Homecoming King
He’s conquered France and Germany. Now R&B phenom Aloe Blacc has finally made a name for himself at home.
By Jozen Cummings
Photographed by Dan Monick
Nowhere is it harder to be a local celebrity than in the city of Los Angeles. Just ask Aloe Blacc.
The 32-year-old soul singer, née Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins, was raised in the Orange County suburbs, educated in his own backyard at the University of Southern California, and for the past six years, has hosted the coolest party in L.A., the Do-Over. Yet as is the case in this town, it took a Hollywood moment for Blacc to finally get the love he deserved: In 2009 his hit
single, "I Need A Dollar," landed as the theme song to HBO's How To Make It In America. The song -- a bluesy, soulful Bill Withers-esque jam -- propelled Blacc and his recent album, Good Things (released last September), from an artist with a cult-like following mostly based overseas to a sensation on the stateside R&B scene.
The commercial success of "I Need A Dollar," however, risked cannibalizing Good Things. The song's crafty hook, groovy backbeat and prominence as a snazzy theme song was such a boost to Blacc's visibility, it could have easily made him a one-hit wonder. But, he says, "When I do my performances, people love the show. And I figured out how to entertain a crowd and not be dependent only on the candy, the 'I Need A Dollar.' I learned this from my MC-ing days, and from my Do-Over days."
Blacc's hybrid style -- he doesn't so much combine genres as hop from one to another, be it dancehall, hip-hop or soul -- is a product of his rich musical upbringing. In elementary school, Blacc learned to play the trumpet and would come home to his Panamanian parents, who always had a vast selection of eclectic genres playing on the radio. "Salsa music, Caribbean stuff," says Blacc. "All that stuff influenced me." Another major influence for Blacc: The budding Los Angeles hip-hop scene of the early '90s. "That's what attracted us, me and my friends. I was writing rhymes and started a group with DJ Exile called Emanon."
Together Blacc and Exile released their 2005 album, The Waiting Room, a project warmly received within underground hip-hop circles. But instead of immediately following up with another Emanon record, Blacc was given a chance to change the face of partying in Hollywood and Los Angeles at large. (He and Exile are currently working on another album.)
Jamie Strong and Chris Haycock, two of L.A.'s most popular DJs, tapped Blacc to host a party they were throwing in Hollywood called the Do-Over. At the eight-hour daytime dance fest, emphasis is on the DJ to create the most eclectic mix of genres possible. "It kind of revolutionized partying in Hollywood," Blacc says. "It used to be you could go to a night that
was all roots reggae, all hip-hop, all dance music or house, but the Do-Over combined all of that in eight hours." In 2006, inspired by his many nights spent in the DJ booth, Blacc decided to make another album, this time a solo debut called, Shine Through. "It's every genre you can think of," Blacc says. "And that party is the reason why."
Though the Do-Over parties packed Hollywood clubs to capacity ("It was super-exclusive because only 250 could come in," Blacc says. "And there were 250 out front in line."), Blacc's solo work flew under the radar. "I always thought the world was my oyster because my sound was so diverse," says Blacc. So he took his talents abroad. "When I go to Germany, I'm on the
biggest TV shows, I'm on major radio; I'm a bona fide celebrity in France and Germany."
But thanks to the success of Good Things and "I Need A Dollar," Blacc's popularity here at home is catching up to his success abroad. At a recent show at the Echoplex, a mid-sized space in L.A.'s Echo Park neighborhood, Blacc was thrilled to find that the crowd was way over capacity, with concertgoers spilling onto the streets, like the crowds he sees in Europe. "It was really good to come home and see that at the end of the tour," he says. "Cause I know I got L.A. now, and I know I got a home base." ★
Stylist: Gena Tuso
Grooming: Sunnie Brook at Celestine Agency using Make Up For Ever and Paul Mitchell
Stylist's assistant: Julia Chung
Jacket by Creep and shirt from What Goes Around Comes Around
The 32-year-old soul singer, née Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins, was raised in the Orange County suburbs, educated in his own backyard at the University of Southern California, and for the past six years, has hosted the coolest party in L.A., the Do-Over. Yet as is the case in this town, it took a Hollywood moment for Blacc to finally get the love he deserved: In 2009 his hit
single, "I Need A Dollar," landed as the theme song to HBO's How To Make It In America. The song -- a bluesy, soulful Bill Withers-esque jam -- propelled Blacc and his recent album, Good Things (released last September), from an artist with a cult-like following mostly based overseas to a sensation on the stateside R&B scene.
The commercial success of "I Need A Dollar," however, risked cannibalizing Good Things. The song's crafty hook, groovy backbeat and prominence as a snazzy theme song was such a boost to Blacc's visibility, it could have easily made him a one-hit wonder. But, he says, "When I do my performances, people love the show. And I figured out how to entertain a crowd and not be dependent only on the candy, the 'I Need A Dollar.' I learned this from my MC-ing days, and from my Do-Over days."
Blacc's hybrid style -- he doesn't so much combine genres as hop from one to another, be it dancehall, hip-hop or soul -- is a product of his rich musical upbringing. In elementary school, Blacc learned to play the trumpet and would come home to his Panamanian parents, who always had a vast selection of eclectic genres playing on the radio. "Salsa music, Caribbean stuff," says Blacc. "All that stuff influenced me." Another major influence for Blacc: The budding Los Angeles hip-hop scene of the early '90s. "That's what attracted us, me and my friends. I was writing rhymes and started a group with DJ Exile called Emanon."
Together Blacc and Exile released their 2005 album, The Waiting Room, a project warmly received within underground hip-hop circles. But instead of immediately following up with another Emanon record, Blacc was given a chance to change the face of partying in Hollywood and Los Angeles at large. (He and Exile are currently working on another album.)
Jamie Strong and Chris Haycock, two of L.A.'s most popular DJs, tapped Blacc to host a party they were throwing in Hollywood called the Do-Over. At the eight-hour daytime dance fest, emphasis is on the DJ to create the most eclectic mix of genres possible. "It kind of revolutionized partying in Hollywood," Blacc says. "It used to be you could go to a night that
was all roots reggae, all hip-hop, all dance music or house, but the Do-Over combined all of that in eight hours." In 2006, inspired by his many nights spent in the DJ booth, Blacc decided to make another album, this time a solo debut called, Shine Through. "It's every genre you can think of," Blacc says. "And that party is the reason why."
Though the Do-Over parties packed Hollywood clubs to capacity ("It was super-exclusive because only 250 could come in," Blacc says. "And there were 250 out front in line."), Blacc's solo work flew under the radar. "I always thought the world was my oyster because my sound was so diverse," says Blacc. So he took his talents abroad. "When I go to Germany, I'm on the
biggest TV shows, I'm on major radio; I'm a bona fide celebrity in France and Germany."
But thanks to the success of Good Things and "I Need A Dollar," Blacc's popularity here at home is catching up to his success abroad. At a recent show at the Echoplex, a mid-sized space in L.A.'s Echo Park neighborhood, Blacc was thrilled to find that the crowd was way over capacity, with concertgoers spilling onto the streets, like the crowds he sees in Europe. "It was really good to come home and see that at the end of the tour," he says. "Cause I know I got L.A. now, and I know I got a home base." ★
Stylist: Gena Tuso
Grooming: Sunnie Brook at Celestine Agency using Make Up For Ever and Paul Mitchell
Stylist's assistant: Julia Chung
Jacket by Creep and shirt from What Goes Around Comes Around
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