Featured Artist of The Week: Porcelan
A mere mention of the history-rich city of Memphis and classic American music in the same statement immediately conjures up images of legendary singers/songwriters/musicians, classic recordings and immediately identifiable sounds…many of which are Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted and have all stood the test of time. One might even conclude that Tennessee’s most world-renowned city – considered by many a “songwriter’s haven” — has been a hot-bed of timeless music since the inception of what we now know as rock ‘n roll, soul and American pop music. While the soulful baton has since been memorably passed from Detroit and Philly, to places like Atlanta and Minneapolis over the years, Songwriter Hall of Fame-inducted songwriter/producer/entrepreneur David Porter and his Made In Memphis Entertainment label are bringing things full circle, positioning the eternally musically-fertile city back to the forefront of contemporary R&B with the forthcoming, full-fledged debut of fast-rising, much buzzed-about, genuinely talented singing/songwriting hometown girl, PORCELAN.
Born and reared in the Westwood area of South Memphis, contemporary urban/R&B “It Girl” PORCELAN couldn’t help but ultimately pursue her own musical aspirations, having immediately absorbed her historic musical surroundings from a young age while growing up in a family of instinctively musical people. “I don’t really remember it being anything I heard on the radio; I really [more so] remember it being my family, like my Mom singing,” recalls the breakout songstress, when asked about the source of her first musical impression. “My parents are singers and musicians, so at family reunions, it was really like `a thing.’ It’s not like the ‘ole `Oh, get up and sing for us.’ Everybody just starts singing or gets up and does a song for the family. So I was like `Everybody else can sing and play instruments. I wonder if I can.’ And I just started getting into it.” Spurred by the encouragement of a fifth grade teacher who heard her voice early on, along with long car rides with her Mom listening and singing along to the likes of Bobby Womack, Al Green, Rick James and Marvin Gaye, school-aged PORCELAN found herself auditioning and performing for school graduation ceremonies which soon thereafter uncovered another musical gift…writing. “I started writing poetry since I was in middle-school and realized I was good at it,” PORCELAN recounts.
Take a listen to Porcelan’s new single “New Boo”
