Aloe Blacc is a name well known to soul music lovers. The musician became widely known to the public in 2006 immediately after the release of his debut album Shine Through. Critics call the singer a "new formation" soul musician, as he skillfully combines the best traditions of soul and modern pop music.
In addition, Black began his career at a time when hip-hop and pop were the most popular and commercially demanded genres among black musicians (and not only).
However, Aloe, who had been interested in melody since childhood, preferred melodiousness to chasing trends. This only added respect to the musician among fans of creativity.
Childhood Aloe Black. Introduction to music
The boy was born on January 7, 1979 in a family of immigrants from Panama. Place of birth - Orange County, which is located in the state of California, USA. The love of music was instilled in the boy from childhood. At an early age, he began to study the trumpet, so in his youth he already owned it almost perfectly.
It was the love for this instrument that later determined the genre to which he decided to dedicate his musical career. A little later, while studying in college, Aloe mastered a few more instruments. Best of all, he mastered the guitar and piano.
At the age of 16, he decided to take up music seriously. 1995 - the time of the dominance of street rap. Almost all young people who were at least somehow interested in music often preferred this particular genre.
First steps in Aloe music: Emanon duo
Aloe was no exception and, together with a friend, created his own rap group. The duet was called Emanon and existed for several years in different forms.
For the first four years, the guys created their own style, recorded freestyles and made demos. Only in 1999 did they enter an active creative phase.
The beginning of the musical career of Aloe Blacc
The first official release was the Acid Nine EP. The record became very noticeable in the local underground, but one could not count on wide distribution. There was no commercial success for creativity aimed at a narrow category of people.
However, it was only an EP-album, that is, a mini-record, the purpose of which is to arouse interest among the public. Following the first EP, a full-length album, Imaginary Friends, was released. The album practically did not have any promo, but it still received distribution in "its" circles.
Sales weren't too great, but that didn't stop the duo. Following the Imaginary Friends album, the musicians released two more albums. Moreover, the album Steps Through Time was released immediately after the first disc in the same 2001.
A little less than a year later, the third full-length LP Anon & On was released. It was evident that from the moment of its creation (1995) until the release of the first releases (1999) the guys did not sit idle and created a lot of material.
The releases did not have a lengthy promotional campaign. They did not spend much time preparing for their release. The album was recorded and immediately began to distribute it through physical media (sometimes with the help of "pirates").
Interesting fact about Aloe Blacc
After the release of the album Anon & On, there was a long silence for the duo. For three years, the group did not release albums, singles or any other major releases.
In 2005, the silence was broken. A new album has been released. And not a simple album, but, as the authors assured, a debut one. Thus, the band's debut album, which was recorded back in the period from 1995 to 2002. came out only in 2005. The release was handled by the label Shaman Works, with which the band had previously worked. On this, Aloe Black's cooperation with the company ended.
Solo career as an artist
In 2005, Aloe finally understood that tightness within the framework of hip-hop literally “strangles” him. And the reason for this was not only the weak commercial success of the group. Since childhood, the boy was interested in melody. He loved the street sound, but it forced him to constantly be within the created image.
In the same year, he decided that it was time to finish with this, and began recording a solo record. For this reason, a conflict arose with DJ Exile (DJ of the Emanon group). The result of the conflict was the collapse of the group.
Aloe moved to a new music label, Stones Throw Records. This independent label was more successful than Shaman Works and produced such artists as Madlib, J Dilla, Oh No and other famous producers and musicians.
The company was able to provide a rather loud release of Aloe's debut album, which was called Shine Through. The label worked not only with the hip-hop genre, willingly working with singers in the genres of jazz, soul, funk, etc. Therefore, mutual understanding quickly arose between its employees and Black.
Nevertheless, the album was not commercially successful, although critics appreciated the lyrics and the musician's voice. Four years later, having worked on the bugs, Aloe released the more popular Good Things release.
The songs from the album hit the music charts, thanks to which the singer became widely known. Nevertheless, Black is in no hurry to release new material.
The release today is the last solo record of the musician, however, he periodically pleases listeners with new singles.
