Music Review and Interview for the ‘Body Love’ Single by Brotus

There’s an immediate strength in the high quality production on this track, the mix pours out through the speakers with a crystal like clarity, the dream like synths wash over you, followed soon after by a peacefully light beat. The melodic and soothing element is added from the start, then you get the rap vocal, a calm and confident performance that fits in brilliantly with the mood of the over all track.

This whole piece has a very relevant sound to it, the creativity featured in the stop and start of the beat adds a lot that is fresh, and as mentioned, that rap vocal is confident and easy to listen to – the tone of voice has a lot about it that is unique, it’s not a familiar or recognisable voice at first, which is good, and you soon get to know the sound and the character of it. The mellow ambiance is maintained even as the rap flow intensifies and the speed of the expression builds up. That trip-hop like hook, the sung vocal, soaked in reverb and atmosphere, creates a really powerful contrast with the rap vocal, so together they fuse superbly to make a track that is fresh, very ‘now’ sounding, in terms of commercial value, and very memorable.

The melody of that hook is simple but in fact quite addictive once you’ve heard it a couple of times over. That’s always a strong quality to look for in song writing, it’s a big part of what brings audiences back for more. The personality that shines through in the rap vocal is another great quality of the same sort of value, in a way it helps present a good combination of electronic music and hip-hop, so there’s a much wider group of listeners that are likely to be drawn in by it.

By Rebecca Cullen

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 I was born in Miami but raised in Orlando FL. My family moved around to so many different neighborhoods so I’ve been through and seen so much growing up. I’ve always kept to myself about a lot of things. Many years of bottled up emotions makes the best poetry. Music later became my voice and my therapy. Music is my drug. Every musica instrument just does something to me. Being an artist came natural. It was never a choice in my case, it is the air that I breathe.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 I have a friend named Jade Brodus. A very good friend of mine. I was so fascinated by the name brodus to the point where I was playing a video game where I had to create a player in the game, so I named my created player Brotus spelled with the letter T instead of D. I later looked up the word Brotus and realized that the word had no meaning for it. That’s when I changed my name from Big Zoe to Brotus. When it’s all said and done I will be the one to build a meaning for the word Brotus.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 I encourage people to download my music period. If they can get it for free then go for it. Like Bob Marley would say, I don’t make music for the money I make music for the feel. Sharing music online is the easiest way to reach my fans so I take it very seriously but by all means download any one of my songs whatever way you can. ITunes or YouTube doesn’t matter to me as long as you can enjoy my music.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

It starts with a mixture of good music and an online Image/presence. If you want to be taken seriously you must invest in the quality of your music and carry yourself as a professional online meaning high quality pictures and reaching out to bloggers. Then comes good promotion. You can have everything looking and sounding right but without good promotion it’s useless. These are the things I abide by and it’s gotten me very far.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Where ever I can get peace and quietness. Most of my best songs were written in my car. I would sit in my car at night with all the lights dimmed and my air conditioner blowing and let my thoughts run wild while I write everything down. As far as inspiration, that comes from the  situations I’ve been through in my past life and my current situations. Based on that, I will never run out of material.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 The site I’m rolling with at the moment is Mtv.com/artists/brotus it has all my information, tour dates, music videos, interviews and more. I mainly move through Facebook and Instagram. I’m still forcing my self to use Twitter. Soundcloud is my strong hand, my go to platform but I use any platform where I can reach an audience.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

I would invest 70% of that money into my music. The faith I have is outstanding. You can’t deny good music especially when it comes from the heart. The rest of the money would be saved up somewhere in a safe or bank.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

I’m always looking for better ways to promote. The bloggers I’ve met in my journey I’ve maintain good relationships with. Clp Nation has always kept me in there rotation so promotion is much easier with blog help but it wouldn’t be possible without good music.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

My album titled “Finally Something Good” is my first studio album.  My fans have been waiting for a release date for a while now but I don’t want to rush perfection. Whenever it’s done I’ll announce the release date but fans can look forward to my mixtape titled “Safe House”. I have features with some of the biggest names in Florida such as Michael Knight, Lingo Jonez, Lovely and J Wall.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

If wasn’t doing music I would be doing poetry or anything that allows me to write.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 Man its not easy I can tell you that now. It’s all about the amount of work you put into your main source of income. It can be overwhelming at times but if your faith is like mines it’s all worth it.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 Fans can look forward to my album. Although I don’t have an exact release date I know for a fact it will drop in 2016.