Tangina Stone

Art has always been about taking risk and making sacrifice in order to achieve greatness, and most of the time, moving away from the comforts home to explore the big city could be the bridge to find yourself and grow as an artist.

Singer and songwriter Tangina Stone is nonetheless one of the best examples of this. Coming from Canton, Ohio, she moved to New York at the age of 18 years old with nothing, hoping to find her way into the music world in a city surrounded by art.

After a couple of years of hard work and many live shows around the city, in 2014 Tangina managed to release her independent debut EP called The Fall. Her songs are featured on TV One’s Hollywood Divas and on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop Hollywood.

One of the particular things about Tangina Stone is definitely her remarkable way to fuse different kind of sounds, from soul to rock mixed with elements of r&b and pop, all genres that can be easily appreciated by any kind of audience.

Her latest single Wasn’t Love Cafe by Feel Up Records is currently available online. - nss Magazine

The music game is a tricky maze, full of opportunities and pitfalls at every turn, but every day, young talents enter the maze and a few will find their path to stardom. For this week’s tribute, um, First Look Friday, we are ecstatic to introduce you to the one, the only Tangina Stone. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Ohio singer-songwriter represents the 330 as deftly as LeBron James handles opposing teams. Mixing some rock, funk, grit and a whole lot of soul — Tangina Stone represents a sound that harkens back to an era where the sound came from a pure and honest place.

Driven to live out her dreams from a young age, Tangina Stone’s connection to the deep roots of music fueled her journey from Ohio to New York. Fed that homecooked goodness of The O’Jays, Gerald Levert and the hip-hop energy of Kid Cudi and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, this Stone Blu winner proves that she has the chops to make it in this music game. Honing her chops in the Big Apple has enabled her to take her “dollar and a dream” type energy and knock out shows with raw emotion and honesty. After the release of her first EP, The Fall, Tangina Stone found her melodies permeating from the small screen on shows such as VH1’s Love & Hip-Hop and TV One’s Hollywood Divas.

Now after experiencing the highs and lows of living the life, Tangina Stone has come full circle, showering the game with light on her new cut “Suntan.” We are also ecstatic to be the exclusive premiere destination for Tangina Stone’s music video, “Suntan,” which was filmed in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York.

The Feel Up Records signee is our latest induction into the First Look Friday franchise. The beautiful vocalist with the penetrating wordplay sits down with us to talk about her journey from the Midwest to the city that never sleeps, how a student at The New School balances work with entertaining and why songwriting is not for the faint of heart. - Okayplayer.com

Material: Assigning a genre to Tangina Stone’s music might be somewhat limiting, as she exists in the cracks between several. Under the umbrella of R&B/pop, the various colors in her voice suggest jazz as well as blues. The songs alternate between straight- ahead ballads and ‘90s-inspired R&B.

In “Cops” (a sort of rant with a marcato rhythm and a domestic violence storyline) there is plenty of attitude, but it falls short
in conveying the seriousness of its subject matter. Learning only that the victim is drowning in this tumultuous relationship
while pitted against an unstable partner, you can’t help but long for more detail about what culminated in her partner’s arrest. The line, “I called the cops,” repeats numerous times and should really be the title of the song.

In “Suntan,” a lovely sensual ballad with plenty of imagery, you are drawn into its lilting mood and beckoning visuals: “Your love is so bright you’re giving me a suntan. I just want to soak up the sun and you might just be the right one.” In this instance, Stone demonstrates her gift for melody and endearing emotion.

Musicianship: This singer’s appealing and supportive backing trio provided a foundation that complemented the nuances in her voice, which is somewhat stylized but reads very naturally. There is no over-singing and no gratuitous vocal embellishing. Keyboardist Thomas Senatore alternated on keys and guitar, which allowed for more sonic complexity when needed. Walker, normally the band’s official bass player, pitched in on guitar as well and put the finishing touches on the ensemble’s fully acoustic sound.

Performance: Stone seemed relatively at ease and displayed an obvious connection with her band mates. They were well rehearsed, which freed up room for between-song banter as well as some humor. She was chatty with the audience; however, at times she introduced
 a song with a brief synopsis of its storyline, which tended to lessen its emotional impact. A backstory as to what inspired the song (or some related anecdote) would allow the artist to save her emoting for the performance itself.

Summary: Possessing an innate musicality, Tangina Stone has a sound and style that is easy on the ears. To her credit she doesn’t push vocally or rely on pyrotechnics to get a song across. Improvements are needed, however—namely, refraining from giving away a song’s story before performing it—and she is urged to bring her songcraft up to the level of her fine vocal talents.

Players: Tangina Stone, lead vocals; Thomas Senatore, guitar, keys; Blake Walker, guitar; Nick Senatore, djembe drums.

Venue: Rockwood Music Hall
City: New York. NY
Web: tanginastone.com

- Ellen Woloshin - Music Connection

ESSENCE.com's "New and Next" column spotlights the brightest new talents we think you should know. This week we meet soulful singer Tagina Stone, an Ohio native whose new album, The FALL, is available on iTunes now. - Essence Magazine

Tangina Stone sets the stage for a welcoming career with her brand new single, "Wasn't Love Cafe," released via Feel Up Records (owned by Jillionaire of Major Lazer). On the sultry and bittersweet offering, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter reminisce on why a relationship failed.

"Love should always be done wholeheartedly," says Stone, who penned the Ted Birdie-produced cut.

Tangina is currently in the studio working on the follow-up to 2014's "The Fall" and prepping for her East Coast tour this fall.

Jillionaire adds, "We're really excited to have such a talented singer and songwriter join our team. We all need a soul that rocks and Tangina is it. We are looking forward to developing her sound. " - Singersroom

Singer/songwriter Tangina Stone doesn’t narrow her vision, she walks upright with strength and purpose. From having her single “Suntan” (Remix) featured on Love & Hip Hop Hollywood on VH1, her music is a gift to be explored. Inspired by her experiences, Stone’s sound is resilient, driven and worldly - A.R.T.S.Y Magazine

This past Sunday, Brooklyn-based label, Feel Up Records—owned by Major Lazer's Jillionaire—celebrated signing singer-songwriter Tangina Stone to its roster in conjunction with a post-release party for the Ohio native's new single 'Wasn't Love Cafe.' Held in the candle-lit lower level of state of the art venue Le Poisson Rouge, the event played host to a full house of anticipated supporters; featuring musical performances by Feel Up Sound System DJs and alt-R&B act, Amrit & Sene. The celebration ended on an enthralling note with Tangina delivering her signature juicy contralto vocals on 'Reasons' from her 2014 The Fall EP and 'Wasn't Love Cafe' over acoustic guitar instrumentals played by friends, Ted Birdie and Blake Walker, formally known as The Tangina Stone Experience. As Tangina sang the very last lyrics to her new single, a few audience members joined and sung along with her. After, a warm round of applause erupted throughout the room followed by Tangina's humble acknowledgements towards her team and everyone who came out. The warm reception was something Tangina's received from crowds at various NYC venues (and nationwide) since relocating to Brooklyn, New York from Canton, Ohio at the tender age of 18 with nothing more than ambition and a vision to expand her brand far beyond the inner-city regions of her hometown. In time, the promising musician solidified long-lasting relationships with local musicians, ultimately leading to the release of her debut EP The Fall in September of 2014. Critical acclaim received upon the EPs release propelled the now 24-year-old singer into a larger spotlight and secured the EP's featured single 'Suntan (Remix)' licensure on VH1's Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, season one. Now boasting a coveted residency at live music venue C'mon Everybody in Brooklyn, Tangina continues her journey on the road to success. But, despite her exposure to mainstream success and slaying concerts at various legendary venues nationwide from NYC's S.O.B'S to LA's The Mint concert hall, many still have yet to bask in the Tangina Stone experience. We caught up with Tangina right before her performance for an interesting chat about everything from the origin of her name to upcoming projects, Ohio and, her friendship with the Major Lazer squad.

Tangina Stone......Any relations to Angie Stone? Any influences?

Nah [smiles]......Not from Angie. Stone's actually my last name. I'm a fan of Angie but not really much influences from her. I'm more influenced by Erykah Badu, Sade, Stevie Nix,yeah.

Tangina, that's a unique name. We've read that it was given to you by your mom.

My mom gave me that name because it means 'my gift.' It doesn't just mean a gift or gift, but it means mine, and my mom when she had me it was just she and I. So for her it was very personal 'cause it was she and I, always.

And for her you're the gift that keeps on giving?
That's how she looks at it.

How long have you been making music?

I've been singing since I was two..........for as long as I could remember. I've been recording music since I was 13 and I was recording in people's living room studios in Ohio. When I came here at 18 it took a while to get a handle on things to make the connections I needed in order to actually record here. I didn't know anybody when I first moved to the city not one person in this whole place so it took a while, but I met some people started recording up here and started putting things out.

Did You play any instruments as a child?

As a kid, my grandfather tried to teach me how to play keys on the piano keyboard and I played as a kid. But when I was a kid I wore cornrows in my hair all the time and everyone compared me to Alicia Keys. People still do. I was in the seventh grade when her first record came out and everyone was like oh, you look like Alicia Keys, oh and you play the piano. I was like this isn't going to work. There's only one of her. Everyone would say it's a compliment and I would not take it as a compliment at all. People would say to me you look like Alicia Keys and I'd say yeah, but she's her and I'm me. She's doing her thing and I'm doing my thing. I had to separate myself somehow, so I quit the piano and stopped the cornrows too. I said no more cornrows mom, can't do that anymore. So when I got here and started making music I started playing the guitar. It was partially 'cause it was the one instrument that my grandfather who's the only musician in my family did not want me to play, and then partially cause I could not deal with that comparison anymore. The other reason is that I was tired of asking other people to play guitar for me. I'm not a master guitarist at all I just play by ear. Every instrument I play by ear and I just learn how to play them. Keys, guitar, everything, just 'cause I don't want to ask other people for them. But, I can share my vision better by being able to play them myself. With all of the songs that I write I play on my guitar first, take them to the producer or band, and then we build, and build on it that way.

Ohio is home to a lot of iconic acts like Mamie Smith, The Isley Brothers and, more recent acts like Avant, John legend, Kid Cudi. Does where you are from shape your sound in any way?

Oh, definitely, definitely! Also, the O'Jays were in my hometown specifically that's where they're from. So it's definitely huge. Midwest music to me is my favorite music period, bottom line, I love it! It definitely influences my sound. Not just my sound but my writing as well. A lot of the things that I write about is inspired by Ohio. Canton is my hometown, that's where I'm from. Canton's a small town outside Cleveland, Akron-Canton where Lebron's from. I've watched the city change a lot and not in the best ways, so a lot of things that I write about is about the pain that's associated with my hometown.

Is Canton riddled with a lot of high crime?

Yes there's a lot of high crime. It's the number three most dangerous small city in the country and it wasn't always that way. It's just like the economy pretty much went to shit during the Bush administration. They closed down a lot of factories. People didn't have jobs, so now everybody's running around doing crazy stuff. A lot of people whom I've graduated with have been killed. It's sad sometimes. I recently did a concert there. It was called Beats Beat Violence with a company called Jetzson's Media. When I did that it was for the youth. It was a rally against violence, that was super important to me 'cause my hometown like any place I know right now is in desperate need of that. It meant a lot to me to be able to do it. So, I'm definitely inspired and influenced by Ohio, by my hometown specifically and, by all artists who come from there.

Given that your music is influenced by a lot of things that are going on in your hometown would you also say that you are like the spokesperson for the kids and other people of your hometown?

Yes, totally, and I feel like the people of my town see me that way as well. When I played the concert two weeks ago in Canton, Ohio I didn't even understand what influences I had on my hometown 'cause I haven't really done my own show there since I was in high school. So it was a coming home concert for me as well. I was featured in the local newspaper a couple of times, and just seeing how inspired everybody there was meant a lot. I did a two-hour autograph signing before I performed and that to me was huge, but it felt awkward 'cause everyone I knew people I went to high school with and grew up with wanted to come get my autograph; but people came. People were really inspired by the fact that I could get out and do what I'm doing and also cause I constantly put on for where I am from. I never forget it. I'm an Ohioan first. I'm a Brooklyn local, but I'm an Ohio native. People are inspired by that and sometimes you're not aware of how much you inspire people, but you have to try and be aware of that, so to me it means a lot. And I do feel like I'm their voice in a way or a voice for my people back home and they feel that way too and, it means a lot to me that they entrusted me with that position.

Besides doing the show and autograph signing are you involved in philanthropy at all?

Yeah, my own personal stuff. I want to be involved in philanthropy on a grander scale than that. But, I donate to everything (laughs) and I'm involved in the Black Lives Matter movement as well.

Let's get a little bit more into the new single 'Wasn't Love Cafe.' We know you wrote it yourself and that it was produced by your friend Ted Birdie. A lot of your music like 'Reasons' from your The Fall EP comes from a painful place and after listening to Wasn't Love Cafe and then Reasons again we're just wondering is the new single the aftermath of what was going on in The Fall and Reasons?

Yeah....the order is kind of reversed. With The Fall the reason why it was called The Fall was cause when I moved to New York a lot of my family and my friends back in Ohio was like you're going to fall on your face eventually. They all told me that, and I was a determined 18-year-old moving here by myself and I said ahh, I'mma be fine, I'm going to do this. But I did fall on my face. I fell on my face a lot of times. I got back up. Always got back up. Then I fell in love really deeply with someone who didn't deserve my love at all, so I was on my face again. But I got back up, and then I fell in love again later on and this time it was different. It was refreshing and that's what inspired Reasons and Suntan. Those are actually my first love songs that I've ever written. I don't really write love songs very often. Although people know me for them now it was very new to me to write love songs and to expose myself and to be as vulnerable as I was with those records. Cops was definitely written during the storm about everything that was going on and some afterthoughts after that relationship ended. Reasons and Suntan were just about being inspired to love and actually meeting a person who's worthy of that love and inspires that in you and then Wasn't Love Cafe was an aftermath as well. My friend and I who I worked on the record with, Ted Birdie, we were talking about how it's pretty crazy how you can be in a relationship and think that there's just so much love there. You think every love is your greatest love until afterward and then you're like damn that wasn't my greatest love at all, or it may not have even been love. At least it wasn't love on both ends, and to me love should be powerful. Love should be reciprocal always and mine wasn't reciprocal so to me it wasn't my definition of love. Then my friend, Ted Birdie was showing me his bossa nova styled guitar that he plays and he was playing that and we both said at the same time it sounds like we're in a Brazilian cafe right now. That's how we got the title, Wasn't Love Cafe [chuckles].

Yes, we were wondering how that title and metaphor came about.
We were in a zone playing it for so long. We wrote the song in fifteen minutes and then we just vibed out on it for hours without talking to each other. We sat and played music and I just sang and wrote and we did that for such a long time it felt like we had our own vibe and like we just created our own cafe with a Brazilian bossa nova guitar and we were just talking about how that last relationship wasn't really love at all and that's where the title came from.

You just signed with Feel Up Records how did you meet Jillionaire? How did that happen?

There're a few different ways. I have a good friend, his name is Addy, he's a DJ and producer who lives in Miami and he rolls pretty deep with the Major Lazor crew. He's really close with all of them and he asked me to do a track for him for an artist called Jesse Royal a while ago and I did this before Jesse Royal had even put anything out or anybody knew him. So he asked me to get on the track and write a verse and I did it and I sent it. He said it was for an artist in Jamaica, so a couple of weeks later after I wrote my part and gave it to him it's up on Major Lazer's Soundcloud and Walshy Fire presents Jesse Royal's project. The record I did was on that project and Addy had also known Chris (Jillionaire). That was one way. Another way was we did my release party last year at a storefront called La Petite Mort in the lower east side with amazing people. Kara, O.J, the owners, they're amazing. So we did the show with them and O.J's actually really good friends with Chris too. He was writing Chris on Facebook and telling him all these things about me and Addy told Chris about me as well. Everybody that knew me and knew him were trying to get us connected one way or another. So eventually we just dropped him emails and was like hey come out to a show and that was it, that's how everything happened. Then another time I was at a party at Ms. Lilly's and then Skrillex and Diplo walked through the door so I met Diplo then, I met Walshy Fire, Chris, everybody in the whole crew I met. It was just like I kept ending up in their circle of friends somehow and it was just interesting. It's pretty cool. Great friends, without them none of this would've been possible

By listening to you, we can't say that your sound leans toward neo-soul alone. It's more like neo-soul and rock. Is there something else in there?

It's rock, it's neo soul, and electronic sometimes. It's really just whatever I'm feeling at the time. The two most common elements are rock and neo-soul. I mean, I really can never really put myself in a genre. I can't, but if someone else wants to they're welcome to try. But I don't focus on that very much 'cause I have songs that I listen to one and the other and the other and I'm like man, this is not the same person who wrote these songs or wrote the music or any of it, they're very different. People say think outside of the box but for me there's not even a box to begin with and so that's just my viewpoint with my music. I feel like by not having a box to begin with I'm able to connect with people in ways I wouldn't have been able to had I put myself in any box and it's important to me to be able to connect with everybody.

What message do you hope to deliver with your music?

For me, the grand plan is to be able to inspire people. To be able to touch people. If I'm going to talk about something I'm going to do it from a very honest standpoint. So if I'm going to talk about love, which like I said I don't do that often— it seems like I do 'cause of The Fall— but if I'm going to write a love song I'm going to do it up. If I'm going to write a love song I want to make people feel like they're rolling in fields of flowers. That's what my goal was with Reasons. I want them to feel mushy gushy. I want to make everybody want to go fall in love after because love can make people feel really good. But there are other things that sometimes I just want to be real about with my music as well. Just real raw. Like on my next project, there's a lot of angry music. It's a lot more angry than usual. It's a lot different than what I usually do. But I think it's going to be received very well. It's angry in a way that encourages and inspires you rather than just to piss you off.

So this new project is more political in a way?
Yes, exactly!

We heard that the new project is supposed to be called Cultural Studies?

Yes, Cultural Studies. I'm actually in school at The New School. My degree is in Arts In Context with a focus on cultural studies and contemporary music. So, I've learned a lot more and I feel like I have a way of peel back in my eyes that I didn't have peeled back before. I think it just inspired me and then made me very angry. The Black Lives Matter movement has a lot to do with that. Just to figure out and just to learn the ways in which my people are disadvantaged in ways that sometimes you don't even know. You don't think about it. Like, think about the fact that it's a privilege for a white person to go into a movie theater and know that they're going to see people of their race in that movie every single time. We as black people sometimes can go to a movie and sit there the whole time and watch a movie with all white people and not even think anything of it when we leave and just be like that was a great, great movie. But we don't even think about that stuff sometimes because we're just so conditioned to being disadvantaged. That kind of stuff inspires me a lot and just has me thinking about everything in a different way than I had before so the next project's definitely going to bring light to a lot of situations that I want to talk about.

So this new project is about cultural awareness as well?

Cultural awareness, yeah. But it's a little bit of everything, It's Blacks Live Matters. It's LGBT rights. It's police brutality. It's everything. Everything that's going on in the world right now.

Those are some pretty controversial topics that will most likely piss people off.

It's controversial and hopefully it'll piss people off in a way to make them do something about it. That's what I want!

Upcoming Show Dates
Aug. 25 - C'mon Everybody (residency) - Brooklyn
Sept. 4 - The Howard Theater - Washington, D.C.
Sept. 7 - Brooklyn Wildlife Summer Music Festival - Brooklyn
Sept. 29 - C'mon Everybody (residency) - Brooklyn
Oct. 19 - Pianos - New York - Joonbug.com

A few days ago, Brooklyn singer/songwriter Tangina Stone dropped her gently searing new single "Wasn't Love Cafe" (streaming below). Beginning with "Push It Along"-esque drum hits, sprinkled by warm electonics, and closing on guitar-fuzzed spoken-word, the genre-melding song has the Ohio-born Stone imbuing the timeless love-conquers-all theme with fresh passion. As marked by her heart-buckling belt, the early-twenties musician definitely shows promise of brave music to come but, meanwhile, stirs with this bold love song. Tangina Stone plays at C’mon Everybody next Tuesday (8.25). – Zach Weg - The Deli Magazine

The next featured performer at Sol Village is New York (via Ohio) soul-pop singer songwriter Tangina Stone, who released her debut EP The Fall about one year ago. Check out her popular single Suntan, streaming below. - The Deli Magazine

Tangina Stone’s music style is a powerful combination of Soul, R&B and Rock and Roll. She pulls emotional inspiration from her own and other people’s life experiences. In an interview after her performance, Tangina mentioned that her latest record Control was meant to bring awareness to the dangers of drug abuse.

On Friday Sep.4 the Howard theatre hosted a collection of next generation Soul and R&B artists. Tangina Stone, and her band, “The Tangina Stone Experience” performed her first EP, “The Fall” for her D.C. debut.

“Most people think Control is just a love song. It’s also about addiction. Addiction is so impactful that it can be compared to your greatest love.” Stone said.

Her music has such a captivating spin because she’s been greatly influenced by artists such as Sade, Lauryn Hill, Kurt Cobain, Stevie Nicks, and Billie Holiday.

Tangina connected to the audience through her expressive nature and sensual stage presence.

Intensely melodic sounds meshed with sultry lyrics create the therapeutic Tangina Stone Experience. Her songs have underlying meanings that she uses as a platform to passionately express metaphorical messages about life and love.

Having a strong sense of self is a very useful personality trait. When people truly understand themselves, they make better decisions that improve every aspect of their lives. Individualism is a result of being self-aware and confident.

Tangina Stone faces her fears head on but doesn’t allow those thoughts to hinder her from pursuing her dreams.

She reflected on a quote from her father, a motto to live by; “to limit someone else is murder, to limit yourself is suicide.”

When you have made the decision to follow your heart like the limitless Tangina Stone, you can then make better decisions that will help you to ultimately reach your goals. - The Montgomery Advocate

A refreshing sound, mellow voice and majestic lyrics makes up the body of work Brooklyn-based singer Tangina Stone has created. Her sound is a mix of alternative, world, soul, and punk music. She’s a storyteller at heart which is evident in the fluidity of her lyrics. If ever there’s a need within you to extinguish pain, vent emotions, or simply admire life, make sure to put Tangina on the top of your music playlist. - AFROPUNK

Jagged, spiky guitars lead the way on this debut single, and Tangina promises much with her rock-inflected soul sounds. Keep your eyes peeled for future developments from this sassy songbird, and makes plan grab Fall when it's released. - SoulBounce

To be direct with you, I’ve interviewed and talked to many artists in my life —business and otherwise— and I can boldly state that new artist Tangina Stone is true to her Swahili namesake: A gift. When the 23-year-old Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter isn’t working on new material or enjoying life, she’s surely inspiring new listeners to love and be loved. - Grungecake Magazine

You might have heard of Tangina Stone after her smash single, Suntan, was featured on this past season of VH1’s hit show “Love and Hip-Hop”. OurBKSocial had a chance to catch up with Ms. Stone before her set. - OurBKSocial

We believe Tangina’s got it all to become the next princess of Soul Pop, on the path of Lauryn, Sade, Alicia, Alice you-name-them after taking some time to listen to this delectable ballad. - Feel Up Records

Meet Tangina Stone, a Brooklyn resident and Ohio native who just released her debut EP “The Fall”. Her dope eclectic sound is really dope and reminds us of a cross between Melanie Fiona and Janelle Monae. Additionally, the remix of her latest single “Suntan” will be featured in an upcoming episode of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop Hollywood to air 9/26. - You Know I Got Soul

Yeah. I’m late, but better late than never. What I heard has placed her sound on my radar, and being that this Ohio native lives in Brooklyn now, I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing her perform around more often. - ThisisRnb

La Petite Mort gave summer one last goodbye hug this past weekend. The vintage boutique invited singer Tangina Stone to celebrate the official release of her EP titled, THE FALL. The celebration also included a groovy sidewalk performance which attracted a throng of passersby. Stone was in true form, serenading the Lower East Side and having friendly interactions with the crowd in between songs. - Quiet Lunch Magazine

This past Saturday, Ohio, Cleveland born songstress Tangina Stone graced NYC’s LES sidewalk with a tantalizing 35- minute set. Tangina’s angelic vocals lit up the dark sidewalk and street in front of La Petite Mort, as lovely lines from some of her more popular songs like “Reasons,” “Cops” and “Suntan” drifted down Orchard Street. - LA PETITE MORT

Get used to the name Tangina Stone. The Brooklyn by-way-of-Ohio singer-songwriter’s music combines elements of pop, R&B, reggae, rock, soul music and even punk — creating an eclectic soundscape to accompany her strong vocals and penetrating lyrics. Trust us when we say you’ll be hearing a lot about this up-and-comer in the near future. - The Boombox