Firestarter Feat. Ryan Kellie by Kenton Dunson

Kenton Dunson is an upcoming hip hop artist from Maryland who quit his daytime job as a financier to realize his true passion: music. Here enters “Firestarter”, a mid-tempo/ballad (think Diddy – Sticky EBT Card’s “Ass On the Floor” for tempo motivation) featuring some great emotional vocals from Ryan Kellie.

The inspiration for the song according to Dunson is a “serial heartbreaker” which shows in his comparisons of heartbreak to burning flames and how he claims he “never should of messed with a devil in a dress.” This song almost sounds like it could have been on 808′s and Heartbreaks but thankfully refrains from the use of autotune.

While I’m not particularly impressed by the lyrics, I do enjoy the piano-laden production, done by Duston himself, as well as the fitting vocals that seem to be coaxing the blaze just enough to keep it burning. So what do you think? You can check out more of Dunson’s music at his website.

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Mara Hruby is new to me, but this video has been making its way around the Internet and today landed on my screen. She flips a J-Dilla beat (“Stereolab” by The Roots) and turns it into a composition of her own called “Lose Myself”. It’s pretty nice, though there isn’t much to the actual song. The beauty of this joint lies in the Dilla beat being flipped, her vocal arrangements, layering, and even stereo panning if you can take a listen with great headphones.

She has a free EP out now which you can hear above or download on her Bandcamp here. And check out the description from her Youtube page of the video:

This video is dedicated to all the women that have enough drive to achieve their goals & dreams.

It is very seldom that we see a young woman open the doors to her vulnerable side to share with the world. There is nothing more sacred then the recording process itself, and Mara Hruby invites you into her home to watch her style of recording in The Attic Of Love. This video will share her ups, downs, and true soul through her own way of engineering and vocal arranging.

Thoughts? I like it — it’s smooth and her vocals and usage of them is nice! I will be downloading her EP right now after streaming it. I like her mix of acoustic guitar, plain vocals, and some electronic bass thrown in sparingly on “Character”, and her take on Andre 3000′s “Take Off Your Cool” is a great fit, as Norah Jones did the original. This EP is actually a bunch of covers of male artists’ music, but she puts her own unique spin on them ALL, including another cover of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”.

I’m in for a penny, in for a pound!

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So also during my trip to Los Angeles, I kept hearing talk about a new artist named Treasure Davis. I felt like I had heard the name before, and finally someone sent me some links via Twitter to some of her music.

Well, lo and behold, a couple of my Twitter followers actually have worked with her. One being a producer by the name of Cornelio Austin. He apparently produced this song that I instantly fell in love with by Treasure called “Just A Heart”. I scrolled through the rest of her music on her ReverbNation page, but this is the one that stuck out the most to me.

Treasure’s voice is delicate yet powerful, and I loved this song. I also got my download for free and liked her on Facebook, you should too. I look forward to hearing a project from her and seeing what she comes up with in the future. Let me know what y’all think of Treasure Davis in the comments too!

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