Darkside Industries

WRITTEN BY: MELISSA MALOON

PHOTOS BY: LACQUAN SCOTT

FEAUXSEVEN

Carrying on the family love and passion; Feauxseven has taken his love of music further than imagined by creating his own lane and showcasing his individuality and knowledge in music over unique, refreshing beats that not only leave your head boppin but elicits emotion too. Emenike Ifegwu, known by moniker Feauxseven, was raised in a home that truly appreciated music and also being a member of church, the real artistry in music was never lost to him.

Always showing his love for music, Feauxseven was known for always making beats on the table during lunch until his friends pushed him to show out in the studio. Fast forward a few years and Feauxseven became a producer who made beats for artists he listens to such as Lil Raury, Master Chef, Crime Life Kast. His craft was able to catch the attention of these artists because of the emotions that he puts behind all of his projects. He is known to create a beat that you can slide on or produce beats that appeal to your feelings and vulnerability. There is no in between, just passion all across the board.

Feauxseven’s calm, unpredictable and real demeanor has allowed him to build a following, not only in New Jersey where he is born and bred from, but also Texas, Florida and California.

Humble as ever, Feauxseven creates music simply to satisfy his love for it. It’s what drives and fuels him. He advices his supporters to follow suit and take up anything that you have love for. Anything is possible, you just have to “create your future cause you can literally go from making beats on a lunch table to creating beats for artists whose music you enjoy and getting interviewed!”

DARRYL J.

Nose ring stud with the belly tattoo, growing up Ra’Quan Johnson, known by his moniker Darryl J., always wanted to be like 2pac. The less thug version of him anyway, the one that would out sing Usher and woo women all round with his harmonious melodies, a voice as smooth as butter and lyrics you can feel in your chest. Darryl J is much like his music: warm, inviting and familiar.

Growing up Darryl J always sung lead in the band comprised of his twin brother and cousins when they all got together at his house. Sure enough this dream turned reality as Darryl J. now creates the music he listens to. Self-taught and self-driven, Darryl J. creates music for himself which taught him how to have an ear and listen for things your average person wouldn’t know to look for. In learning to create music he realized that artists already give you the blueprint, the blueprint to sing their songs. The hardest part is creating your own music with your own lyrics and believing in it and singing it with conviction. That is a craft Darryl J has honed as he draws inspiration from the late greats such Prince, 2pac, Roger Troutman, H Town, Donny Hathaway….

Darryl J encourages everyone to be themselves, “Be yourself and you also have to respect yourself and your power.” This is so important for the smooth RnB artist because that has been his most rewarding lesson: you can be yourself at all times. Many people get caught up, but Darryl J. stays true and humble, to not only himself, but to his friends, family and supporters.

Follow Darryl J. so you can stay in tune with what is to come and more on Instagram @darrylj_tr

RED EYEZ THE DON

Having always been surrounded by music Red Eyes the Don developed his unique and intriguing sound by drawing inspiration from video games. Video games was something Red Eyes was into growing up and one game in particular, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, was his favorite. The background music for Sonic was so fire to Red Eyes that he needed to recreate it. Mix that with the Spanish influences that flooded his home as his dad favored greats like Marc Anthony and Luis Miguel and his mother always bumpin’ Don Omar and Daddy Yankee. Fast forward to today we have a well-seasoned, music loving producer whose music is known for being smooth, magnificent, yet kind.

Coming from a self-taught and self-driven place and mentality, Red Eyes pushes his supporters to “Just do it!” People who constantly say that they “can’t” usually don’t know because they haven’t tried in the first place. If it is something that you like, then make it your business to try it because you never know what can come of it.

We can expect a lot of short projects from Red Eyes coming this year! Make sure to stay up to date with everything Red Eyes the Don via Instagram: @ redeyesthedon

KUSH

Introduced to the rap by his family and friends, KUSH, known for well the obvious, got into music July 2020 and has already put himself on the map. In a year of starting his music career KUSH has released a collaborative mixtape with Eazzy (A fellow in house artist of Darkside Industries) and a few singles.

Driven by his want to succeed, KUSH is motivated to be mainstream and commercial. He is perfecting his craft so that he is known worldwide for who he is and what he believes in: doing whatever it is that you like and enjoy. Pushing to pursue your passions and dreams, KUSH doesn’t shy away fully experiencing the journey, he always makes it a point to have fun while in the studio.

Motivated by pursing his passion, KUSH looks to his favorites for inspiration such as Future. Future is one of KUSH’s favorite artist who inspires his carefree, laid back approach to music. It is also easy for KUSH to come off as laid back because that is his demeanor: real, regular and cool. This demeanor transcends into the music because KUSH makes it seem too easy each and every time. A great deal of this is due to KUSH’s authenticity, he is not able to speak on anything that he hasn’t personally experienced or live.

To stay up to date with KUSH make sure to give him a follow via Instagram @kushquay

EAZZY

Newark, NJ, native Eazzy is an up and coming artist who emphasizes realness. Coming from a family that have always valued music, Eazzy was able to take that family passion and pour into himself as he embarks on this journey navigating the music scene.

While the love for music was always there, it wasn’t until the Summer of 2020 that Eazzy started taking music more seriously. Being introduced to the studio and different creatives motivated him to step into something bigger than him. Something that he would be deemed selfish for keeping all to himself.

As a new artist, Eazzy is coming in strong showcasing his easy and laidback style while staying true to his roots and maintaining that component of rawness in all that he does.

His goal is to show the world who he is and what his passions are outside of music.

MELLOW

Instilled with the artistry of music, Marc, known by his stage name Mellow, not only has a passion for beat making because of his love for the greats before him, but also because his father was a DJ. Growing up Mellow was always surrounded by music, with his father being a DJ and a mother whose love for Mary J. Blige woke up the house every Sunday; it was pretty inevitable for Mellow to eventually start paving his own path in music.

Mellow, named after his relaxed demeanor, is anything but when it comes to his craft. He started making beats because of his love for music, inspired by his favorite’s beats such as Pete Rock, J Dilla, Madlib, DJ Premier, Flying Lotus to producers that are all around him, Mellow’s beat making is well influenced, so much so that you can hear Madlib’s influence over Mellow’s drum patterns. Mellow had taught himself the art of beat making by studying the greats mentioned and by playing around with different platforms and materials such as Fruity Loops.

His love for music had come to a still after the loss of his aunt, a special woman who supported Mellow all throughout his journey and influenced a lot of his more soulful works. Speaking to his strength and perseverance, Mellow understood that that is not something his loving aunt would want for him to do. With that being said he got right back into it and was even honored with performing at The Beat House.

Mellow looks to continue contributing his work to the family that absorbed him and showed him the most love: Hip Hop. While he likes to try on different sounds and dabbled in different genre, Hip Hop has always accepted Mellow and his craft and for that he seeks to continue paying it forward. He inspires his supporters and listeners to always remain humble and never take an opportunity for granted.

Make sure to keep up with the latest of all things Mellow on Instagram @ melloxmarc

ALVIE THE SKYWALKER

Driven by a deep and innate need to constantly create, Alvie the Skywalker is a creative in mind, body and soul. For Alvie the Skywalker it is deeper than just music, it is creation. Growing up, Alvie didn’t live with his siblings till the age of 17, this pushed Alvie the Skywalker to constantly create whether its drawings, sneaker designs, or written plays you can always count on Alvie being a creative. Which is why it makes all the more sense for him to be the one to put together a group of talents and creatives at the same table: Darkside Industries.

For Alvie the Skywalker, music wasn’t always the priority. Filmmaking was the musical talent’s first love. His love for filmmaking was so deep that he had whole productions written out, just didn’t have the production which eventually led to him to creating music. Ever since, Alvie the Skywalker has been monumental not only to his listeners and supporters but to his team as well.

As an artist, Alvie the Skywalker is a self-taught and motivated genius, he has such an energy and presence that fills every room he either walks into or is played in. His mastery in producing beats allows him the creative control and freedom to play with his deep, intriguing and entrancing voice that just reels you in to his word play and lyricism. He is always pushing the envelope with music as he creates everything with substance and intent. Often inspired by the things, people, and conversations around him, Alvie the Skywalker often inspires greatness in others. True art form is never lost on him.

Motivated by the need to create during the pandemic, Alvie the Skywalker turned his home into a recording studio. This was a space for creatives to come together safely while forming ideas, creating music, recording vocalists… essentially, to do whatever their creative hearts desired. Noticing just how meaningful this safe haven was, Alvie the Skywalker came up with the idea for Darkside Industries. Darkside Industries was created with the beloved family cookout in mind, it reflects togetherness, family, and loyalty. Bringing together creatives with the same goal in mind, never compromising yourself and staying true to your authentic self. He created this lane for indie underground artists to not only reach their full potential but to also inspire and motivate creation and individualism.

As a natural born leader and creative Alvie the Skywalker was entrusted by his team at Darkside Industries to lead them because of his mad, creative mind that is always connecting the dots. He just always seems to know who needs to be doing what and when for a seamless and effortless end product. The sense of love and loyalty that is felt within the group fuels the hunger for all of them to be able to sit together at the cookout and eat.

Make sure to tap in and follow all things Alvie the Skywalker on Instagram @alvietura and don’t forget to add @wearedarksideind