myspace.com publicity photo
Rock City duo Theron and Timothy
"A lot of people say 'Ay you want to find out something about those dudes, just listen to their music and you'll feel like you know 'em,'" said Theron, who has the stage name Da Spokesman. "There's songs [on the album] that have a message and there's a point to it, but it's all based on our life."
Hailing from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the group takes it name from the nickname describing their native land's rocky terrain, Rock City. The duo, comprised of Theron and Timothy-who goes by Don't Talk Much-is signed to Konlive/Geffen Records and is slowly making a name for themselves as a group transcending cultural boundaries by bringing their island influences to mainstream hip-hop airwaves.
In their album Wake the Neighbors, Rock City introduces its musical pastiche of R&B, Reggae, Hip-Hop and Calypso, with influences from artists like Bob Marley, Third World and Steele Pulse.
The band also views the album as a chance to introduce themselves to new audiences in the states.
"The title [of the album] comes from us feeling like we're new to the game, and we're moving in. I know we're going to cause some ruckus and I know we're 'gon wake people up," Theron said. "As far as subject, we speak on our life, we speak on what we know, we speak on what we see. There is a lot of songs that's fun songs, meaning we just sing," Theron said.
"It's just feel-good music," Timothy added.
The brothers seem to posses a symbiotic relationship that allows them to complete each other's sentences; nonetheless, they are as different as night and day.
"My brother, he'll tell you himself, he wants to be famous, he wants that, I don't. But I mean, it comes with the job and I accept that," Timothy said. "Us being totally different from each other, we definitely complement each other, and it makes it so much better for us to work because we both understand each other."
While the group is just now taking the spotlight as their own, they have been working behind the scenes for several major artists and emerging talent like Akon, Leona Lewis and Mario, showing their versatility as songwriters.
"We were performers first. We were a group and being artists was our first priority, but nobody really paid attention to us as artists first," Theron said. "We never thought that we would be writing songs for other people. We just always wanted to be artists and put our music out."
In their first single, Losin' It featuring Akon, the brothers sing about their confusing fall into love, but it is apparent, as far as the music game is concerned, that these guys know exactly what to do. With their uniquely developed style, the artists have distinguished themselves as innovators in the music industry, a fact they are well aware of as Timothy simply states, "What we're doing has never been done."
Aleesa Mann writes for The Hilltop, Howard Univrsity's student newspaper, which originally published this article.