No Hook by BunnyTheDon

BunnyTheDon keeps a tight grip on her cash and an even tighter grip on the industry. Her new single and visual “No Hook” is sure to lure in more listeners. Similar to the music video, shot by FilmedByTylan, BunnyTheDon is a woman in a predominantly male game. She finds confidence is proving herself. Her lyrics aren’t copied and her drive to be better than the boys at this is genuine. As a Maryland native and a boisterous MC, she’s sure to have fans all across the country in no time.

Click here to watch the “No Hook” music video on YouTube.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH CHLOE RAIN

Chloe Rain wrote her debut album for her, but she also wrote it for you. Each song is an extension of an emotion that we all feel. It’s the sadness of being cheated out of happiness or a glimmering opportunity, Unfair is a heartfelt and selfless display of love and growing pains. Although not perfectly polished, Chloe Rain and her friends of artist make this project a stepping stone for her musical career and what fans can anticipate.  

What encouraged you to make Unfair your debut album instead of a mixtape or EP?

CHLOE: i originally planned on making it another ep, but as the tracks came to be, i knew that myself and the people involved were album material. i also wrote the whole album in four days so i acknowledged how natural it was coming to me and took that as the universes way of saying, this is it. but what really pushed me was once i listened to it front to back for the first time i just knew it was my debut album.


What have you learned about yourself as an artist while creating this album?

CHLOE: i learned that i can do a lot more styles than i think i can, ikyk was the first time i wrote over a beat like that, and the lyrics literally slipped off of my tongue. i also learned that i’d rather put out a big project than a bunch of little ones, i like to tell a story through my art and although i can do it in four minutes, why limit it to that.


COVID-19 has ruined plans for millions. Did you experience any complications due to quarantine during the process?

CHLOE: honestly not really, i’ve been pretty lucky because most of what i do has been online so far the only semi complication, was i thought i had the virus so i couldn’t sing for about a week, but i ended up just having a cold thankfully. but that was the 5th day of working on it so the day after writing all those songs all i wanted to do was record but i knew it would only make recovery longer

Any plans for visuals in the future, this year or next?

CHLOE: i have a video in the works right now, and i plan on doing more in the next year or so, i have a lot of ideas in my head, i just need to work on bringing them to life

Is there a story behind the song “Asshole”?

CHLOE: asshole is just a song that i felt like everyone could relate to. i’ve done wrong like everyone, but i feel like you do one thing and everyone paints you out to be the bad guy. it was kind of my way of beating everyone else to it because i knew the people who this album was about would hit me up or throw shade and i had a song on the album to hit them with what i assumed they were thinking. & a song to the haters. 

Have you felt any pressure to meet or exceed standards while releasing your music?

CHLOE: honestly, no.i’m to a point in my craft where i can bump my own songs and love on them. i knew putting this project out no matter what the numbers said or who loved it, i was confident in my craft. and it was more than good enough.

What can we expect from for the rest of the year?

CHLOE: i have a lot planned, i’d except some singles, and potentially another ep.

Click here to listen to Chloe Rain anywhere.

Like A Pro Freestyle by Valencia Snow

Sometimes a wicked mindset is required to survive in the entertainment business. Dallas rapper Valencia Snow isn’t a stranger to wicked tendencies. Her “Like A Pro” freestyle cramped with sultry bars and unapologetic femininity. Ms. Snow isn’t shy on the mic. ”When I take your soul I’ll never release ya.” And she thrives in this oftentimes heartless environment. “Got you f*cked up in the head while you’re laying in your bed. But do not blow me up ‘cuz I’ll leave ya ass on read.”

Click here to listen to the “Like A Pro” freestyle on SoundCloud. 

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH D’VYNE

D’vyne is an insightful and bright talent with the focus and determination capable of moving mountains. Her musical career is only at its beginning, yet there’s so much potential in every step she takes. She’s a teenage rapper, spoken word poet and black right activist with a number of skills to propel her towards whatever task she takes on. She’s steadily developing an audience via SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music, but she’s always searching for more. From Chicago, she’s determined to be her own boss. She’s produced and engineered a few of her own songs and she’s eager to learn more. It would have been unfortunate to miss the opportunity to speak to such a clear star in the making.

How has your family influenced your passions in music and activism?

D’VYNE:  My siblings are a huge part of this. Twins on my dad’s side of the family. My older brother was premature and he died before I got here. So to be blessed with little ones, who know and love me even when I’m far away... pushes me to do keep going to build a legacy. My mom...whew. That’s my whole backbone. Manager and all. She’s a very intense and intelligent woman who is for her people. Honest. So that rubbed off on me and I’ve just kept it going, extended the knowledge given with my own brainpower and research. My father, I got my music talents from him, hands down. He didn’t get to do what he wanted in life so as I said, building legacies are important.

How long have you making music; what gave you that initial push?

D’VYNE: I’ve been doing music since July 2018. I was 13. I had been through so much bad in life and I couldn’t find a healthy way to express it. Earlier that year I did little stuff like write and make 30-second beats, but it got serious then. If I didn’t have music, I probably would’ve lost my mind, no joke.

You’re young with plenty of potentials. Do you see yourself signing in a few years or staying independent? Have you given it much thought?

D’VYNE: I see myself staying independent. I actually had a whole debate with my mom over this. Everyone had their opinion but in my mind... I need to build myself. It’s God’s plan. Whatever happens, happens. If they put a contract in my face though, I’ma say smile, look and read, not go off of what they say.

Her family is a pivotal part of her career. They’ve impacted her morals, her expectations, and her goals. D’vyne gives all of her great qualities up to her parents, especially her mother and God. She has more self-awareness than most teens and uses it to her advantage, keeping herself outside of the box. Her music and expression exclude typical. She has her own ideas and creating is what helps her bring that to life and find balance in her thoughts.

What keeps you inspired and motivated? You don’t have the typical rap lyrics.

D’VYNE: My life keeps me motivated. The hustle. Keeping myself sane. I grew up around my mother, a hustler. She’s the goat. I don’t care to be in the crowd too much. I never been the crowd too much. It’s just I see these females and they sound the same. Anyone can write, put words together and put it on a beat, it’s the words being said to me. I want to be an artist where I got those that’s hype, but most of my songs are songs you have to look up and figure out the true meaning

What gave you the courage to become a CEO? Is it something you thought about or it just sort of happened?

D’VYNE: Wanting to have my own legacy. Build something for my future children and their children. It’s a beautiful thing to me and fuels my entire soul. It really just happened. It was a great investment and I love being a CEO, it’s hard work when you just got 2 people behind it but soon, it’ll be a whole team. I believe in the patience of hard work. Faith and Works.

If you could describe your musical journey so far, what would you say? What have been the ups and downs, especially working with a group?

D’VYNE: I would say Ups and Downs. There was a time where I almost quit and I made a song about me wanting to quit and why 😂. Then I was motivated all over again. That sense of self-worth came back to me. With Unapologetic, I just joined them around 5 months ago, somewhere in there. And they’ve fueled me even more. I could speak a book on all of them individually, but their love and support is everything to me, especially as all of us being youngins and me being the baby.

What can we expect to see from you in the remaining months of 2020? More shows? A project? New, unique content?

D’VYNE: So much you guys can expect! Album, “Black Heart: Reloaded coming very very soon! I have a show in Miami [July 25th] with @C2CLIVEEVENTS in the qualifying round for the world championship. Under 21 performing ONLY. 2020 is my year yo...I’m so excited.

YOUTH EP COMING SOON!

Photos Captured by a Catherine Elizabeth Patton

Click here to stay up to date with all of D’vyne’s music. 

Storm by D’vyne

D’vyne, a fifteen-year-old rapper from Chicago, is ready with a track that’ll stamp her name on the game. “Storm” is produced, mixed and mastered by D’vyne. It's not out of her element to put the world on her shoulders. The single demands respect. This song is anything but cookie-cutter. She lets her talent speak for itself. The young artist fires out fierce and braggadocious bars. It’s a high energy track perfect to add to your “New Favorites” playlist.

Click here to stream D’vyne’s music everywhere.

TikTok is Creating New Stars

TikTok is the next frontier in virtual music marketing. With over a billion users and its content consisting of less than a minute long videos, it’s the perfect platform to share your music or creativity in any form. The platform, built around lip-syncing to “sounds” hosted by the app, is used by mostly kids, teens, and young adults. Mending together these factors of having the attention of millions, being musically inclined, and falling amongst the key age range, and you could potentially have a million-dollar marketing team right in your pocket.

TikTok users have the option of using popular songs or any previously published “sounds” within the application’s catalog. This means, any starving artist can post a snippet of their song or video to TikTok and it’ll essentially be archived. “Sounds” on TikTok rise and fall in popularity, but when they’re at their peak, the view is great. Independent artists can pre-record a video of them listening to their song, jamming out or even as they’re creating it. The post itself may not get much attention, but now the “sound” is out there for anyone to stumble across and use.

TikTok has a few success stories already. Hip hop artist Ashnikko is one of the first and largest breakouts from TikTok. Her single Stupid, featuring Yung Baby Tate, found its way onto the social media site and quickly gained attention from teen girls, embracing the song’s message of womanly strength and straight-up not needing a man. Thousands of interpretations of the song’s leading line “stupid boy think that I need him” flooded the app’s “For You” our recommended page. This boost of support took the single to an entirely different level as the video was released on October 22nd and has gained over 11 million views in only a month.

She’s not the only underground artist to find an insane amount of unexpected support from TikTok. “Falling” an emotional, guitar filled track by upcoming artist Trevor Daniel was met its wave of popularity amongst the community. Songs that are somewhat relatable and capable of telling a story are what really stick to TikTok. Trevor’s transparency about heartbreak on “Falling”, a song that he released over a year ago, won him the hearts of millions of young fans dealing with similar issues. Thousands of TikToks use his song and the same line, “my last made me feel like I would never try again...”. If you’ve been on TikTok for even five minutes recently, you can finish the line. And it’s because of that, that underground artist Trevor Daniel has broken into the Hot 100.

If anything, TikTok is a place of opportunity and ever-changing trends. Creatives have the chance to present their art directly to the consumer. The short format of TikTok’s content can be daunting, but its brief video style is what gives each user the ability to be heard. If you’re a new or independent artist, this is certainly a platform that you should utilize. Growth is consistent, no matter how many followers you have, and whether you develop a fan base is all dependent on how much work you put in. If you’re willing to put in your all, or even figure out which of your works fits well into what TikTok is looking for, you can see unprecedented amounts of success and growth in no time.

Convolk Gets Candid With New Song

Convolk has never shied away from telling his supporters exactly what’s on his mind, it’s why they love him. Early Friday morning, Convolk made a confession to his fans: he relapsed. He posted a freestyle detailing his raw feelings, vulnerable emotions and sentiments that sometimes even fans share with the Californian artist. He opened up about a weaker point he recently experienced, to the extent of wishing he'll, ”find a bullet fast”. ”I Relapsed” is sonically beautiful. Without the name, it may even take a listen or two do understand the depth of emotions it stems from. Convolk never seems to fail to at least make you think.

Click here to listen to Convolk on SoundCloud.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH SORRY X

Sorry X is a female artists exploding within the underground. Her music, based heavily on her angelic vocals and her transparency, has reached thousands of people. Though still young in age and her career, she has managed to release thoughtful projects and singles that connect herself and her audience. I wanted to capture the energy and mindset behind her art as she takes these next big steps in her career.

How did it feel to release your first song on SoundCloud? Did you tell anyone beforehand?

SORRY: I only told a few friends when I first started posting on SoundCloud. At first, I didn’t really want anyone I knew to find my profile because I didn’t want to put limitations on what I could write about. I received a lot of positive feedback on my first song which was really incredible for not having an established name yet and also for how bad it was lol. I think people were excited to have a new female artist in the underground!

Your music meshes angst and honesty together, how did you choose the type of music you want to make?

SORRY: With all of my musical projects in the past, I always found myself writing about darker subjects because it would make me feel better to write out my thoughts. I was once told by a member in one my previous bands that I couldn’t keep writing sad music all the time because they “didn’t want to be known for that” so I decided to start my own solo project on SoundCloud where I’d hoped that my honesty might be more accepted.

Your music references the pains and anxiety of growing up, you even dedicated an entire EP to growing up. What does losing your innocence and growing mean to you?

SORRY: Honestly, this is a topic that I still struggle with. It’s really hard to accept that I’ll never get to be a carefree kid again. I’m constantly in a battle with myself trying to find the balance between my inner child and my adult self. I’d hoped that by writing about such an apparent topic in my life right now that I’d eventually come to embrace it. I think I’m getting there!

How did your family react to you beginning a music career?

SORRY: Most of my family is actually extremely supportive. They believe in me and want me to follow my dreams. They trust that I’ll make the right choices for myself more than I do sometimes lol. 

How has your experience been in the underground, as a female artist?

SORRY: There are positives and negatives that come with it. It gives me an edge that allows me to stand out which I am grateful for, but it also seems like it’s harder to make friends in such a male-dominated genre. There’s less opportunity in the sense that a lot of established people in the scene forget that there are awesome female artists here too!

How do you loosen up to become so emotionally open when recording?

SORRY: My best writing comes when I am starting to feel really emotional about something. Naturally I begin to record because it makes me feel better to work through my feelings and turn them into art. Once I’ve finished a song, it’s therapeutic in the way that it feels like I can move on. I can only hope that when others listen to my music it’ll so the same for them.

Will there be a project from you before the end of the year?

SORRY: I’m always working on something! I haven’t made any announcements yet, but I’m currently working on my second music video and EP. That stays between us and everyone reading this though (;

Click here to listen to Sorry X on SoundCloud.