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ON THE RISE
Burt Bankkz is an artist who makes music based on emotional authenticity. And, this authenticity extends beyond the booth. As someone with a passion for community, his desire to spread positivity and encouragement reverberates throughout the music he makes and how he treats people around him too. His latest single, “Dreams,” tells of the obstacles he faced in his own life journey. He hopes by sharing his ideology to keep moving forward, someone else will be inspired by it and do the same in their own lives.
“I want people to feel motivated, I want them to realize they don’t have to lose hope because there’s always a better way to look at and overcome a situation.”
The track “Dreams” is a peaceful guitar based track with bouncy trap drums and rap-sung vocals from Burt and feature T-Rell. The passion comes through in Burt’s vocals as he talks of people doubting him but proving them wrong and making those who believed in him proud. Even amongst the motivational talk, he still gets a punchline in as he says “Now I’m on top like an apostrophe.” T-Rell continues this theme effectively.
When speaking with Burt, I immediately noticed his headstrong thought process when it came to how he carried himself. Being emotionally transparent in his music is one of his core focuses because he hopes people find what he says relatable. He also wants to connect with people outside of the booth and continue to spread motivation and positivity there too. He told me about how he and his team regularly host toy drives in the community around Christmas time. Even outside of these moments, Burt continues to verbally spread his positivity.
“I try to give positive feedback and input to whoever needs to hear it. Anything positive, I’m all for it.”
Heading down the path of positivity is even more important to Burt because of his past. After a series of unfortunate circumstances which included juvenile detention and incarceration, he now prides himself on making the right decisions not only for himself but for others too. With multiple people telling him how his music inspired them, he says this is what keeps him going to make more of it. He plans to drop an EP in the very near future as he continues to build his fanbase through interactions like this that are based on people relating to his authenticity.
“When I hear things like that, it shows me that people are watching and paying attention. And that helps me keep my drive going.”
Burt has plans to do more shows both locally and across state lines. He wants to connect with more people and continue to spread his motivational and uplifting music to as many people as he can. By maintaining his emotional authenticity, he knows his message will resonate with those who want and need to hear it.
“I’m not looking for recognition. The art and the craft will speak for itself. All I’m pushing is authenticity.”
You can keep up with Burt Bankkz on the following platforms.
ON THE RISE
Clinton Brand III – better known as CBIII – is a California-based rapper. His new single, titled “I Won’t Quit,” is a motivational and relatable message for everyone “going through it.”
The track, with a beat by Tunna Beats, has a Blurry Face vibe. It starts with a violin and the soft “ahh”s of featured singer Alex Brinkley. When the beat drops, piano, bass and drums enter along with CBIII’s lyrical meditations on “overthinking, contemplating, and debating” why he “won’t quit.”
As the final line makes clear, the song is a study in contradictory mindsets. There’s the fear of failure – what if I’m not good enough? – and then the contrast of relentlessness as stated in the title.
The lyrics of the song’s final quattrain are especially strong. Beginning with an example of CBIII’s wordplay (phenomenal and astronomical anomaly), the final message is one of inspiration: I’m tired of this, so I’m going to make it better.
This struggle with nagging self-doubt and overthinking makes “I Won’t Quit” very relatable. In the end, CBIII wants listeners to be inspired, to not give in when they find themselves in similar circumstances.
Brand’s inspiration for “I Won’t Quit” was intensely personal. Following the death of his parents at a young age, he was raised by his grandmother and then was placed in foster care. A recent visit found his grandmother’s memory fading; this was painful, considering that she had once been his biggest supporter.
This episode left him feeling abandoned, in a dark place.
He says, “I wrote the song ‘I Won’t Quit’ because at that time I was suicidal. I didn’t have nobody else to turn to because my grandma didn’t really care anymore.”
The vulnerability expressed in the lyrics made CBIII unsure if he wanted to release the song at all. He says, “I actually sat on the song for like five months before even thinking about releasing it because it’s so close to home that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have the courage to share it.”
Now that the song is out, its vulnerability is its strength. Brand’s struggle is real, and the general contours – missing family support, doubting yourself, knowing you need to persevere – will be familiar to many.
In addition to his personal desire to live up his dream of greatness, Brand has another reason not to give up: his younger brother, who is currently in foster care. Knowing his brother looks up to him, he wants to remind him that giving in to doubt is the easy way out.
Brand says, “I want to encourage him, to show him that if you set your mind to it, bro, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
In the end, CBIII wants listeners to learn from his pain, to ask themselves, “What if I don’t give up?”
Stream “I Won’t Quit” now, wherever you listen to music.
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