth studio album. He enlisted the help of Scott Storch and DJ Khaled as executive producers and released the pre-album single “No Games” featuring Future. The album, titled Mastermind, landed in March of 2014 with the simultaneous release of the single “War Ready” featuring Young Jeezy. Just six months later, Ross announced that he would be releasing his seventh studio album, Hood Billionaire, toward the end of 2014. The album arrived in November of that year and was preceded by the singles “Elvis Presley Blvd.” and “Keep Doin’ That (Rich Bitch).”
In 2015, he dropped Black Dollar, a high-profile official mixtape that featured production from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Jake One. The mixtape previewed that year’s official album, Black Market, which landed late in the year, along with the accompanying single “Sorry” featuring Chris Brown. Future, Mary J. Blige, and Nas also made guest appearances on the LP.
In 2016, Ross appeared with electronic producer Skrillex on the Suicide Squad film soundtrack cut “Purple Lamborghini,” which went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The Maybach don returned the following year with his ninth set, Rather You Than Me, which featured lead singles “Buy Back the Block” with 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane, and “I Think She Like Me” with Ty Dolla $ign. The album peaked in the Top Three of the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts. Early the next year, he issued the single “Florida Boy” with T-Pain and Kodak Black.
Coonweelz is an American alternative rock band made up of Greg Schettino on vocals and Curry Colvin on guitar/vocals.
We release both original music and cover songs by combining melodic and alternative instrumentals.
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State your favourite genre of music and your reason.
Very big into alternative pop/rock as well as modern hip-hop/rap – Our band members grew up listening to both genres and that is where our inspiration for our band came from.
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State your experience as a musician.
We are made up of several different talents, from our guitarist playing guitar and a number of other instruments his whole life to vocalists who specialize in vocals such as cleans, raps or even if necessary, screams.
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Elaborate on the song.
‘Let You Down’ is a cover song that was originally written and performed by NF.
We were very excited to put together our own version of the song, give it a listen, and share it with your friends/family! We hope you like it!
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Name the people behind your success and thank them on this platform.
We are very proud of what we have done as a band and are going to be releasing lots of new music over the coming months. Could not have done this and been able to have our top song at over 700k plays without the help of friends and family.
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State your future goals.
We are really looking forward to continuing to grow our band with more Spotify followers and plays to get our name out there more for more people to hear what we have put together.
Elaborate on how you think your music is inspiring your fans.
Our music is very fun, edgy and connective, the modern progressive vibe is something important that has helped us connect with our fans.
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Analyze the transformations you have discovered so far in the music industry.
Music is evolving every day, especially in the digital space, new music, new sounds, new bands, taking chances and different approaches, a lot of collaboration and the execution of that collaboration is important to the growth of different types of music with people that have never come across various sounds.
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State the artists you cherish most and your reason.
Linkin Park is a band we cherish a lot being a band that pushed the boundaries and stuck the landing on a new sound at the time. They were not afraid to test new waters and that has helped us in the confidence of our rock, rap sound today.
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Elaborate on how you develop your lyrics.
When we write original songs, the most important part of the process for us is to deliver messages that are relatable to us in our lives that we have a deep enough connection with to share and have a connection with fans experiencing the same.
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Tell us if you enjoy collaborating with other artists or just singing as a solo artist.
We love to collaborate as we said earlier it is something we believe is very important to the music industry.
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State your opinion on making music that makes people dance or making the music with a genuine message that inspires them.
Two very different approaches, both are extremely important given the circumstances in which you are listening to specific types of music, the emotion each brings keep you feeling alive in either situation.
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Explain copyright.
We have the licenses and rights for this cover song we created.
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Discuss the impact of a Performance Rights Organization.
It is important that artists must register with the Performance Rights Organizations so that the artists creating and releasing music, can receive their royalties for what they create.
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Elaborate on how you develop your melody and instrumentation.
We look into a specific feel and emotion to circle around before creating the sound we are looking for.
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Go into detail on the recording of this song.
We had an absolute blast. It is always very fun and unique to take an approach that is different on an existing song to give it a twist of your own.
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Discuss your music performance.
Fun, personable and try to create a connection with the fans/crowd.
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State your artist’s name and elaborate on it.
The name of our band is Coonweelz, we created this band name in college when we saw a raccoon got hit by a car and felt bad about it.
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State the title of the song and the meaning.
‘Let You Down’ was the name of the original song.
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State the title of the album and the reason for choosing the title.
Max Burstyn is a student currently studying his Master’s degree in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
His musical life is split into five parts: composing, producing, audiovisual programming, performing, and teaching.
He is exhibiting five audiovisual installations this year in London and internationally, and is currently performing in London with his live set.
His work combines conceptual influences from environmental, sociological, cosmological, and neurological data, and sonic influences from late-romantic music, Middle-Eastern and Far-East Asian music from Egypt and Japan, virtuosic jazz, and glitchy electronic dance music.
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Discuss how you develop your melody.
I’m fascinated by the traditional music of Egypt, Japan, and Hungary. Many variations of the harmonic minor and pentatonic scales exist in these musical traditions, and I usually build a few melodies from one of these scales for each track.
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Tell us your source of inspiration.
My work combines conceptual influences from environmental, sociological, cosmological, and neurological data, and sonic influences from late-romantic music, Middle-Eastern and Far-East Asian music from Egypt and Japan, virtuosic jazz, and glitchy electronic dance music.
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Tell us the most memorable experience in your music career.
In May 2019, I wrote a piece – ‘Androids Seeping Sonic Code’ for live-coding and jazz ensemble. I was writing the live code which produces strange electronic sounds to alternately reinforce and break down the music from the jazz players. I forgot a bit of syntax from one line of code, which meant there were about 30 seconds of silence in the middle of the piece. It was terrifying but I managed to remember the code and we finished the piece!
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Discuss how you build your song.
I always start with instrumentation, then basic harmony, and then build the melody and style around this.
For example, I might choose a Shakuhachi or Guzheng as the main instrument for a track. Then I’ll decide how I’ll use this instrument – either as a melodic or harmonic element.
After building a phrase, I then loop this for a certain duration in the track, and build other parts around it such as manipulated synths and live digital drum machines (on Push 2). I only use digital equipment – everything is done through Ableton and MIDI.
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Tell us how you ensure your music inspires others.
I always try to compose music that’s infused with an element of abstraction from the style in which I’m working.
For example, if I’m producing a track based around a trap or trip-hop beat, I’ll try to incorporate synths, drums hits, or structural elements that are slightly out of the ordinary in order for them to stand out and inspire others to do the same to avoid homogenization.
I also love to get inspired by many different ideas – space travel, cosmology, neuropsychology, consciousness, etc.
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Discuss the relevance of promotion to the music business.
For a long time, I was very averse to the idea of making money from art. But as I went through my undergraduate and now Master’s program, I began to view music, especially my own music, as another facet of society which requires a capitalist mind-frame. I don’t think this takes away from the music, on the contrary, it’s been an incentive for me to promote my art as much as possible. If I want to make a living and a life from my music, I might as well promote the hell out of it!
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Tell us what you will do apart from music.
I spend a lot of time creating audiovisual performances and installations. So far this year I’m putting on five – two at the Royal Academy of Music, one at the contemporary music Spoleto Festival in Italy, one at the Bloomsbury Festival in London, and one on a boat party in London over the summer.
I’ve been fire spinning for 3 years and love doing this at events and festivals. You meet wacky and wonderful people at these gatherings.
I also work in a bookshop and spend a lot of time reading and researching books. My main literary interests are in writings about consciousness, absurdity, and science journals and articles.
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List the names of the instruments you can play.
I started out with the piano when I was a kid about 20 years ago. Over the years I’ve also picked up the guitar, bass, percussion, clarinet, and saxophone.
My main instrumental practice at the moment is combining my virtuosic piano style which has been built from playing late-romantic music from composers such as Ravel and Rachmaninoff, and the electronic method of building loops from synths and drums using Ableton and Push 2.
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Tell us if you have any music background.
I studied piano my whole life and started composing when I was about 13.
I studied music in high school which led me to take a Bachelor of Music with Honours in composition at the Royal Northern College of Music.
After this, I took a year out to work on my own music and release my first EP, during which time I applied for a Master’s degree also in composition. I received offers from the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but in the end, decided on the Royal Academy of Music.
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Tell us the piece of advice you will give to a new artist on entering the music chart.
Define your sound as much as possible, in any way. Whether that’s getting better at production, learning how to play your instrument more virtuosically, or forming partnerships with other performers to create new sounds. It’s all about continuously expanding your vocabulary and then finding your niche in the ocean of new music.
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Elaborate on melody and rhythm.
Almost all of my melodies are based around variations of the harmonic minor and pentatonic scales. I’ll extract a few notes from these, and, for example, if I’m playing in a four-bar loop, I’ll create a melody from a scale that descends and ascends over the four bars. My melodies are also influenced by the phrasing and structure in late romantic piano music, Debussy and Chopin are good examples.
Most of the rhythmic aspects of my tracks are based around the style in which I’m working. For example, if I’m writing something based on trap I’ll incorporate those slow and reverberating drums, or a triplet bass /kick and glitchy hi-hats morphing overtime on top if I’m looking to psytrance or industrial music for inspiration.
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State your future goals.
My dream is to travel the world exhibiting my audiovisual installations and live music at festivals, inspiring and being inspired by other artists and musicians. To promote free speech, to not judge others, to be kind! I also want to invest and get involved with environmental agencies and NGOs, particularly in the renewable energy industries.
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Share your recording experience with us.
I have been producing and recording acoustic and electronic music for about 10 years.
During my time at the RNCM, I recorded many of my own compositions.
I took a class in my Master’s degree in Audio Recording Techniques, and have recorded several of my own works here as well.
In my home studio, I use a Behringer 1202FX mixer and Scarlett 2i4 DI to record guitars, saxophones, vocals, etc. into Ableton or Reason.
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Tell us the most difficult part of the recording.
Finding the right microphone for different instruments – I recently recorded a grand piano and found (after a few tries!) that a cardioid condenser microphone was the best one for the job.
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Discuss the greatest mistake you have ever made in your music career.
Not promoting and releasing my music when I was younger! I’ve only built up the confidence recently, just before and during my Master’s degree, to start making videos and releasing my music into the world. The positive and critical feedback has helped with my confidence tremendously and has encouraged me to keep going down this exciting life path.
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Tell us how you build up your composition.
If I’m writing electronic music for live performance, I’ll always start with instrumentation, and then build a melody based on the scales I’ve talked about. Then I start thinking about style and structure, and how to effectively add in the other elements such as synths, drums, and bass.
If I’m writing a contemporary classical piece for live performance, I’ll almost always start with a concept based around data analysis, or transference of ideas from other art forms. This could range from looking at graphs of over-fishing data of fish species, to animal extinction rates over the last 10,000 years, to an abstract or hyperrealist animation or painting.
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Discuss the relevance of music.
Music is simultaneously the most tangible and intangible art form. There is (arguably) only one way to physically experience it, but endless ways to experience it emotionally. Music is prevalent in every society across every age of human history, and its importance can often be overlooked as its use in the background of films and TV shows and hotel lobbies increases.
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Elaborate on the song.
This song – ‘Sun-Spiral’ – is the culmination of about two years of musical experimentation. I’ve finally started to achieve the sound I sought after – a blend of Middle-Eastern and Far-East Asian traditional music with trip-hop and electronic dance music, with a slice of virtuosic keyboard improvisation on the top.
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Elaborate on your artist name and the title of the album.
The title of my first EP – Komorebi – translates from Japanese to ‘sunlight falling through the trees’. I have a deep love of Middle-Eastern and Asian culture, and, having recently traveled in the mountainous regions of Northern Thailand and Cambodia, I was inspired to create an EP that reflected the emotions I felt when wandering the beautiful forests and jungles alone or with friends, away from the big cities and tourist areas.
My upcoming EP – ‘Yin’ – is the first of a two-part EP exploring the philosophical, historical, and spiritual aspects of the Yin Yang symbol… I wear a necklace that I’ve had for more than 10 years, it’s a constant reminder to stay calm, balanced, and to go with the flow.
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Share your press release and review with us.
Sun-Spiral
This video performance is part of Burstyn’s new live set which is based around the blend of Middle-Eastern and Far-East Asian instrumentals with dance and electronica. The set will be released as an EP – ‘Yin’ – in 2019.
While being fully respectful of those who wish to preserve their cultural identities, he feels that romantic, Asian, and electronic dance music is the most moving and powerful, and his aim is to cross-cultural boundaries and discover new methods of combining traditional music with dance music.
