It’s nice to find a rapper who actually performs under his real name. Anyone hearing about Kent Jones riding high at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 might even believe he was a country music artist.
“I’d never thought of that,” smiled 23-year-old Kent. “I suppose it does sound like the name of a country singer. I don’t have the same back story as most hip hop artists. I never had to hustle out on the streets so I didn’t have a street name which might have carried over into the music business.”
Kent’s solid family upbringing saw him initially exposed to church music. But he had already revealed an affinity for the drums banging on anything which would make a noise.
“I’d hit boxes, pots and pans, whatever would make a beat sound. This was when I was very young. My aunt recognised I had some sort of rhythmic ability so she took the time to teach me the basics of playing drums.”
His innate talent and love for music saw Kent take formal lessons. He mastered the piano and Hammond organ before developing an interest in jazz and studying music theory.
“I didn’t want to be self-taught. I realised there were people who knew far more about music than me and anything I could learn from them would make me a better musician than I might otherwise have been.”
Kent’s initial intention was to be a producer rather than a performer.
“I worked with some local artists around my home city of Tallahassee, Florida. I loved producing songs and making them sound as good as possible. But I had the ambition to become a bigger player in the music business. I needed to learn more about production and I also wanted to perform my own songs by this time. This meant moving to Miami and hooking up with Cool & Dre.”
The introduction was made by a mutual friend.
“I bonded with Cool (Marcello Antonio Valenzano) pretty much immediately. Dre (Andre Lyon) was in Los Angeles at the time but the same thing happened with him after he returned to Florida. They work with people like Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Queen Latifah and DJ Khaled.
“I signed with their Epidemic label. We worked on tracks for me and a few other people. I was able to learn so much. But my own recording career really took off after DJ Khaled signed me to his We the Best label.”
Kent debuted as a solo recording artist around this time last year with the release of his Tours mixtape. Much of the buzz around his critically acclaimed work was centred upon Don’t Mind, the track with which he now has such a big hit. Yet the song was almost excluded from Tours.
“Dre and Khaled had worked out the tracklisting. When I got the cover from the guy who does my artwork, I saw Don’t Mind wasn’t on the mixtape. I called Dre and asked what was happening.
“Two songs were missing that I’d wanted to include. The other one didn’t make it but I really wanted Don’t Mind on the mixtape. The guys realised how strongly I felt about this. Cool ended up mixing down the entire Tours record and Don’t Mind was added to the tracklisting.”
Don’t Mind had been created in less than 24 hours.
“It was one of those songs which almost seem to write themselves. I made the beat and came up with the hook. The next day, I went back to the studio and just freestyled the verses.”
Despite the positive reviews, it took a while for Don’t Mind to attract nationwide attention.
“Things really got going last winter. It was all over the Florida club scene and word gradually spread across America. Releasing the video was a terrific boost. It had over three million views in what seemed like no time.”
That figure is now approaching 17 million views. But Don’t Mind is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Kent’s musical plans.
“I’m very thankful for the success I’m having with Don’t Mind. But I’ve got a lot of music that I want to share. There are some great songs I made years ago along with all the stuff I’m working on now. Timing is so important in the music business. Everyone is enjoying Don’t Mind at the moment so I’m just waiting for the right time to release my next project.”
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brief
Rihanna
Sledgehammer is the new single from superstar singer Rihanna.
Some readers may wonder if the song is a cover of Peter Gabriel’s 1986 hit single. In fact, it is a new song which has been created for the soundtrack of the forthcoming film, Star Trek: Beyond.
Lyrics posted on Rihanna’s Twitter account in May, 2014, suggest Sledgehammer was written two years ago. But as major movies can take this length of time and more from pre-production to hitting the cinema screens, it seems the song was deliberately held back to coincide with the promotion and release of Star Trek: Beyond.
Directed by Floria Sigismondi and appropriately set on an alien world, the Sledgehammer music video is the first to be filmed entirely with IMAX cameras. It will be screened in a number of IMAX cinemas around the globe. The video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXhIT4MpRis
Rihanna has been a fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood. She was introduced to the TV shows and movies by her father as she explains in the first part of the video trailer for the new film. This can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeN_DnBsSf4
Lil Wayne
Fans who might be interested to read about rap star Lil Wayne’s time in prison will soon be able to do so. His memoir, Gone ‘Til November, will be published by Penguin Books on October 11.
The book is based upon the diary Lil Wayne kept during his eight months at New York’s Riker’s Island prison in 2010. It was originally slated for release by Grand Central Publishing back in 2012. But the deal fell through and it seemed like the memoir would never be published.
Penguin’s promotion power allied to Lil Wayne’s enormous fan base should ensure that Gone ‘Til November will climb as high in the book listings as Wayne’s records in the music charts.
In other news, Lil Wayne partners Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, Logic, Ty Dolla $ign and X Ambassadors on Sucker For Pain, a song from the soundtrack of the upcoming superhero film, Suicide Squad. The movie is scheduled for release on August 5 but the music video is available to view now at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-59jGD4WrmE
Porcelain Raft
Porcelain Raft is the recording identity of Italian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mauro Remiddi. He has just released a six-song EP, Pressed Flowers, which can be heard and downloaded for free at porcelainraft.bandcamp.com
The songs have an interesting history as Mauro relates on his Bandcamp page. They derived from notes and ideas lodged on a portable recorder ten years ago when he was living in London. He rediscovered the recorder earlier this year at his home in Los Angeles, heard his old work and decided to turn the ideas into finished songs.
More of Mauro’s music can be heard by clicking links on the Bandcamp page or visiting (no www.) soundcloud.com/porcelainraft
Some of the songs are available for free download.
Angel Olsen
American indie-rock singer, songwriter and guitarist Angel Olsen releases her latest album, My Woman, on September 2. It is the follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2014 album, Build Your Fire for No Witness.
Two tracks have been released to promote the new album. They are accompanied by what might be termed as one and a half videos.
Shut Up Kiss Me has a full official video featuring Angel in a platinum blonde wig and showcasing her roller-skating skills. It can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nleRCBhLr3k
But Intern, which also sees Angel in the wig, ends abruptly part way through the song. This is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=r248o_rUfKE
Many more of Angel’s songs, videos and live performances can also be found on YouTube.
UNIQUE: Kent Jones is a rare rapper who performs under his own name.
