top of page
Writer's pictureBoston Culture

Brockton's Van Buren Records is building a legacy for the City Of Champs

Updated: Jul 14, 2020

Brockton-bred superstar group has an extreme abundance of creativity & talent.

If you appreciate culture, you probably noticed that the music industry has taken a new phase which can be called the rising of Massachusetts. The Van Buren Boys have taken a huge role in this: @onevanjiles· @lordfelix_· @meech_bold· @lukebars· @saintlyor· @rickyfelixx· @moscouture ·@shelby.narcisse ·@andrew.regiss

Luke Bar$ is known for putting all energy in his craft. His style is powerful with substance. According to him, in one of the interview he stated that “To be able to grow into the artist and man I wanted to become, I realized you have to speak the truth unapologetically". He also stated that he began to write when he was a teenager and this is as a result of his mum forcing it on him as punishment for his wrongdoing. Therefore, his writing flourishes into a hit for rapping and poetry which he later develops when he got to college. Although he got the talent and to use knowledge to support his talent, he went to study music business at Bay State College in Boston. Even at that, he still never take music seriously because he loves basketball and was hoping to become a baller but his story changed when he attended Terrace Martin's guest lecture at Harvard in 2019, where Martin was preaching about the detachment of ego from the creative process. This changes Luke’s story and that’s what inspires his most recent album GoodEvil. He started to take his dreams seriously. According to Luke, he said, “It just put a battery in my back because it showed me that all of this music shit is bigger than me.” Where he got the name Luke Bar$: He got the name when he was 15, and according to him, he was doing some freestyle for himself and started saying “I got bars, Luke Bars!” and when people ask him to change it, he said he likes it because it is easy to remember.

Saint Lyor is another talented artist from Brockton that has the power to resonate with many with his unique style. He started music stuff when he was 12 years old, and according to him, he said his sister is the one that introduced him to music. As someone who grew up in a Nigerian household, he said he did not have the option to express himself emotionally, According to him, “It’s hard navigating this place with an immigrant parent, “because they’re telling you: ‘We came to America to find a better life. As evidence by his debut project IF MY SINDS COULD TALK, Saint Lyor is positioning himself to be a pundit for exceedingly addictive music. The Brockton talent has been able to craft an infectious sound with standout tracks such as Gossip and Aunt Jemima. Lyor is patiently and earnestly crafting an indelible career formulated off a strong penchant for sticky hooks and raw lyricism.

Jiles is another talented artist under Van Buren collective. Self-described as having one foot in and one foot our the streets, the Brockton native has mastered the lost art of storytelling, transporting listeners to the very aggression and pain that he channels into every cut. In his debut album Fuck Jiles, he sets himself apart and establishes his own lane. When he was asked what inspired him to produce the album, he said “That fire just came from being in my environment and just feeling like the walls are closing in. I think I work best when under pressure and with this project I treated it like it was my only way out of this unfortunate situation I grew up in. Not to mention I was on a strict deadline to finish the project as well". Also, when he was asked that as a creative rapper what has he learned about himsel he said that for the most part, the recording process was just him and Sahmeer (engineer). "We were locked in for hours every day and recorded music. During the mixing process, that’s when I leaned heavily on Luke Bar$.

Lord Felix is one of the epicenters in this group, recently won Best New Artist at the Boston Music Awards. Felix, who mystifies his audience with his concealed identity under a reflective visor- has emerged in the Boston music scene as an underground emblem of non-conformist and experimental sound. Creatively stimulated by the emotional turmoil of his first heartbreak, the Brockton-bred talent began to pen music as a therapeutic outlet to hone in on his previously untapped music creativity. Utilizing life lessons, the masked enigma created his own world with testimonies of unspoken truths and an anarchy of sounds. Garnering the attention of musical giants like Complex, The New Yorker, Cousin Stizz, and Lyrical Lemonade, Lord Felix has propelled himself into the spotlight, piquing the music world's interest.


14 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page