Purple St. James (Yazarah)

Yazarah is an eclectic singer/songwriter with her own production company who, in my opinion, can't be placed into a genre.  Her sound is a mix between Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Solange, En Vogue and a few other people put together in this melting pot.  Classically trained, Yazarah (born Dana Nicole Williams), sang backup for Erykah Badu on her Mama's Gun tour.  She decided to leave the tour in 2001 to work on her own career.  Since that time, she has performed with artists including Raheem Devaughn, Floetry, Rahsaan Paterson, Goapele and Chaka Kahn.

Every track that I have heard from the Washington, DC native has a good feel to it.  There is a song for every mood, every person.  Her voice is different from what you are used to hearing on the radio, and that's a great thing.  She can best be described as a breath of fresh air for any music scene.  Check out her video for "Love Come Save The Day" below or click here.  There is also a video version of this song, however, I felt that she would make more of an impact with the acoustic version.  Enjoy!

Contact info:

"Hawk" Burns
347.451.9112

7/27

7/27 is a Hip Hop/ R&B duo representing Nashville, NC.  They fuse a healthy blend of Neo Soul and real Hip Hop, which is such a rarity these days. 

Young Nell (rapper), lists some of his influences as Big L, Cassidy and Nas.  These influences can be heard throughout his verses.  He's what the game has been missing for a while.  He gets much respect from me for that.  As for Kiarya B. (singer), she has an eclectic voice, that is able to adapt to any melody.  She lists her influences as Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill and SWV, all very powerful voices.

Their current single "Disconnect", a track off of their promo LP entitled "Road to Success", was played on the Independent Spotlight on local radio station Foxy 99 and voted #1 requested song. 

Contact info:
cakemixx27@gmail.com

Chrissy DePauw

When I came across Chrissy's music, I was amazed.  She has such an amazing voice and personality.  This girl is definitely going places!

A native of San Diego, CA, this 5’ 11” beauty may look like your typical girly girl, but she is far from that. Instead of playing outside with friends, she preferred to stay in and listen to music, sing and play her little brother’s xylophone.

With vocals very reminiscent of her influences Lauryn Hill (whose acoustic set she saw performed live is credited for inspiring her to buy and learn how to play the guitar), Amel Larriuex, Brandy and Stone Temple Pilots, she has gotten to perform at some amazing places. From Hard Rock Café to The Viper Room, Third Street Promenade to Room 5 and several colleges including Texas A&M, UTSA, Arkansas Tech, Slippery Rock University, Missouri S&T, University of California Irvine, and Cal State East Bay, there is no stopping this chick!

EP was released. The five- song sampler includes stripped versions of songs that are on her upcoming full length album “Somewhere Sweeter” under the pseudonym The Honey Escape.

Check out her "Acoustic Summer" EP and others at http://reverbnation.com/followchrissy