First Place

First Place is a musical collaboration between producer OD Hunte, singer Allegra, 19 year old rapper Frenzee and tattooed frontman Yomi Davies. Their new single ‘Best of Me’ is released in April. I had a chat to three members of the group and this is what they had to say:



You hail from Bristol, how does the current scene compare to the golden era of trip hop bands such Massive Attack and Portishead?

Allegra: I think it's similar in the way trip hop was a new, individual sound of a mixture of genres - the current scene is a fusion of sounds, but it also has its own style and we're adding to this bringing our own sound to the table.

Frenzee: Well of course I've heard of the greats from Bristol like Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size but to be honest I wouldn't really know much about the trip hop scene in Bristol. I'm sure there still must be people making that genre of music in Bristol as Bristol is known for it. What I have seen in the Bristol music scene is definitely a lot more rappers who make music as well as lots of different types of singers ranging from soul to pop etc. Also I see a lot of rock bands doing there thing too, overall I see making music as a positive thing and a way of expressing yourself so the more people doing it the better in my opinion.

Yomi: Bristol has a great music scene but for me hasn't had any real success on the urban front for years. I have made some good music over the years in Bristol but nothing like the stuff I'm doing now thanks to a little bit of faith and Google, where I found OD Hunt after searching for urban music producer in London. Since coming together and making some great music with the man everything seems to be falling in to place quite nicely, it just seems to have that thing, you know the one you can't quite explain but it's there. I've always wanted to make music that could rise above the noise and finally it’s happening.

Having been described as an urban collective how would describe your sound?

A: Our music is like world music, I think it will be internationally recognised and will suit everyone's taste. We try to send out an inspirational message through our songs with meaning behind them, not only pop hits.

F: I would describe it as uplifting, motivating, inspiring, thought provoking and yes, still with all the aspects of keeping it urban as well.

Y: Our sound is a mix of reggae, soul, r’n’b and pop. I am very influenced by reggae music, I pretty much grew up on that stuff. You can also hear a world music thing going on with some of the African samples OD uses, it's amazing.

You have included school visits in your upcoming UK tour why is that?

A: We want to be heard by many audiences, this is a start to us spreading our sound.

F: I believe that apart from radio and TV, performing in schools has to be one of the best ways to increase your fan base and get the word out of you as an act. Most young kids today are on every social network site and of course the word of mouth is one of the best promoters ever.

Y: The music we make is uplifting and full of positivity, which I feel has been missing from urban music for such a long time. We just want to bring that positive message to the younger generation hence the school tour. First place proves that you can make uplifting, positive music without trying to preach about what's wrong and right but still be cool roll models. Amen.

OD has written for various artists including Leona Lewis and George McRae and Frenzee has been dubbed ‘Britain Next Urban Music Star’ what do the other members bring to the table?

A: As the singers, Yomi and I complete the sound, and individually we all contrast each other but have a nice blend when it's put together. I think I bring the sweetness/soul to the group and bring balance with the female factor!

F: Well as she says, Allegra brings balance and sweetness to the group, as well as having her beautiful voice with soulful pop tones. Yomi brings real emotion to the group with his passionate vocals and also brings brilliant song writing ability as well as his awesome melodies.

Y: My ability to come up with melodies and lyrics to match is a blessing to the group, it helps to create that magic that will see us keep rising. The group was my idea as my solo projects didn't seem to be taking off for me. I felt that a group is what the job required and with a little help from my friends it seems to be working. It's a blessing that we work well on so many different levels.

What music have you been listening to lately?

Y: Hit single Best of Me by First place! I also listen to Plan B, love Nelly’s new album and C1 from North Star and can't leave without saying MJ the king of pop R.I.P.

A: A lot of Adele, her vocals are incredible and I love her tone. I feel I can relate to her writing as a singer and I'm inspired by her melodies

F: I have had Cee-Lo Green’s album The Lady Killer on repeat. He has an amazing voice and always comes out with something different every time which is so refreshing to hear. I hope people start to think that about us when they hear our music too.

If you weren’t making music what do you think you would all be doing now?

A: Performing of some sort! I'm keeping up my studies as well, but I could never give up performing. I would probably be doing a lot of stage work as I originally started off in musical theatre so maybe I would still be pursuing that.

F: Well speaking for myself I would probably just be going to university right about now but would still be feeling unhappy knowing that music is what I love and what I would really love to be doing.

Y: I live for music and that's not always easy but if I didn't have this gift I would probably be very lost as music is my only hope.

Debut single ‘The Best of Me’ has already received a lot of positive feedback what can we expect from the album?

F: You can expect a lot of real heartfelt emotions, a lot of things that hopefully make people stop and think and also the story of three young people trying to achieve their dreams.

Y: The album will reflect truth and positivity from three different view points, we have all come from different backgrounds so you can expect a lot of points of views. It's about letting people know that no matter where you’re from what you have been through we all have a dream and that dream can be your reality with hard work and faith. We all have a story to tell and it's about expressing ourselves and putting it across in our music because it's what we do best.

A: Everything we have already shown you and more! You'll just have to find out!

Anyone you would love to remix your tunes?

A: Well we've already had Digital Dog do an awesome remix, but I would also love to hear David Guetta put his own slant on our tracks.

F: I'm not sure if you mean vocally or musically but as in vocally I would love a real lyricist to absolutely kill the tune like Ludacris, Eminem, Kanye West or Nicki Minaj. Musically I would love someone like Timbaland or Dr. Dre to do their thing. That would be insane!

Y: Kanye West.

Why do you think urban music has exploded in popularity over the last few years?

A: Many people relate to urban music because it is their roots that are being written about. A lot of the artists came from nothing and it gives people a chance to be inspired.

F: I would say because people that actually make urban music are learning that if they work hard enough then they can actually make money doing what they love. They are also seeing that if they can make their urban music more mainstream and crossover and get onto radio and TV then they can actually have huge fan bases and labels are going to want to sign them up.

Y: Urban music is more than just that, it's a culture. It's about expression which we didn't have until we had urban music culture. It's a way of life, we walk and talk it, it's all around us. We all go through hardship, urban or suburban living, but where there are trials and tribulations there's a great story. After the rain the sun will come shining through!

If you are First Place who gets silver and bronze?

Y: First Place is a reflection of what ever you want it to be, we all put something first. For me I try to put God first, music second and third place - ?

F: Well for me, I see the name First Place as meaning something like "Winners make it happen" because we are three young people trying to achieve our dream and our hopefully making it happen. So I guess the people who get silver, bronze and whatever else are the people who are not!

A: We're not concentrating on competition, we're just doing us!