Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The Flatbush, Brooklyn native's debut album, Maya Who?!, is the type of independent effort that stops you in your tracks, spins you around, and makes you say 'Damn!'...what really grabs you are the lyrics. Azucena comes across as a completely real character in her songs, someone you not only believe in, but you're rooting for to win in the end." - Eric K. Arnold - East Bay Express
In these latter days of international corporate-run music, some young artists are trying out alternate routes to their audiences. At least it's working for Brooklyn-bred Azucena, who's all over the place with her band, promoting her indie debut CD, Maya Who?! with riveting live shows. Azucena's raw hip hop-meets-classic soul with a soupcon of rock delivery places her at the front of the new soul diva pack. - Oumano - The Village Voice
Deep and soul-bearing, she sings like she's been everywhere and seen it all. This soul/R&B/hiphop album in a fantastic launching point for a young woman with a bright and long career ahead of her. - CD Baby.com
Discography
MAYA WHO?! is the name of the debut independently released CD of Maya Azucena. It has gained recognition and accolades across the US, in Japan, UK, Denmark, Paris, and more, primarily through it's availability with online distributors: CD Baby, DustyGroove, TowerRecords.com, etc.. The Cd is also available in several Mom&Pop Shops and stores that specialize in carrying independent artists: Amoeba (SF & Berkeley), Soul Brothers (UK), Dusty Groove (Chicago), Bondy's (NYC), etc. The reviews and write ups show the record strong favor. One of the tunes, Do You Really Wanna Party, was included in the 2003 DiscMaker's Independent Music Series CD - The Top Band's of the NorthEast. Another Maya Azucena tune, Right Way, is featured on CD Baby's recent compilation, Smooooove. The same tune took a turn on HipHop Designer ENYCE 21st Century Soul Compilation CD, and was used at the HipHop Awards as gift bag stuffer. Still Seachin,' a song about avenging the death of a murderered brother, was used as the closing song in Vivica A. Fox-produced film MOTIVES (avail at BlockBuster, Best Buy, etc.), starring Vivica and Shemar Moore. NETSCAPE RADIO and AOL RADIO have been streaming Maya Azucena tunes, as well as various indie radio, internationally. An independently produced music video has just been completed for the tune TOO MUCH. It will be distributed in hopes of airplay on VH1, MTV, BET alternative prgramming. For more detailed info, go to MayaWho.com .
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Brooklyn-raised indie artist, Maya Azucena, has developed a strong following due primarily to her live shows with the steady band. The sound is Soul Meets HipHop and Funk, with Rock energy. They have been listed in NY Times- Highly Recommended, as well as written up in the Village Voice described as one of "the most impressive of the current hip-hop/soul/r&b diva crop," with comparisons to Chaka Kahn. Maya writes the songs in collaboration with various musicians, including her band members. Her influences range from Earth Wind & Fire, Prince, Stevie Wonder, to Mahalia Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald, fused with Hip-Hop raw energy and beats. Maya is in love with the stage and the interaction with her audience makes each concert a powerfully moving experience. It is not uncommon for Maya to have tears streaming down her face in the middle of a song, her body bent in a passionate expression of the words. Through avid fan supporters, Maya has been able to fly the Band out West where they toured up and down the California Coast - San Francisco (Studio Z, Milk Bar), Berkeley (La Pena & Shattuck Down Low), San Jose, Los Angeles (Temple Bar, The Gig, Zanzibar), etc. They've done concerts in Miami, Orlando, Philly, headlined for a week at Las Vegas BLUE NOTE, and more. In NYC Maya Azucena Band has played all major venues to heavy crowds: BB King's Time Square, SOB's, Blue Note, Joe's Pub, CBGB's, Mercury Lounge. The Band opened up for Gladys Knight at the Martin Luther King Summer Festivals in Brooklyn one year, and opened for Isley Brothers and Roy Ayers the following. Special guests often join Maya onstage such as Jeru the Damaja, Grand Master Caz, Rise&Shine and other upcoming indie forces from NYC like The Real Live Show, Second2Last, and HBO Def Poet Vanessa Hidary, HBO-featured Sydnee Stewart. Maya's project was profiled on a magazine show for MTV-Holland, as well as on US national TV music show THE ROOF/Mun2 (NBC-affiliate). For more detail go to MayaWho.com and MayaAzucena.com .
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