Rachel Brown's roots are apparent from the moment you hear her music. Her roots are stemmed from Ethiopian, Bermudian and Southern influences are beautifully carried throughout her sound. Brown's distinct sound crosses the genres of pop, Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, country, hip- hop, and soul. Besides the normal guitar, bass, and drum set up, Brown and her band use some unique instruments within their music such as: the okra, talking drum, the calabash and the ukulele to create such fusion.
Born and raised in New York and a Harvard Graduate, Brown has no formal musical training and she taught herself how to play the guitar and ukulele. She began self teaching herself to play when she discovered she had a natural talent to sing. A natural talent that has to ability to capture you in with her soulful, crisp and sweet sound that her voice puts out. Not surprisingly, people were quickly drawn to her artistry and grabbed the attention of reggae and hip-hop legend Wyclef Jean, who brought her on stage for a surprise cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Among having the pleasure of singing with one of her favorite influences, Brown was the the 2010 recipient of the prestigious ASCAP Foundation Robert Allen Award for songwriting and 2011 recipient of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Abe Olman Award for Excellence in Songwriting. All awards aside she has also showcased at the National Association for Campus Activities' national convention which was followed by headlining a 40- date college tour, and has opened for Mary J. Blige and Robin Thicke at Bermuda's National Stadium, and John Legend and Quincy Jones at the Bermuda Music Festival.
With the releasing of her debt EP Building Castles, set to be released September 18, this some how feels like just the beginning for Rachel Brown. Her roots have already been grounded by the eager ears of her audience and I excited to see where this journey will take her. For a sneak peek of the new EP head over to http://rachelbrownmusic.com to take a listen of the new the single "Bumblebee."
Head over to Brown's Youtube page to check out her amazing acoustic cover of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
