AJ Young
Kansas City, MO | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
Kansas City’s very own rising stars have come together for the likes of music, Trayvon Martin, and Kansas City. The creative collective of artists have complied an album inspired by the lifestyle of young musicians bound to create good music. AY is the host of the album and the personality behind the skit character Corey Baxter, a young with a raspy voice because he was shot in the throat leaving a convenient store buying a bag of skittles. Sound a little familiar well it should but don’t worry the album isn’t full of political comments nor racist rhymes. It’s more of a compilation of inspiring music for those in love with life, women, and music as a whole. With some very intuitive production, For the Fans does deliver on many levels but does miss its mark in a few categories.
AY-MusiK is a creative artist with a vision to match and he does nothing short but give his all when entering the booth and mastering his music. His lyrics may recall those of B.o.B., a young Andre 3k, or Lupe Fiasco in his earlier works. Given the instruments given AY has created a wonderful piece of work that will not go unnoticed by music in the KC hip-hop arena. Available on DatPiff.com, FTF doesn’t give you what you would assume would be bass droppin bangers that you have come accustom to from DatPiff, but a more melodic groove that only a musician can offer as oppose to a rap artist. AJ Young is a very profound vocalist that uses emotion as an instrument just as much as an acoustic guitar which give the album a very genuine vibe. Irv Da Phenom who has worked with the hottest emcees in the Kansas City area such as Tech N9ne, Mac Lethal and Dutch Newman shows his influence and expertise on the album as well. ESQ is a visionary in his own right and his work on the “Anti-Mannequin Movement” has trickled into the likes of FTF which can only add up to one conclusion, that FTF is strictly for the fans.
If you are a fan of hip-hop or good music in general FTF is a good choice for your playlist. And if your from the Kansas City area then you already know all of these artist will give you an ear full. Download for yourself at DatPiff.com and make sure to follow the entire crew by clicking on he links below. Check out a few of AY, AJ, Irv, and ESQ’s works below and you’ll see the proof is in the pudding. - Wheat City Magazine
An amazing voice out of a vessel you would never expect, but AJ Young gives you talent and soul and all-round good music. A voice similar to John Mayor, this singer/songwriter will definitely pen his way to the top of charts. It is impressive to see a person with this much passion that breathes thru their music, REASON for ENDEE.
Nominated by AOV (Artist On Verge) for the year 2011.
Also recently won first place in the MTV NextMovie review contest.
How do You deal (1st Single)
http://soundcloud.com/alanyoungjr/aj-young-how-do-you-deal
SOCIAL MEDIA
twitter.com/AJyoungJr Facebook.com/AJyoungJr reverbnation.com/ajyoung - Endee Magazine
Talented up and coming artist, AJ Young, Jr. out of Kansas City gives us full access to cover the creative process for his forthcoming album entitled, “AJ Young.” We captured the being of The AJ Young Project at BRC Recording Studio located in Kansas City. AJ Young is most notable for his recent MTV coverage winning “Sing Like John Mayer” contest 2010 sponsored by 98.1 KUDL Radio, nominated by AOV ( Artist On Verge) 2011
- Malachi Lee of Wheat City Magazine
It is a huge achievement for AJ Young to have been nominated to this exclusive list. I encourage you to let your fans, friends and followers know immediately that you have been nominated for the New Music Seminar Artist on the Verge top 100.
Here are the facts. MySpace has over three million artist pages. Last year there were over 100,000 albums released yet 81,000 of them sold less than 100 units. Less than 200 artists broke 10,000 albums for the first time and all but 8 of them were on major labels or big independents. The New Music Seminar has launched the Artists on the Verge project (AOV) to help more artists break through. We are building the most important list of America’s artists who are most ready to break. We receive nominations from many important industry sources as well as analytical sources such as Big Champagne, OurStage, Reverb Nation and Next Big Sound. From over one million American artists, we have selected only 344 and you are one of them. From this list we carefully select the top 100 artists and this list will be announced before the Grammys and publicized everywhere.
- New Music Seminar "Artist On The Verge" 2011
"Congratulations to AJ Young of Kansas City Missouri..." - 98.1 KUDL Radio Station
Discography
Into The Wild Ep now available at
www.ajyoungjr.com
www.ajyoungjr.bandcamp.com
Photos
Bio
AJ Young is an exceptionally gifted, passionate singer-songwriter who discovered his love for acoustic guitar and songwriting in an unusual way. “I started off as a rapper with songwriting. After a while, I got into instruments and picked up a guitar. After picking up the guitar, I started wanting to figure out how to arrange the musical portion of songs. I had the desire to work on my own musical interpretations from start to finish, instead of just the lyrics. That’s how I became a singer-songwriter.” A Kansas City, Missouri native, lead vocalist AJ Young has collaborated with a variety of music industry talents in his 8+ years of performance. Young has written and arranged songs performed in eclectic venues seating less than fifty, to large venues and amphitheaters seating upwards of 18,000 attendees. In addition to writing his own music, Young plays the keyboard, acoustic, and electric guitars. As a self-taught musician with no formal training, his profound skill with musical instruments is nothing short of astounding. Recently, Young was asked to play with Brandon Estelle and Chris Porter.
In addition to the opportunity to open for The Fray at Starlight Theatre in 2014, a first place win for Drake’sArtist on the Verge competition in 2012, and a first place win for the Sing Like John Mayer contest in 2010, Young is ranked on a variety of top charts for songwriters/performers, including Deli Magazine KC,and Reverb Nation.
Young hopes that the ability to create his own music and individual sound will help him continue to stand out in the music industry. From the studio creations to live performance, his goal has always been staying to true to himself. “…I like to create musical material that fits the stories of experiences I have had in my life; it’s fun for me. I create different arrangements that reflect whatever was going on for me at the time.”
With the release of his first independent EP, "Into The Wild", AJ Young has crafted a record that both exemplifies his passion and creativity, and vividly paints a story of his life the past few years. Despite the difficulties of working in an industry that is known for chewing up artists and spitting them out, Young continues to work hard at his craft, and is quite pleased with his current autonomy as an artist. “I see myself as an entrepreneur – I’m working for myself. I’m not working for someone, or a label. I can pick and choose what I want to do and when I want do it. So I do it because I like to do it.”
Young is currently working with talented drummer and guitarist Chris Taulborg, and bass guitarist Matt Magerkurth. The group is looking to book additional performance opportunities, and share their love and appreciation for the musical craft with the world.
Links
