Rickstar is a singer/songwriter from London who is bringing vintage soul music to the forefront. He grew up in New York listening to 1960s/70s/80s music like Motown and became fascinated by those sounds. After returning to the UK, he started his music career in a band and is now focusing on his solo career. His recent EP "Under the Influence" showcases funk and old school R&B influences. Rickstar aims to stick to his musical brand and vision over time to create timeless music.

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ON THE RISE
Rickell Brown, aka Rickstar, is on a mission to bring “vintage soul” to
the musical forefront. Born in South London, the singer/songwriter/dancer
spent the early years of his life living in the United States. “I moved to New
York by the age of one,” he says. “I was back and forth between Brooklyn
and Queens until I was about age ten.”
While growing up in the Big Apple with his mother, Rickstar was exposed
to a lot of music from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. He became fascinated by the
sweet sounds of classic Motown. Some of his influences include Marvin
Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes and Rick James, to
name a select few.
A few years after returning to the U.K., Rickstar got started on his music
career. He became a part of a band where he began developing his
performance skills. After the band broke up, Brown started focusing on his
solo music career. Starting out wasn’t an easy task. He faced some personal
hurdles that he had to overcome.
“I wasn’t as confident as I was before,” he confesses. “I was used to being in
a band and dancing with people.” Despite his mindset, he was determined
to work hard and press on. “I had to keep rehearsing and perfecting my
craft,” he says. “I had to tell myself every day that music is something that
I love to do.”
His godmother, formerly signed to Sony Records, also gave him a lot of
encouragement. “She really influenced me and just told me that I have to
keep building on my brand and not care about being signed to a major
label,” Rickstar remembered.
He eventually gained courage to do his first show in the U.K. The
crowd was very receptive and enjoyed every moment of his charismatic
performance. “Everybody was like, ‘Wow! You really have what it takes to
be a solo artist,’” he recalls.
Within the last few years, Rickstar made a move to Los Angeles and
released a number of EP’s that showcase him as an artist. His most recent
EP, Under the Influence, is a collection of funk songs laced with old school
R&B and a touch of grime. “I was listening to a lot of different artists,”
Rickstar says, speaking on the concept of the EP. “Like Tamia, Rick James
and James Brown, I was really under the influence of different types of
sounds. I was working with a few other writers and we all came together
to create this dope EP. You have the song ‘Superhero,’ which was like a
promo single. It basically talks about being a superhero for somebody that
you love. The song ‘So Dope’ is just me being very cocky and saying how
dope I am to where you can roll me up and smoke me.”
Although Under the Influence was just released last summer, Rickstar
is already working on his next EP. “I’m almost finished with my new
project,” he says. “I don’t have a name for it yet but I can tell you that it’s
going to be such a dope EP. It will have live instrumentation and it’ll feel
very nostalgic.” One of Rickstar’s favorite tracks off his upcoming EP is
the track “Get Up On It.” He describes the sound of the song being similar
to some of the works of James Brown although it has the Rickstar touch,
of course.
Even though Rickstar enjoys experimenting with different sounds, he
prides himself on staying true to himself. “My proudest moment is
basically sticking with my brand, vision and dream,” he says. “If you look
at my music, it has never changed. I’m very proud of that because a lot of
people come into the industry brainwashed by people telling them who
they should be. I want to have timeless music and I want to be a timeless
artist. I’m never going to let that go and people love that about me.”
Stay in touch with Rickstar by visiting his website rickstaronline.com.,
checking in with him on Facebook.com/RickstarOfficial and by following
him on Twitter at @RickstarOnline.
Avery Sunshine is electrifying the world with her impeccable singing voice and
her piano playing skills. As she continues to produce each musical masterpiece,
we can only expect greatness from the vocalist. Her music allows the listener
to redefine life and get in tune with his or herself. Her music is respected by
many because it has such a significant impact on people’s lives. When Sunshine
released her single “Call My Name,” it was a beautiful listen mainly because
the song’s inner message was quite relatable as it dealt head on with real and
common matters of a relationship.
The songbird took time out from her busy schedule to speak with BLEU
Magazine about her smash hit, upcoming projects, touring with Babyface, and
other matters of her life and career.
BLEU Magazine: What was it like opening for Babyface at Madison
Square Garden?
Avery Sunshine: I don’t even know. What’s so funny is I was fooling around on
Twitter one day and I was like MSG? What is MSG? Opening act? I’m opening
for Babyface? Oh my God! That’s amazing. I mean I tell you--that was one of
those dreams that I didn’t even know I had. Not only to open for Babyface--one
of the most prolific songwriters ever--but to open for him at Madison Square
Garden. Who would have thought of that?! I was honored.
BM: Do you think being born and raised in Pennsylvania influenced you
in any way musical-ly?
AS: I think because I was exposed to the spirit and the music [of Pennsylvania],
it effected my being. Even in church, the music was all around me. At house
parties, my parents’ were listening to Teddy Pendergrass, Patti Labelle; just
the sounds of Philadelphia. That’s what it was for me. Thanks to WDAS-FM,
we were listening to radio all the time. And if I wasn’t listening to the radio,
I was listening to Chester Mass Choir…So yes the musical inspiration from
Philadelphia is definitely a musical muse of mine. It’s funny that people say
you sound like you’re from Philly, but I’m not. I do appreciate the compliment
though.
BM: How did you come up with your stage name, Avery Sunshine?
AS: It was a last minute decision. I just finished writing a song with my musical
partner, D.ana of the rap group Sonamoo, and it was released in Japan. During
one of the performances, one of the guys in the crew was like, “We are about
to do the line-up, so what do you want your name to be?” I was, like, “I
don’t know what you mean…” [laughs] First of all, it was exciting to have
my name on anything like that. I was trying to take everything in and come
up with a name. I said to myself, “Denise is not enough; I have to come up
with something.” And I swear, I just blurted it out: “Avery Sunshine.” I hadn’t
thought about it before then but it stuck with me. I think it must have come from
my love of the two characters, Shrug Avery from The Color Purple and Lela
Rochon’s character, Sunshine, from Harlem Nights. I put that somewhere in my
spirit and it just came out that night.
BM: Describe the songwriting process for the song “Call My Name.”
AS: Super simple. Just like when you write any other song, your vibe, your
energy and your own personal experiences come into play. I was actually going
through something when my partner D.ana called me and said, “I got this idea
for a song.” It was played on guitar and I recorded it on my computer over the
phone. The words and the melody just came and that was it. All of our songs
come out of experiences, and that’s what happened for that particular song.
BM: After releasing “Call My Name,” do you think listeners started to see
out who Avery Sun-shine is as a vocalist?
AS: Absolutely! You can’t deny the power of radio. I was really feeling the
exposure from the song. I was on the Capital Jazz cruise last year and Patti
Labelle was on the cruise. I was hav-ing dinner and I was trying not to look
because she was near my table. Meanwhile, I had no idea that Patti Labelle
already knew who I was and that she had sent someone over to my table. They
said, “Ms. Labelle wants to me meet with you.” I was like, “What?!” When
I met her shortly after, the first thing she did was sing the hook to “Call My
Name.” I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” The radio exposure lets you
be seen by so many people that otherwise wouldn’t know who you are.
BM: What’s next for Avery Sunshine?
AS: I mean, touring. We got Chicago, we will be in New York again at
Subculture, and then we’re off to D.C., Houston and then Europe. We will be
doing the Netherlands, Amsterdam and Austria. After that, we’re going to do
the Tom Joyner cruise. We’re staying busy and we’re grateful. We’re working
on some more music and hopefully television projects. I’m going to find a way
to get on to Empire—just singing anything real loud.
BM: Any movie or theatre projects you are working on? I know you did
some projects with Tyler Perry and some work for the movie The Fighting
Temptations. Should we be expecting more projects soon?
AS: I was singing background vocals for the movie, The Fighting Temptations
and was a key-boardist for Tyler Perry’s stage play, Meet the Browns. If there’s
anything that would fit what I’m doing, then absolutely I will take it on. I would
like to write a play myself. [laughs] I’m going to call it Sun Shining Night
and A Gun in The Pocket. You know, one of those crazy play names? No, but
seriously, if there’s an opportunity, I would love to do it.
Sunshine
Walking On
words DOMINIQUE CARSON
Rickstar
“I want to have timeless
music and I want to be a
timeless artist.”