- Take Your Knees Off Our Necks!!!
Viral Records has announced the release of both a DVD collection of music videos as well as an audio album from R&B artist Darrell Kelley. The two share the same title of “Take Your Knees Off Our Necks”, but each contains subtle differences. While the DVD collection offers thought-provoking music videos based on ten of the songs provided on the audio album, the audio-only version contains a bonus track, which coincidentally turns out to be the title track that was not included as one of the DVD music videos.
The genesis and interlocking elements that connect each track are the subjects of police brutality, systemic racism, social injustice, equality, and economic disparity. Sadly, as the long list of names from the African-American community and the economically suppressed that were killed by the law enforcement officers continues to grow, there has been little done to correct this injustice. Hardly a week goes by where the American news cycle does not contain at least one report of another death of Black and poverty-stricken people at the hands of the police.
The audio album and DVD will be distributed globally by his record company to all major digital retailers and streaming platforms on the internet. In addition, North American radio and press promotion campaigns have just been launched for “Take Your Knees Off Our Necks”. Mainstream Top 40, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop, and Adult Contemporary format radio stations have already been serviced with the title track single from the audio album. Multiple personal appearances will be booked for the remainder of this year. To learn more go to: https://darrellkelleyofficial.com/
Darrell Kelley is currently available for interviews and/or appearances. News updates, activities, and other information about upcoming events may be found at: https://www.instagram.com/darrellkelleyofficial/
You may also take a quick listen to the “Take Your Knees Off Our Necks” radio single, or get an insider’s sneak peek of the DVD’s eye-opening and mind-bending music video collection by checking out Darrell Kelley’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27AVHRVUL-TEwq4Fn95ikA
Press kits will be provided upon request to members of the media by contacting the representative below.
Media Contact:
Stevie B
Mia Mind Music
Phone: 800-843-8575
Email: press@miamindmusic.com
- Stryker Records Artist Drew Lines “Rise” On Radio Charts
Currently the single, “Rise”, featuring Clio Cadence, has been impacting radio charts throughout the US and Canada. It was the #3 most added release for hip-hop stations the week of August 2, 2021, and has so far peaked at #18 on the NACC national hip-hop airplay charts, #483 on the national un-weighted, and #812 on the weighted College Radio charts. With these indicator broadcasters behind it, the next intended target is Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Billboard and Mediabase charts.
Drew, from Green Bay, WI, started writing by the age of 13. While at a boy’s prison, he would write poems and send them home. He has created over 500 poems, some of which have been published. Amongst the published writings, a poem titled “Rose,” caught the attention of The International Poets Society, resulting in a first-place award. Drew and his older brother started a group they called “The Brotherhood.” Quickly gaining momentum after their debut album, their popularity grew, and soon the duo of brothers had found themselves working with Rick Ross’s Label, FMG as well as Glance Conway, and Project Pat of Three 6 Mafia. They continued to work with Solomon Childs of Wu-Tang and started creating songs for other artists.
Drew Lines, the newest added member to the Stryker Records family, is now wrapping up work on a soon-to-be-released debut album in conjunction with multi-platinum producer Malcolm Springer and Award-winning producer Scott Wilson at the House of Blue Studio in Nashville.
He is now available for interviews and/or appearances. News updates, activities, and other information about upcoming events may be found at: http://www.strykerrecords.com/DL/DL and you may also take a quick listen to “Rise” here: https://youtu.be/w6Mb6bTjSiQ
Press kits will be provided upon request to members of the media by contacting the representative below.
Media Contact:
Stevie B
Mia Mind Music
Phone: 800-843-8575
Email: press@miamindmusic.com
- “Sober” by ET Boys on Wake Up! Music
House vocalist, Pepper Gomez of Wake Up! Music announces that the much anticipated first release by the new band, the ET Boys, called “Sober” is out June 25, 2021. Pepper notes, “I’ve been waiting for a Nu Pop act to sign to the Label but little did I know it would come from my own sons.”
The ET Boys from SoFlo are the brothers Tacboy and Sharkeyes. Sharkeyes creates all the music for the tracks while Tacboy takes lead on the vocals and lyrics. “These sounds cannot be forced into creation but rather are born from the bonds of brotherhood,” states Sharkeyes. This is a synergy that comes from growing up together in a home where dancers, musicians and music of all genres were welcome. What the brothers create as a duo is their own unique sound which has been described with various genre influences including melodic rap but is best described as the ET Boys Nu Pop sound.
“Sober”, their first release, tells a story which is visually and dramatically supported by the high intensity video which accompanies the track. Domonick Giorgianni, video creator, said, “The ET Boys were a dream to work with – super talented dudes who came in early and ready to work. Get ready to have your minds blown.” The “Sober” video is an excellent and visually beautiful introduction to the ET Boys. As we follow the video’s storyline and music, we feel both the struggle of the main character and the driving force of the music which ultimately can save him. A future release entitled, “Long Night” will tie together the two videos in the life of the brothers.
“From their music to the videos, the ET Boys are clearly making their own art and set to make their special mark on the world, “states Pepper Gomez. Tacboy, a signed IMG model, is already being compared to Jim Morrison in looks, vocal fluidity and lyrical production. In this analogy, Sharkeyes is the Ray Manzarek of the team with his formal studies in piano and drums from which he pulls to create and elevate his tracks, not to mention with over 100 tracks in the vaults for future releases.
There has never been anything like the ET Boys and “Sober” is starting off as strong as it gets as it hits the airwaves June, 25, 2021. Signed to Wake Up! Music and with distribution by ONErpm, the summer sounds of nu and indie pop are here. The ET Boys – lighting up your summer and moving in for life!
Interviews and/or appearances will be booked later this month for the ET Boys. Added news updates and other information about upcoming events may be found at https://www.facebook.com/WakeUpMusicGrp. Press kits will be provided upon request to members of the media by contacting the representative listed below:
Media Contact:
Stevie B
Mia Mind Music
Phone: 800-843-8575
Email: press@miamindmusic.com
- An Interview with Stevie B, Mia Mind Music
Tell us a bit about the career path that led to where you are now.
At fifteen, I dropped out of high school, got a part in a TV soap opera for about a year (until they killed off my character in a motorcycle accident), then went on a European tour with Richie Havens (remember him from Woodstock?), got signed as a recording artist to Decca Records when I was 16 and worked on side with them as a talent scout and as an in-house composer with Chappell publishing, got dropped so took the GED and attended NYC’s Hunter College where through internships I worked with Benny Goodman, Stéphane Grappelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Cab Calloway, August Darnell (aka Kid Creole) and ultimately wound up at the Polygram Music Group interning for Stephan Pritchitt, who was a great mentor and eventually one of my Mia Mind Music business partners, then over the years produced records for weird people like Madonna, and held the position known as The Resident Bastard running the day-to-day operations of Mia Mind Music for the past 35 years.
Why does college/community radio matter in today’s fragmented environment?
Non-commercial radio levels the playing field for new artists, most who possess more talent than they have major label backing. The broad programming formats provided at most non-commercial stations, as well as their freedom of not having to answer to advertisers and stockholders, maybe just allows them to experiment more freely and push the artistic envelope further. So many acts, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, owe their careers to non-comm. Commercial radio is more narrowly formatted and is no longer concerned with artistic development as they once were in the past. They’re now focused only on artists who have already built a large following (usually through the backing of major label resources) and incorporating that following as a method of increasing the station’s audience and market share.
What is your favorite experience you’ve had in your career? Perhaps a musical idol you got to meet? A festival you were able to attend? A project you were involved with promoting?
Having Benny Goodman throw a plate of sandwiches at my head because he didn’t like how they were arranged and Stéphane Grappelli taking me aside to tell me not to worry about what Benny just did, then sharing a secret: Benny was in the final stages of cancer and was in constant pain, which helped me to understand his often erratic behavior. Richie Havens teaching me open tunings for the guitar. Madonna sending a Christmas card which simply said “All I Want For Xmas Is A Chainsaw”.
What band/artist outside the realm of college/community radio would people be surprised to hear you love?
Beside the ones I’ve already mentioned I’m a sucker for Bach.
What job do you think you would you be doing if you weren’t a promoter?
Since I wasted several years of my life earning a degree in clinical psychology I’d have to be crazy to try my hand at anything else other than as a practicing shrink. But if I had instead done that for a living, I’d probably be wearing a straightjacket and bouncing off the padded walls of Bellevue Hospital today.
What destination would you most like to visit and why?
I now work and love living in Hoboken, NJ, which I’ve nicknamed as “Hobohemia”. I’ve traveled so much of the world during my touring career, which averaged about 300 days a year on the road, so there are few places I haven’t already seen. Hobohemia has the combined vibe of an artist community, like Greenwich Village circa 1960s, and Mayberry, the setting of a fictional small town in an old TV series called The Andy Griffith Show. When people ask where I’d like to go for a vacation I always reply Hobohemia. Maybe one day I’ll even be inspired to write an epic anthem about my little town titled “Hobohemian Rhapsody”.
You just won a million dollars. What are you going to do with it?
Give it away to Wikipedia, my local library, and our local shelter. These are the 3 things I’ve constantly found fulfillment in, and use of, during my lifetime. I find no joy in receiving anything that I haven’t earned from the sweat of my own labor, which is why I don’t gamble for pleasure. It’s just the way my brain’s wired. Maybe I really am ready for that straightjacket.
What is/are your current favorite TV obsession(s)? What was your favorite movie of 2018 so far?
Netflix’s “Black Mirror”, FX’s “American Horror Story” and CW’s “iZombie” are my jams for TV. So far I really don’t have a favorite 2018 movie, but we still have 5 more months in the year to go, so who knows?
When friends come to town, what is your favorite restaurant you take them to?
Without a doubt it would be Court Street. It’s gastronomically pleasing to the palate, aesthetically pleasing to the eye and the staff’s the coolest of the cool. Hey, it’s Court Street, damn it!
You’re stranded on a desert island. What five well known people (dead or alive) would you like to have there with you?
Without a doubt I’d like Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Seuss, and Dr. Dolittle there with me. One to take care of my body, the second for my soul, the other for my mind, another for my entertainment, and the last one to talk to any animals on the island with me. My philosophy is that if you’re stranded on an island then you can’t have too many doctors to care for you. Alright, I’ve got to end it here because those little men in the white suits with the butterfly nets are here to measure me for that straightjacket…
Read this interview on the NACC web site
