AKI

When looking for the embodiment of this immaterial entity, look no further then urban crooner Aki.With a voice, style, and charisma reminiscent of R&B/soul music’s legendary performers, this artist stands poised to win over a legion of new fans.Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, the singer credits his family with helping him to discover his love for music. Aki’s mother along with his aunts formed a very popular local gospel group known as The Crawford Sisters. “I can remember sitting for hours listening to them sing and trying to recreate everything that I heard. To this day they are still my harshest critics,” says Aki. As a teenager, he studied music at the Curie School of Performing Arts home to fellow noted music alumni Alphonso Hunter and Anthony Wonzy. He also starred on the school’s varsity basketball team. In between classes, practices, and games, Aki also found the time to hone his chops by performing in local talent shows and school showcases.After graduation, Aki decided he was ready to leave behind the gritty streets of his hometown. He enrolled in the music program at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “I knew I needed a change of pace and some new scenery,” says Aki. As a freshman walk on, he earned a spot on the school’s basketball team. Although happy to have made the team, it wasn’t exactly the experience Aki had hoped it would be. “It killed me to go to practice everyday, school cats, and then sit on game day,” he says. After one season, Aki decided to let go of one of his loves and focus on school and music. He left Southern University a few years later and headed back home to Chicago.Back home, Aki began to perform at some of Chicago’s hottest spots. In a matter of months, he had performed at Isaac Hayes, The Cotton Club, Subterranean, The Click, and the infamous E2. After what seemed like an eternity of nonstop performing both onstage and as a sideman for studio work, Aki felt it was time to take a break. “I felt like I was helping everyone else but no one was putting any of that same energy back into me. I knew I had to begin focusing more on my writing and the development of my style as an artist,” says Aki. He spent the next few years creating his voice and studying the works of other great R&B/soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, Will Downing and Teddy Pendegrass to name a few.One night while at a mall, a happen chance event took place. Aki crossed paths with the sister of a former music producer with whom he used to work three years earlier. He made a phone to call to his old pal Joe Q. Public. Joe told Aki that he and a friend, Silverwood Music CEO Eric White, had just started a new independent record label in Orlando, FL and were looking for new artists. One flight, three days, and four songs later Aki became Silverwood Music’s second artist. He and collaborators Joe Q. Public, Gina Marie, and Tripp Lennon would spend the first three weeks of November writing and producing for Aki’s first release. Out of this labor of love came the forgiveness anthem “Are You Coming Back” and other future classics such as the infectious “Crazy, Insane” and “Sunshine”. According to Aki, “To write and record eighteen songs in three weeks is no small task. Luckily, the process went so smooth that everyday seemed like a big jam session. I feel it’s really important to have people around who understand you as an artist and who can help paint a picture of you to the public. I believe in my heart that the material from this record will still be relevant years from now because good music is like a fine wine. It just gets better with time.”