Copyrights/Photocredit: 4EVER YOUNG MUSIC GROUP/ 4EY The Future Pop, R&B
The sexy members of 4EY The Future, Kenny Iko (Michael Timmons 20), Mechie (Demetrius Harris 18) and Leo Amari (Tre Garrison 19), released their debut single, “No Time To Waste” featuring Wale. The lyrics from their rousing and upbeat song is getting airplay on Hot 103.3 as well as IHeart Radio, just to name a couple stations.
The D.C natives eject harmonious ballads and merge melodies together collectively, creating a provocative story filled with bravado and flair.
Although the group is new to the industry, they created a buzz as well as a copious following. Undoubtedly, this was the perfect opportunity for the trio to enter into fame with ingenious talent, high ambitions, crazy sex-appeal, and a consonant sound that appeals to all generations…
In other words, these little Hotties came through!
From performing alongside Bow-Wow, Chrisette Michelle, French Montana, and Miguel, the faction pronounced themselves early-on as soloist with skills ranging from singing, dancing, and instrumentals. Now, they’ve merged together as a unit, which makes them even more endearing.
Kenny Iko and Leo were friends previously, and Mechie came on later with the group, the guys confirm that they aren’t just friends, “We are past friendship, we’re brothers now,” said Kenny Iko.
4EY The Future is a pristine power-squad that’s bringing new flavor to the industry, and they promise to replenish this era with deliberate and vivacious music.
Reading over your bio, it said that you were bullied because of your love for singing, in what way did that empower you?
KI: Actually, it made me put everything inside and say, “You know what, I can’t let them affect me.” They used to talk about me because I was dark-skinned, and they used to talk about me because I was singing in Middle School. At that time, that wasn’t the most popular thing. But at the end of the day, once they figured out that I could sing, and I had all the girls, it actually played in my favor.
Do you have a non-profit for bullying? Did you try to start a campaign because of that, or did you just stick to your passions because of everything?
KI: Actually, We’ve partnered with a couple organizations down here in the Washington DMV area, it’s a non-bullying campaign that they’re doing called Tease Free Bullying [http://www.teasefreekids.com/]. So, we partnered with them and we go out and speak; and at the event that they do, we perform for the kids, and we talk about what they can do to stop bullying and prevention from bullying.
How did music save your life?
MSC: It saved my life because this is what I always dreamed about as a kid… I grew-up in a church. So, I was always singing in the choir and things like that. Music was always my outlet. It was one of those things where I could let go, be free, and not let the outside world get to my head. I could just release stress and put it all into my music.
Leo: Like Mechie said, it was my outlet. I felt like it was a happy place. Whether I was playing the piano, singing, dancing, and rapping, music was my go-to. Kenny was bullied and I was bullied as well—music was my outlet.
Mechie, you grew up in the church, how did you transition from gospel music?
MSC: As I got older, I started listening to a different type of music. I started listening to all genres. I didn’t want to listen to church music. Church is a place where I can go and praise the Lord, but at the end of the day, I want to be able to do all types of music, so I branched off as I got older.
It says that you work together as a trio… How important is it to have consonance/ harmony while in a male singing group?
Leo: I just feel like with any group, you have to have that type of chemistry and bond with your group, because it shows in performances, whether it’s singing or dancing. You just gotta bond well with your group.
Leo, it says that you began as a keyboarder, so how did you get into singing?
Leo: It was like growing up, I was always around other singers. I gradually picked that up and learned—I taught myself how to sing. Everything that I do now, I taught myself how to do, whether it was playing the piano, being a videographer and things like that.
Do you think that if you went to school for singing, you would’ve enhanced more, or are you just naturally talented and you’re good where you are?
Leo: I feel like that school will help anybody and that’s just the way it goes, but yeah. School would’ve helped.
This question is for everyone because your style is through the roof… How important is fashion and style when it comes down to branding your group?
KI: This is really important. You have to think a lot about showing looks—how you look and how you present yourself at all times. You want people, to want to be you, get what you have, or wear what you wear; and so we always make sure that we keep that standard. We don’t just like style, we just like clothes anyway. We’re working on a clothing line. We design everything and we even do the sketches and things like that. We’re definitely into fashion.
How did you position yourself to open for headliner artist?
KI: A lot of practice. We have an artist development program; so every day we go from dance rehearsals to media training, to studio sessions and vocal lessons. So, once those opportunities opened themselves, we were already prepared. It was a fun time. We just had to get on stage, have fun, and keep it going.
Tell us about your new single. Are there other radio stations playing your song? Who came up with the concept for the single?
The name of single is called No Time To Waste, it was produced by Yung Berg. We went to L.A, and we got into the studio with Yung Berg—the chemistry was just crazy. He actually produced and wrote the record. The record was already prepared for us, we just went into the studio
and knocked it out. After we knocked it out, we got back into the studio with Yung Bird and did 5 more records. Shot out to our team for putting that together.
How was it working with Yung Berg?
Yung Berg is a very talented guy, man. A lot of people don’t know that he had over 10 songs playing on the radio at the same time. Like, he writes for a lot of great artist, from Tamar Braxton, Rhianna, Jason Derulo, and Beyoncé. Like, he has a lot of big roles, and to pick his brain about the industry and to see him be so creative—we call him Quincy Jones. He’s very good to work with.
You said that Yung Berg wrote some of your songs. Do you write songs as well?
Yes, we all write. Our album is gonna be a 12 song album, with 2 bonus tracks. We gotta good amount of songs that we wrote on the album, and we’re excited about that. We’re ready to start getting those publishing and royalties checks. The album is coming out very soon. We don’t have an actual date, but maybe at the end of fall.
Are you still doing artist development even though you’re performing and touring?
Your artistry never stops developing. You continue to practice and you continue to hone in on the craft. We not only want to have the respect of our fans, but we want the respect of our fellow peers in the industry. We want people like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and J Cole, we want them to look at our craft, as opposed to admirers. We want our fans and we want the respect of our fellow peers in the industry. So, constantly practicing is essential. It’s a must.
Let’s talk about the label, when the label picked you guys up, was it like a dream come true?
KI: Yes, it was a dream come true. This is what we worked for our whole lives, to finally be on the platform with major artist. So, now they aren’t just artist, they are our peers. We can actually sit like our brother, Chris Brown, because we’re now on the same platform as each other.
At what age were each of you when you found your sound?
KI: When I came out the womb crying. I was singing my hardest when I came out the womb
MSO: I was somewhere around 8
Leo: I’d say that my style is still being developed. When you listen to a lot of music, the sound starts to change as well. So, yeah, I would say that it’s still in the process.
How did that affect you as a singer when you knew that you didn’t have the soft voice anymore when your voice changed? How did that make you feel? Did it affect your sound?
Leo: No, I just kept working and we went through vocal lessons through our label.
This is for everyone: What’s the importance of incorporating social media into your strategies, staying connected to your fans and singing?
We all know that social media is like the world driven market for any type of thing. Social media It’s very important. Like DJ Khaled is on top of the world right now because he’s so popular on snapchat. So, we make sure that we stay on their long-term. That’s how we got our first single “Scoot Ova.” We’re real heavy on social media, and if you go to our pages, you can see us on cover songs, dance videos and things like that. Yeah, it’s very important.
Who else would you like to share the stage with?
I’d say, Chris Brown, Usher, the late Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston. We just love music, so there are just so many other artists that we’d love to share the stage with.
What else can we expect from you guys?
Right now, we’re having conversations and different talks in L.A for a reality show, about the group and about our times going in and out of studio sessions and touring. Also, we are about to do our promo tour, and that’s the biggest thing right now. We have a lot of other things coming up
What words of encouragement do you want to leave with fans and readers that want to be where you are right now?
Stay consistent because a lot of artist feel like it happens overnight, but you just have to keep on grinding and believe in yourself.
Social Media Handles:
www.4eythefuture.com
https://www.instagram.com/official4ey/