We are happy to have you today. How has this time of quarantine been for you? What have you been upto?
Hollis: First, thank you so much for having me today. I am extremely appreciative to be here talking with you today. I haven’t stopped working one bit lol. My team and I have taken this time to correct some things within my brand and get prepared for another prosperous year in 2021.
Can you share more with our readers about your latest release “Runaway”?
Hollis: Sure! My new single “Runaway” is available on all musical platforms now! “Runaway” was written and produced by myself along with “Chris Muzikk” and the lovely, amazingly gifted, “Zaire Danae”. It’s a song about a past relationship I was in. I really liked this girl and she just couldn’t make her mind up if we were going to be together or not. So I wrote the song “Runaway” and made this sad story into a positive, uplifting, dance tune.
How did you first get started in music? Run us through your story.
Hollis: I come from a family full of amazing singers. My sister, Lawanna, was really the first one in our immediate family who started taking it seriously and making a career out of it. So I was inspired by her. Also my brother, “Mostaxx”, who is a fantastic music producer, he inspired me on the production side of things. My mom was an amazing singer as well and she taught me really everything I know about singing. My mom was very supportive from the beginning when she discovered that I could hold a note lol. She started putting me in different school programs. There was one particular program at my middle school, “Malcolm X Academy”, called “God’s Little Soldiers”. When I auditioned for the group I was super nervous because I hadn’t really come out publicly and sung before, but I made the group but I didn’t know what to expect from it, which changed my life forever. I was introduced to a thing called, “rehearsal” and I had never heard of that before lol. We would rehearse every single day after school, 10-12 boys singing. We started singing at different churches and schools. Before I knew it we were traveling the country singing every weekend in a different city. We eventually started doing concerts with big gospel artists like Kirk Franklin, Kierra Sheard, etc. From there on to TV shows and attending award shows and eventually winning awards ourselves. I worked with those guys for about 5 years until they decided they no longer wanted me part of the group for various reasons. Although we were singing gospel music, there were still some questionable characters behind the scenes and there was always some drama. I stopped working with them around 2011 and began my solo thing as an R&B artist. For years I struggled with trying to understand how the business worked and how I could make a name for myself. In 2020, I guess you can say I figured it out, and here I am talking with you today lol.
What music played in your home growing up? Does it influence the music you create now?
Hollis: My mom played a lot of different types of music from Motown greats like Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, The Clark Sisters and many more. These were the first artists whose music I was exposed to, so they definitely have a huge influence on the music I create.
Biggest lesson learned in your career so far?
Hollis: Work hard, be patient, be humble.
Tell us what inspires your music?
Hollis: People
What are your musical plans for the next 12 months or so?
Hollis: Continue to drop good music, more social media content, more music videos, and hopefully a tour.
Favorite guilty pleasure?
Hollis: I honestly don’t have any lol.
Thank you for speaking with us! For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add?
Hollis: Once again, thank you for having me today, I am honored. And to everyone watching, follow me on all social media @hollisjordan. Also, my single “Runaway” is available on all music platforms. Keep streaming, love.
Katika wimbo wao mpya wenye mchangamsho “Play Your Clarinet!”, Into the Blood wanaunganisha midundo ya kielektroniki inayoshika kwa urahisi na mgeuko wa kusisimua: solo la klaneti lenye mionjo ya jazz kutoka kwa Peter Fuglsang. Uchezaji wake unaongeza mguso wa uchezaji wa moja kwa moja unaokamilisha msingi wa kidijitali wa wimbo huu, na kuunda tukio la kipekee kabisa la kusikiliza.
Wimbo huu utazinduliwa kimataifa tarehe 22 Novemba katika lugha 11 tofauti—ikiwemo Kiswahili, Kifaransa, Kiingereza na Kichina n.k.—pamoja na toleo lisilo na sauti za kuimba.
Jiunge nasi katika safari ya kimataifa Acha “Play Your Clarinet!” ikupeleke kuvuka mipaka, sauti na tamaduni. Wimbo mmoja. Lugha kumi na moja. Utasikika kwenye majukwaa yote makubwa ya kusikiliza muziki mtandaoni, na video za maneno ya wimbo zitapatikana kwenye YouTube. Jifunge mkanda na ufurahie safari!
Kuhusu Into the Blood Duo la Into the Blood—Jens Brygmann (sauti za kuimba na ngoma za kidijitali) na Carsten Bo Andersen (kinanda na sintesa)—imekuwa ikifanya kazi tangu mwaka 2016. Muziki wao umekuwa ukipigwa kwenye vituo mbalimbali vya redio duniani, vikiwemo vya Uingereza, Australia na Ufaransa.
Toleo la asili la “Play Your Clarinet!” pia linapatikana kwenye rekodi ya vinili ya inchi 12 kama sehemu ya mradi wao mkubwa wa Destination 11, unaojumuisha video ya muziki ya dakika 11. Video hiyo imewahi kuonyeshwa katika matamasha mbalimbali ya kimataifa ya filamu fupi, na hadi sasa tayari imeshinda tuzo mbili nchini India, kufikia hatua ya fainali kwenye East Village New York Film Festival na Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Festival, nusu fainali kwenye Seattle Film Festival na robo fainali kwenye Synergy Film Festival huko Los Angeles.
Mradi wa Destination 11 umefadhiliwa na White City Consulting na Custom Coaching.
Montreal-based pop sensation and LGBTQ activist Van Hechter is back with “Boy Problems,” a stunning new single. The track merges his signature upbeat charm with rare emotional depth. Hechter, known for hits like “Disco Brother,” “Hot Damn,” and “Love Elastic,” reveals a new side to his magnetic electro-pop personality, offering a message that is both radiant and raw.
At 4 minutes and 24 seconds, “BoyProblems” is a bilingual (French & English) eruption of glitter, melancholy, and empowerment. It’s built on irresistible synths, glossy production, and pulsing basslines. The song invites listeners into a world where heartbreak beats in rhythm with liberation. The melodies feel euphoric on the surface, yet are stained with a haunting vulnerability, proving that dancing and deep feeling can exist together.
At its core, the song is a manifesto about refusing to settle for half-love. Van delivers lyrics that make you sway, smile, and suddenly pause; the truth stings. If love isn’t loud, real, and fully given, he’d rather walk away. It’s a reminder wrapped in rhythm: loving yourself means refusing the small version of what you deserve.
Filled with Hechter’s signature humor, glamour, and optimism, “Boy Problems” is a club anthem and a soul-stirrer all at once. The bilingual lyrics expand its emotional reach. The track feels at home anywhere, from Parisian dance floors and New York rooftops to headphones on a bus or speakers at Pride.
This is a jam that makes you feel like you’re flying, free from pretense. It’s definitively dance-pop and unmistakably Van Hechter, though the smile has a real heartbeat underneath. Listeners will hear that signature flair; he’s still cheeky, stylish, and unapologetically queer. His artistry is simply sharpened with new emotional honesty. This is a growth moment, delivered with a wink and a synth hook.
“Boy Problems” is a significant step beyond a simple catchy single. It’s a toast to self-worth. A glittering rebellion against lukewarm love. A reminder that the dance floor can be a place to heal. This sonic centerpiece belongs on your playlist, and on your friends’ too.
Sometimes a song shows up like that friend who kicks open the door without knocking, grinning and saying, “get your shoes, we’re leaving.” “Tule Tule,” the new single from South Sudanese artist TR Craze featuring Jamaican-UK rapper Caine Marko, moves exactly like that. The track is bold and charged, carrying the weight of lived experience while stomping over a dark, menacing drill beat that feels built for the streets as much as the club.
TR Craze’s backstory reads like a movie script Hollywood studios would fight over. He was born in South Sudan, shaped by the trauma of civil war, and pushed into the harsh realities of refugee life. He literally survived the treacherous routes through Libya and across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. This man distills survival into rhythm. On “Tule Tule,” you can feel that heart, that urgency, and that fire in his delivery, channelled into a raw, assertive drill performance that cuts through even if you don’t understand a single word of the opening verse. At its core, “Tule Tule” is a raw, assertive drill track that isn’t afraid to bare its teeth.
The word “Tule” comes from Nuer. It refers to youth games and the electric thrill of chasing something, whether that’s victory, joy, or destiny. TR Craze uses that spirit like a drumbeat beneath his voice. The choruses hit with a communal, call-and-response warmth but here that playfulness is flipped into a gritty, chant-like hook – “Tule Tule” – that feels like the rallying cry of a crew on the move. Even without translating the lyrics, the tone tells you everything. This is about motion, pursuit, celebration, and refusing to stay stuck in the past, all wrapped in an unapologetic, high-adrenaline atmosphere. Lyrically, the track leans into street life, dominance and crew loyalty, matching the tension in the beat.
Behind them, producer Kyxxx builds a dark, tense soundscape, stitching drill drums with Brazilian bounce and Bhangra-flavoured rhythmic elements that keep the track constantly on edge. The result is a gritty, energetic and unapologetic atmosphere that pulls you straight into their world.
Then Caine Marko slides in for the second verse, and the whole energy pivots into a sharp, swagger-heavy bounce. His flow is clean but gritty, confident and confrontational, shifting between braggadocio and sly charm.
“She knows I’m a wolf and I run the pack,” he starts, classic alpha talk, but delivered with a laid-back grin. “She come first like running track,” he continues, flipping between affection and athletic metaphors like a man who’s too used to moving fast.
Then he opens up the verse more: “Doing dirt and getting with a bitty, I only pretty… then back to the city. Got me some liquor then it got me some weed.” It’s lifestyle rap, but the reckless, unapologetic kind. It’s the messy, outside-at-night, live-in-the-moment vibe that balances TR Craze’s more grounded narrative. When he ends with “you going to hang with the gang,” the energy snaps into a group-hyped finale, a reminder that music like this isn’t meant to be consumed alone, underlining the crew-first loyalty at the heart of the record.
“Tule Tule” works because it blends worlds without softening its raw, street-hardened edge. It merges East African emotion, Caribbean-UK swagger, drill and hip-hop grit, Brazilian and Bhangra textures in Kyxxx’s production, diaspora storytelling, and a spirit of joy that refuses to be dimmed by pain.
Let “Tule Tule” run while you’re walking, cooking, texting, or plotting big dreams – or getting ready to step out with your crew.