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Publisher & Chief Executive Officer Tempestt Harris (CEO) Chief Operating Officer/ Editor In Chief Maresa Scott (COO) Chief Financial Officer Anitra Scott (CFO) Creative Director Michael Lopez Administrative Staff Sales Executive Anitra Scott Sales Michelle Mitchell Ashley Lindo Contributor Contributor/ Correspondent Shartiera Wilkerson Graphic Design Layout Designer Antoine Boderick Fashion Stylist Jerry Thompson Style and Wardrobe Contributor Jekia Benson Makeup Artist Alexis Washington April Hill Writers Writer Desi Helm Contributing writer Marage Blakeney Contributing writer Chris Pointe Writer Intern Chris Lewis Blogger/ Journalist Intern Kaitlin Booe Photography Antoinne Duane Jones Laurence Logan-The T.Z Studio Todd Youngblood Glen Byrd- Photo X Words Videography Toussaint StudiosEmmanuel Toussaint Corporate Public Relations Pac Public Relations Digital Level21 Media LLC. Yumpu Wribits
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LEVEL21 MUSICMEETS MAGAZINE FASHIONISSUE 8. DANEILLE HASKELL
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COVER:FALLINGTHROUGHAPRIL
COVER: SUPER PRODUCER BRYAN-MICHAEL COX
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HAIR/MUA : Paul Mitchell School Charlotte Creative Direction: Tempestt Harris Photographer: Tanisha Byrd Wardrobe: H. Lerent
www.daniellevhaskell.com / Instagram @danielle.haskell
The Music Meet s Fashio n Issue 2018
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Rec or d Br eak i ng Song wr i t er . c ompos er . pr oduc er
THE GENIUS That Is.. BRYAN- MI CHAEL COX A written Collaboration by: Christopher Pointe and Kaitlin Booe
The mark of a great architect is not in the volume of what he?s built, but in the impact his creation has on its surroundings. The same can be said for musical architects, and producers are the architects of the soundtracks of our lives. The best ones not only have extensive resumes, but they also forever impact whoever hears their songs. Bryan-Michael Cox is the epitome of such a producer. What Mozart was to classical music, Bryan-Michael Cox is to R&B and pop music.
Raised in Houston, Texas, Cox knew Beyoncé in high school, and even if his first demo tape was with her, Cox?s career truly began as so many do? with an internship for the then Georgia-based Noontime Records. Cox has said of moving from Houston to Georgia, ?Back then, there were three choices if you wanted to be in the music industry. Live in New York, live in L.A., or live in Atlanta.? So, Cox enrolled in Clark Atlanta University ?because I was just trying to get to Atlanta.? Since then, he?s reconnected with Beyoncé (he produced a track for Destiny?s Child) and has been mentored by So So Def ?s Jermaine Dupri, but Cox has carved out his own place behind the scenes of some of the industry?s most lucrative stars like Usher, Bow Wow, Justin Bieber, R. Kelly, and Drake? just to name a few.
Cox is also responsible for over 100 million record sales and thirty-five No. 1 hits. With that in mind, it?s easy to say that Cox has done it all. ?To be a great producer, you have to understand every genre. You?ve got to have a love and affinity for everything,? he explains. With a portfolio that boasts Grammy Awards and nominations alike (nine wins and twelve nominations if you?re counting), Cox?s success speaks for itself. His accolades are even more impressive when you consider the declining popularity of R&B and pop. Even with the increasing popularity of hip-hop, Cox isn?t concerned about the future of either genre. ?Music is always a cycle. As long as I?ve been alive, it?s been a cycle,? Cox told us when we asked about where he sees music trends, and listeners? tastes, ten years from now.
?I feel like R&B?s going to have a resurgence. You?ve seen what?s happened with the L.M.A. record, you?ve seen what?s happened with H.E.R., with Damn Caesar, you see what?s happening with these artists who are making some real movement. It?s a reflection of people reacting or gravitating to R&B music.? To keep the circle unbroken, Cox calls on the driving force of a younger generation. ?To all my little black boys and girls growing up, if you?re great at something, be great. Do not ever underestimate who you are or what you feel you can do. If you?re great at creating content walk in that s* * t! We need to be teaching ownership because our kids are still enchanted with labels. You shouldn?t be looking for Columbia, Atlantic, Def Jam? they?re looking for y?all.?
Cox continues, ?I?ve seen a lot of different styles come and go and come back. I?ve always tried to keep my ear to the streets and try to keep my ear to what the youth is doing and try to really pay attention to what everybody else is doing. I?ve always embraced the youth and I?ve always wanted to understand what they?re doing. I don?t carry myself as an old person. This business keeps us young,? Cox told us at Level21. Cox may have been talking about what influences his style, but style applies to more than just the clothes on your back. In fact, it?s that style and Cox?s desire to stay engaged in current trends that contributes to the longevity of his career.
Artists who were once on Cox?s wish list have become a hit list of artists he?s teamed up with to produce cultural classics. At this point in his career he?s partnered with so many legendary performers and amassed so many awards that Bryan Michael Cox has become the producer that even the stars prefer. ?I?ve worked with artists who I never thought I?d work with. Mariah and Whitney were unattainable. Mary J. Blige, they?re the queens of it all. I grew up wanting to work with them?, Cox passionately retorts. ?Growing up as a kid from Houston I never imagined that one day I?d work with these artists.?
The key to it all, regardless of genre, lay in the songs and how they?re constructed. As a producer, that?s where Cox comes into play. ?I discovered that when I worked with Usher. The best songs are conversations,? Cox explains.
?The first song I ever wrote with Usher was a record called ?U Got it Bad,?and that song came through a conversation. I learned from him and Jermaine? ?Oh, sh* t, we want to talk about songs.? We want to talk about what we?re going through, and through us conversing, these songs are going to present themselves, they?re going to develop.? This only happens because of our relationships. Cox has worked with platinum-selling artists like Usher, Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Mary J. Bilge, and has done so for over a decade; it?s safe to say Cox is a master of both. And, according to us here at Level21, he?ll continue to be regardless of where the music industry goes from here.
" The i l l us t r at or of f eel i ngs . "
Photography: Antoinne Duane Jones Wardrobe: Maurice Brown, Stacey Adams, Untitled Facade Stylist: Jerry Thompson - JT's Kloset Creative Direction: Michael Lopez Video- Emmanuel Toussaint-Toussaint Studios
"PAY ATTENTION"
LEVEL21 M AGAZINE-PG.22
FALLING THROUGH APRIL By Chris Lewis
Every now and again you meet a group of young musicians who truly have talent and drive; gaining a following in North Carolina, this alt-rock band, Falling Through April will be one of the few to change the landscape of rock for the better for Carolinas and beyond. In the midst of troublesome circumstances like transmission explosions and previous vocalists going M.I.A., managed to thrive together and create some pretty amazing music for fans to jam out to.
The band consists of Mikaela Salazar (lead vocalist), Dan Candia (vocalist and guitarist), Jim Siani (guitarist), Dave Piontek (vocalist and bassist), Taylor Foster (drummer/percussionist).The power of music runs deep within their veins! Dan?s family consists of many well-traveled musicians, and his father was a guitarist himself. Taylor ?s father was also a drummer, and Jim?s passion for music began at the young age of 13. Dave started playing when he received his first guitar at 13 years old. Mikaela?s love for singing came from listening to singers Alanis Morrissette and Gwen Stefani. Although they all hail from different parts of the ?States, Dan, Jim, Dave, and Taylor found each other while playing in other bands that were apart of Charlotte?s indie rock scene. Once Mikaela joined in 2016, the band felt complete and they went on to release their first single together called ?Desperate Measures? in September of 2017. The song?s music video premiered on Alternative Press and debuted at #13 on the YouTube?s Alternative Hotlist Playlist! The single is playing in 3,800 Health Clubs worldwide, and plays on shows such as MusicMix
USA and SidewalksTV. They also released their album called Zodiac on January 19, 2018, which exhibits influences from Incubus and Halsey. Falling Through April has opened for bands such as Theory of a Deadman, The Pretty Reckless, Pop Evil, Adelitas Way, and Flyleaf, among others. They?ve also performed at Warped Tour, SXSW, Florida Music Festival, Sonorous Music Festival, Dewey Beach Music Conference, and Celebrate Fairfax.
For each ban d m em ber , can you please ell u s abou t you r back gr ou n d? Wh er e ar e you all f r om an d h ow did you all get in t o m u sic?
M ik aela: I?m originally from California but I?ve lived in a few places across the country. Music is like air in my household ? growing up it was everywhere. My whole family is musical; my dad plays bass, mom sings, etc. There is a picture of us performing as a family in Mexico with me on guitar. Dan: I was born and raised in Maryland and decided to move to the Carolinas on my own in 2009. One of my brothers, Lou, introduced me to various bands my whole life that made me interested in picking up an instrument but my dad always encouraged me to ?keep practicing?and evolve. He also used to play guitar around the house so I grew up hearing it. Taylor : My dad is a drummer so I always looked up to him for inspiration. Seeing him play I knew that?s what I wanted to do. He lives in Arkansas and I spent time between there and North Carolina growing up. Jim : I?m from Pennsylvania and just grew up listening to music that inspired me to want to be a musician. The way certain songs or artists made me feel, that?s how I want to make others feel. Dave: I?m like Pepsi, born and raised in the Carolinas. I got into music because of my mom. She?s a singer and church band leader but always told me I need to get into playing the bass and as soon as I picked up a bass I knew that was my instrument and I still haven?t put it down yet.
Wh o do you all look u p t o m u sically as a gr ou p or solo act ? M ik aela: Gwen Stefani from No Doubt, Hayley Williams from Paramore, Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive. Taylor : I?ve always been a big Incubus fan. The Beatles too. Dan: I have a really diverse taste in music but I was heavily influenced by Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against The Machine, and old school Metallica and that?s what inspired me to want to play guitar. I also look up to artists like Thrice, Paramore, Incubus, and Andy McKee. Jim : My favorite band is Weezer but I grew up listening to Alice Cooper and Aerosmith. Dave: For me it?s 90?s alternative bands like The Offspring. That time period in Alternative rock music was full of talent and really catchy songs.
Wh at is you r f avor it e son g you all h ave don e so f ar as gr ou p?
M ik aela: Probably With You in Mind or Better Off Alone. Dan and I fought hard to keep Better Off Alone on the album but With You in Mind just has something special to me in it. Dan: Yeah, I agree with Mikaela. For me, ?With You in Mind? has something extra special to me. I wrote that song when I was in a really dark place in my head and my life. I didn?t give her any back story I just let her connect to it emotionally and she nailed it. Literally wrote the perfect words to capture what I was feeling when I wrote the original idea. Wh at m ade you all con t in u e look in g f or gr ou p m em ber s? Wh at m ade you n ot give u p w h en you w er e "Falling Through April??
Jim : At the time we were looking for a vocalist we had been together for five years. We had two previous albums released, international tour history, major festival performances,etc., so, we didn?t want to leave that behind. We were Continued>>
JIM
looking for a male to replace our former vocalist and working with Mikaela on the side to put something completely new together, but the more we wrote together we realized how well she fit in with the sound of Falling Through April and decided to move forward that way.
Wh er e do you see Fallin g Th r ou gh Apr il in f ive year s? Jim : There is no limit to how far and high we want to go. We want to be out on terrestrial radio, playing even bigger festivals, and secure management and label support. So far, everything we?ve done up to this point has been grass roots and we?re doing just fine ? we just want to be doing much better than we are and think it?s time to have a third party step in that specializes in those areas.
TAYLOR
We wish you all continued success and we look forward to hearing new music from you! Readers, you can follow the band on Twitter @bandfta, Facebook (Falling Through April), Instagram @fallingthroughaprilofficial, YouTube (Falling Through April), and search Falling Through April on Google Play, Amazon, iTunes, and Spotify!
M IKAELA
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HAIR/MUA : Paul Mitchell School Charlotte Creative Direction: Tempestt Harris Photographer: Tanisha Byrd Wardrobe: H. Lerent & H&M
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how do i Col l abor at e
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of f ice st y l e guide
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White collar tops work well with grey pleated skirts or pants.
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Braids & top buns create a spark of edge in the workplace.
3. Less is more-Simple Shirt and Slack combo.
Go Natural: Try out different earth tones in the same color pallet.
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M ODEL WATCH Ch r ist in a & Nick i
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per spect iv e Photograpy by: Ursula Madariaga