Top Boy Round Here are putting themselves forward as a North East supergroup made up from artists who have all done something in their own right. Currently going on a promotional bender the staunchly dance and good times oriented pop group spoke to Danielle after their recent jaunt to the USA. Read on to find out what they had to say.
Top Boy round Here are in the building!!! Give our readers a breakdown of who you guys actually are?
The three band members are Silvar Laidlow (emcee / singer), Toni Mari (Lead vocalist) and Dap Ceo (emcee). The extended members are DMC finalist Jay Rockwell and the man behind the boards is super producer Tim Freekstar.
You have all previously been solo artists so where did the decision to form a group come from?
We all worked very hard as solo acts, we came together for the first time to record the Dreams record which was initially for a Dap Ceo solo project, but we thought we worked well together and it became the first Top Boy track. Working together just made more sense, three heads are better than one, right?!
Why the name Top Boy Round Here? Especially saying as theres a female in the group (laughs)
The name came from a range of T-shirts that Silvar had printed a few years back, Dap really liked the brand so we kept it as a group name. We are currently in talks to launch a full clothing range including trainers and watches! Of course this includes a female range called Top Girl.
How was your trip to NYC, you guys only recently returned from the Big Apple? Making power moves out there?
We had a great time in NYC, we’ve never worked so hard in our lives though, running on four hours sleep a night, if we were lucky. We recorded an absolute monster of a track with Brooklyn based crew Block Exchange, this will defo be a single. We shot two amazing videos out there as well, these will be hitting TV later in the year. We made some huge moves out in NYC, we have a video to shoot in Paris next, then we’ll be straight back to the big apple before we hit Kavos for five weeks of shows!
What’s the urban music scene like in the North East right now? Does the sound differ much from that of say London?
We’re massively out of touch with what’s going on in the North East scene as we’re concentrating on the rest of the planet now! Baron Von Alias and Mister Breeze are defo worth looking out for and of course Deffintion and Suus are doing big thing in the battle leagues!
What are you working on at present?
At present we are just putting the finishing touches to our debut album which is still untitled, we have eight tracks done and we’re aiming for ten, so we are very nearly there, if it wasn’t for all the international moves we’re making it would be finished by now.
We are also working with DJ Whoo Kid on The Blue Ribbon mixtape, expect to see this around May 2012 and its gonna be totally free!
Who would you compare yourself to? And more importantly who do you guys take your inspiration from?
We’re like a cross between Black Eyed Peas and N-Dubz with elements of Drake, Wayne and Mariah Carey thrown in for good measure. Inspiration is taken from our real life experiences, we don’t take our selves too seriously and hopefully that comes across in our music.
What advice would you give to someone trying to build a career within music?
Music videos are the best way to reach the masses, contact [email protected] for some great deals 😉
Your most recent single Home Movie is pretty upbeat and catchy, definitely along the pop route. Would you say thats your main musical aim, to go more hip-pop and hit mainstream?
Top Boy is very much a commercial dance / pop / urban act, our all is made up of nothing but up beat dance tracks! We will have a little more traditional sounding stuff on The Blue Ribbon mix tape though, so its not all pop!
Where can you fans connect with you?
Fans can reach us at @topboyroundhere https://www.facebook.com/topboyroundhere
Shout Outs?
Shout out to all our fans all over the world and to the hater, you give us a reason to work harder every day!
By: Danielle Fear
For British Hip Hop courtesy of Underground Promotion UK.
TopBoyRoundHere are currently represented for press via UPUK @UPUK http://www.facebook.com/upuk1