Music is life. Music is love. Music is you. Music is me. Music is us. To make people truly understand music is difficult because they don't realize the role that music plays in their everyday lives. You hear it on the radio, in elevators, on television, in hospitals, in schools, at funerals, everywhere. It is the most powerful form of communication. People literally can't get enough of it. This is why Kumi Hues is necessary. Kumi Hues is music. Kumi Hues is life. Kumi Hues is love.

But who is Kumi Hues? Perhaps where is Kumi Hues is a better question. Starting their intergalactic journey in the small town of Tallahassee, Florida, iLL-FLaVa and M.E.R.C. found that they have a chemistry that will catapult them into your living rooms. Their sound is vintage yet new, hard yet smooth, and bitter yet sweet. They seem to explore the universe of sound, conquering the cosmos in their dream machine fueled by inspiration. Their unique delivery of chords and phrases captures time and space. Kumi Hues is the future and they are in a world of their own.

iLL-FLaVa, aka Brandon Crumbly, was born in the city of Toledo, Ohio, the home of such musicians as Art Tatum and R & B crooner Lyfe Jennings. iLL's fascination with the sound came at an early age. But it wasn't until moving to Atlanta, Georgia that this son of a high school theory teacher found passion in bringing imagination to his music. If you could see into his mind you would see a world decorated with an array of vibrant colors and you would hear a futuristic, bass heavy beat pulsating throughout his thoughts. Drawing inspiration from hip-hop, jazz, new wave, and genres, iLL-FLaVa is ready to leave his mark on the music industry; and re-introduce creativity to a genre fixated on catchy tunes.

After high school, iLL-FLaVa moved to the sunny city of Tallahassee, FL where he met M.E.R.C. The two became immediate friends, and had a powerful musical chemistry they couldn't ignore. The two soon formed Kumi Hues, where iLL-FLaVa capitalizes on his beat-making prowess to help deliver the group's debut album, "The Take Off 747-365." Armed with skillfully creative drum patterns and an infectious style of chord changes, iLL-FLaVa proves to be a musical reckoning force.

M.E.R.C. aka Jason Hall was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, a city that produced other musical talents such as T-Pain and Sticman of Dead Prez. He remembers always wanting to be creative and free spirited. "Music was always something that I loved. I remember riding in the car with my pops trying to guess the instruments on his jazz tapes. I didn't really listen to hip-hop that much because my parents didn't. It wasn't until about the eighth grade when I started to get into it. Even then I still would rather hear Satchmo on a 45" than anything on the top ten," states M.E.R.C. Growing up in the south even in the 80's and 90's  still had its affect on Black Americans and M.E.R.C. expresses those struggles frequently in his music. He is often compared to Common or Mos Def but with southern hospitality. He seems to somewhat squeeze his political view in between his metaphors to make sure that nothing is overstated. His words dance romantically with bass lines and his laid-back persona clashes with his revolutionary ideology.

Not since Gnarls Barkley has colorful imagery, alluring lyricism and storytelling been fused so perfectly. M.E.R.C. lives up to his name and slaughters hip hop standards with his insightful and honest lyrics, while iLL-FLaVa keeps listeners amazed with his range and creativity as a producer.

Kumi Hues

Location: Music

Contact: myspace.com/kumihues or www.kumihues.com

Urbansteez.com Interview with Kumi Hues

Urbansteez.com:  Tell us your name, and what area do you represent?

Kumi Hues and we represent the truth through music.

Urbansteez.com:  How long have you been pursuing a career in the music industry?

M.E.R.C.: I have been rapping for about 10 years.

iLL-FLaVa: I have been playing the piano and the drums for 20 years. I have bee pursuing a career in the industry of sound for 2 years.

Urbansteez.com:  What were you into before music?

M.E.R.C.: I was in school.

iLL-FLaVa: I was definitely into graduating high school. Arts and sciences and pretty girls.

Urbansteez.com:  As an artist how would you describe your style and why?

M.E.R.C.: I have an honest straight forward style. Nothing new, but something a little different. That style is me.

iLL-FLaVa: I would describe my sound style as post/modern electronic hip-hop fused with robotic soul an elevator jazz, because my music is extremely vivid an imaginative.

Urbansteez.com:  If you had your pick which label to be signed to, which label would it be and why?

M.E.R.C.: We are not really worried about labels right now. We make music. Label talk can come later.

Urbansteez.com:  Who in your future would you want to collaborate with and why?

M.E.R.C.: I would like to do a song with Bilal for the simple fact that he is a true soul singer.

iLL-FLaVa: I would love to work with J'Davey because she has such potency in lyricism and her partner, Brooke D'Leau, makes beats way ahead of his time.

Urbansteez.com:  What are you working on now, and when can we expect to hear more of you?

M.E.R.C.: Right now we are working on a few mixtapes and another full length album. No beat biting on the mixtapes, all original compositions created by iLL-FLaVa.

Urbansteez.com:  Who are your influences?

M.E.R.C.: Bob Marley and mostly life experiences.

iLL-FLaVa: Prince, Phil Collins, and Sting. Since I wasn't able to listen to hip-hop growing up I would take video game sounds and try to recreate the chord progressions on the paino.

Urbansteez.com:  Thats wassup!! What do you think of the hip hop / music world right now?

M.E.R.C.: The music itself is not bad. The commercialized hip-hop isn't good but we don't make that kind of music.

iLL-FLaVa: I believe hip-hop is in a experimental transition. There are all these different forms of music under this one genre of music to see where commercial hip-hop is going to go. The music is not bad but I think people are anxious about where its going.

Urbansteez.com:  I hear that... Where do you see yourself a year from now?

M.E.R.C.: Touring the world, still making good music.

iLL-FLaVa: Definitely touring but making better music because we are touring. When you see all these different sights and people from all different kinds of backgrounds all those things stimulate the senses and you have tons of new motivations.

Urbansteez.com:  What will you do with your first royalty check?

M.E.R.C.: My first check will pay some bills.

iLL-FLaVa: I will pay off my student loans.

Urbansteez.com: Yessir, credit is key! When you make it big, what car will you first purchase?

M.E.R.C.: A DREAM MACHINE.

iLL-FLaVa: WITH NO RIMS AND THINGS.

Urbansteez.com:  Lol, that track is the business by the way!! What's in your sound system right now?

M.E.R.C.: Gnarls Barkley and Erykah Badu

iLL-FLaVa: Bob James, Ennio Morricone, Fiona Apple, Frank Zappa, Janelle Monae, Keith Jarrett, Led Zeppelin, Yoko Kanno, and Sting.

Urbansteez.com: Niiiice, GOOd STUFF!!  How can fans contact you in the future (myspace, email, PO box, etc.)??

Kumi Hues: We can be contacted at myspace.com/kumihues or www.kumihues.com. www.digstation.com Album also available for download at and on itunes. Go get it you won't be disappointed!!!!

Kumi Hues- Dream Machine

Kumi Hues- Caramel

WhichWayIsUp from Kumi Hues on Vimeo.

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