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HomeNewsBreaking NewsHeat Exclusive: Shamarr Allen Creates His Own Lane With "BandHead" Mixtape

Heat Exclusive: Shamarr Allen Creates His Own Lane With “BandHead” Mixtape

 

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Shamarr Allen has been a musical genius down in the Big Easy. As a trumpeter, his accolades range from performances with Patti Labelle to Lenny Kravitz to Branford Marsalis. While most great  New Orleans musicians tour internationally and consistently play at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, Allen is beyond traditional. He is the first trumpet player to play the national anthem for President Barack Obama.

The Heat Magazine introduces some interesting aspects of Allen’s skill set. His first album “Typical Rock Star” is a fusion of hip hop, brass, and rock often referred to as “hip-rock”. However, the project is sarcastic because Allen professes to be more than a “skinny jeans” artist. Although Allen is highly decorated as a musician and artist, it is his latest work that serves as a great example of his identity.

With Mardi Gras swiftly approaching, Allen presents a new project with additional originality. He pays homage to musicians with his new mixtape “Bandhead”. The mixtape goes into depth about his life and much more.  “Whatever type of music you like, you are a Bandhead.”

Allen begins with a classical groove “Hello New Orleans” for his dedicated listeners featuring musical assistance from Ezell Swing. This will be a favorite among Mardi Gras revelers due to the trumpet, piano, and percussion arrangements.  The Heat Magazine recognizes that it is something extraordinary about Allen’s style and he reveals that when he states “I’m trapping for the trumpets”.

Allen then offers a smooth brassy cover of “Hotline Bling” and sets the tone early on this mixtape with a tight performance. Followed by the title track “Bandhead”, New Orleans and abroad discover the definition of Allen’s blend of rap, trap, and brass. The lyrics are in sync with the melodies screaming from Allen’s horn. “I’m done with these streets, so I trap with my trumpet” motivates true New Orleanians and tells of  his way out as well as many other citizens from the land of the Vieux Carre’.

Later, he entertains the bounce audience with “No One In The World,” a cover of Anita Baker and continues by providing a trumpet version of “Halfway” by Universal recording artist S-Eighty. Allen goes into high gear with his trumpet displaying the depth of his talent on the above mentioned tunes.

The Heat Magazine is impressed by “Nothing But Trouble,” a heartfelt instrumental recording that will relax listeners and entice simultaneously. Allen has created  somewhat of a subgenre between rap and brass and one can only wonder what else will transpire in the future among Allen and other Nola musicians.

Allen closes the tape with “The Hills,” an instrumental cover of the single by The Weeknd and an “Outro” giving thanks to his listeners. Shamarr has the ability to touch both the young and the old listeners.

Visit his website and check out his philanthropic efforts “True Orleans Movement” and more.

http://www.shamarrallen.com/music-clinic/

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-5FcBsgWZU&w=560&h=315]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMf-e8JHdMo&w=560&h=315]

Download the mixtape here:
http://piff.me/31b315c

 

 

 

 

DionNorman
DionNorman
Dion Norman is a professional music artist/journalist from Louisiana. Norman is an urban music enthusiast and has been writing since the mid 90s. He is also a stakeholder in the newly found New Orleans Union For Entertainment which is a new resource provider for New Orleans artists and businesses as well as a collective. For more information, feel free to email him at itsdevious@yahoo.com
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