Rap and R&B artist La’Monte has announced the release of his debut EP album, “She’s Around,” available now for download on all major streaming platforms.
La’Monte’s EP features four original songs he produced from an eclectic mix of jazz influences, calming piano melodies, orchestral forms and acoustic rhythms. The trained musician and
self-taught singer and songwriter from Philadelphia said his music on the album is a generational representation and intimacy is a common theme that runs through each of the tracks.
“The music on the album takes you back but is modern at the same time. The songs are like a drive on a summer’s night,” he said. “Or the warm feeling of sitting in cozy coffee shop immersing yourself in the live music filling the space.”
The album’s intro track, “All I Ever Need is Her,” draws the listener in with a subtle moderate tempo and instrument decay with a jazz delivery that is both mellow and alluring. The second track, “Tonight,” features low-fidelity piano notes that both contrasts and compliments the third track, “She’s Around.” The album title song brings in the sounds of banjo, inspired by the karate films of the 1970s. Rounding out the EP is “Take it Slow,” an outro track that brings the listener back to the jazz influences in which the album starts.
As a teenager, La’Monte learned to play piano from a master musician in only a year’s time. When he decided to expand his musical abilities with vocals, he settled on rap music.
“I did that because I didn’t know how to sing at the time. But as time progressed, so did I. I was drawn more to pop and vintage R&B, primarily due to my interest in the instrumentation and sounds involved in those genres,” he said. “So, I taught myself to sing using the piano. I used by knowledge of scales and notes, and that enabled me to easily transition into the artist I am today.”
While La’Monte has been creating music for five years, he is no newcomer to the world of art. As an animator who has garnered great support throughout his social media channels, he specializes in creating traditional 2D content for other artists as well as produces comedic shorts. Blending his artistic talents together, he is working on a fully-animated music video he plans to release in the future.
In both his music and other creative ventures, La’Monte said he has found a place where his artistic expressions are not only seen and heard but felt as well.
“This EP was inspired by my love of music, and by a girl who was a potential love interest. I grew up listening to great artists and the sounds they created. As I grew older, I realized music can become an outlet and vice. It is a language in and of itself,” he said. “My words could help her to understand what I thought, but my music could help her understand what I feel.”
