TMG

Bee Boy$oul (pronounced boy-SOUL) is a walking duality who leaves no room for ambiguity. One is left with a clear understanding that there is no “one” box for this artist, producer & multi-instrumentalist within just minutes of any encounter with the Richmond, VA native. A fact never more evident than when listening to Bee’s major debut release in partnership with Grammy-nominated r&b soul singer, Raheem DeVaughn entitled “Raheem DeVaughn presents: Bee Boy$oul’s Back 2 Love”.

Born and raised on the Virginia capitol city’s south side during the ‘80s, Bee Boy$oul was amongst the first generation of kids actually raised on hip-hop. His first actual introductions to music were in the church and at the family piano. The reaction from his audiences made him catch the “entertainment bug.” This early epiphany and confidence would soon thereafter be applied to the hip-hop music he found himself exposed to by older family members and friends around the way. Once word of his reputation for dropping good rhymes circulated at school, a young Bee found himself being sought out as “the one to beat” for battles with other rap wanna-be’s at school. Nevertheless, even as a youngster he kept his focus on the creative aspect instead of the competitive aspect. While merging his newfound love for performance, applause and hip-hop, he linked up with a local partner named Justin, who exposed him to making music on computers.

“I totally lost my mind,” he recalls of that learning experience. “I wanted to be a rapper AND a producer now! And then I found out that people actually made livings doing both!”

Bee’s passion and fixation on music and performance followed him to college, during which time he was focused on his keyboard playing. Though he admittedly didn’t quite yet have the professional musician mentality, he jumped at the opportunity to simply get on the scene, meet more ladies and possibly make some connections. He soon found himself propositioned to do some shows in Denver, Colorado, where he not only gigged regularly but stayed to live for nearly ten years. Soon thereafter, a cruise ship gig with Eric Roberson resulted in him making the acquaintance of actor/wordsmith Wes Felton (one half of the socio-conscious hip-hop/R&B duo The CrossRhodes, alongside Raheem DeVaughn).

“When the time came for somebody to sub as a keyboard player [for The CrossRhodes], he already had me in mind. It wasn’t by chance; it was divine…everything happened in an order I can’t explain,” Bee recalls.

Raheem DeVaughn quickly saw in Bee Boy$oul an artistic “contrast between two concepts or two aspects of something”. He also very quickly realized that Bee was not “unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives had not been made”. He had very clearly chosen to “be” both hip-hop and jazz …and now soul.

Hence, Bee Boy$oul’s soon-to-be-released Back To Love serves as not only an introduction to his duality in the form of his musically-rich “jazz-soul-hop” sound…aka “Nu JuJu”, but those of other fast-rising, soon-to-be- noteworthy talents coming out of the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. Be it the “Me Too”-friendly hip-hop/soul of the title track (featuring Dwele, Raheem DeVaughn and Eric Roberson); or songstress Carmen Rogers’ featured vocals on the neo-soul-reminiscent “Wanna Be (Where You Are)”, Back To Love has got something to titillate the ears of contemporary music listeners of real music.

“Everything comes full-circle,” says Bee, while reflecting on his Back To Love debut set. “It encapsulates my experiences before really becoming a professionally-minded musician, and then my experiences with the band as a professionally-minded musician. A lot of the influences from all of the places that I’ve learned, things like church, were my earliest influence. Then jazz and being a hip-hop head….all of that came full-circle with what you hear on Back To Love. When I listen to this record, it’s the first time in a long time I really love my craft.”