“For the last decade, R&B has been more concerned with downtempo, often depressing music than anything that comes close to eliciting joy. “Tetris” revels in the nostalgia of its source material and by the time King sings ‘Cuz you’re livin’ la vida loca’ his addition to the booty song pantheon is complete.” – Rolling Stone
“Bay Area singer-songwriter Derek King has cut his teeth and earned his stripes as one his region’s go-to hook masters and most talented vocalists, helping popular artists like Sage the Gemini, SOB x RBE, Nef the Pharaoh, Iamsu! and several others cook up hits.” – HYPEBEAST
With a smooth voice and street-savvy lyrical sensibility, Derek King effortlessly connects R&B’s past and present in his music. Today, the Bay Area singer-songwriter announces Let’s Be Honest, his upcoming project. Spanning 11 tracks, the upcoming project showcases Derek’s versatility, cycling through mob-influenced bangers like opening track “Blessed” to club-ready rap-n-b like “Dead Roses“ to luscious slow jams like “Dior Kisses” without missing a beat. The upcoming project is home to “No Scrub,“ Derek’s TLC-flipping single, which dropped in mid-April. With production contributions from ReeceBeats, the man behind the boards for Kehlani’s “All Me” and Mozzy’s Gold-certified “Excuse Me,” and guest appearances from E-40 (on recent single “2 Much“), Eric Bellinger, King Combs, JGreen, and more, Let’s Be Honest arrives on May 29th via EMPIRE, and is now available for pre-order.
Along with the announcement of the project, Derek shares the video for “Enough,” directed by Adrian Per. A sweetly-sung love song with textured production from ReeceBeats, “Enough” is a plea from Derek to an ex to stop messing around and remember the strong feelings that started their relationship in the first place: “I can’t sleep without you here,” he croons. Featuring an appearance from Zion, who contributes some vocal acrobatics of his own, “Enough” eloquently packs a complex emotional situation into a radio-friendly midtempo jam. In the video, Derek tells the story of his relationship, from the early meet-cutes during jogs in the park to an eventual kidnapping, and Zion plays the role of a man who takes things a tad too far in his attempts to keep his woman in his life (duct tape is never the key to a happy relationship).
A native of Antioch, California, Derek King made his name with a series of viral hits that updated turn-of-the-21st century smashes with a modern, club-friendly twist. In 2018, the then-22-year-old singer shared “Tetris,” which chopped-up Sisqo‘s classic “Thong Song” into a brand-new booty-positive jam. The song quickly picked up steam on socials, reaching the ears of Billie Eilish, who posted a video of herself dancing to the song on Instagram. Eventually earning remix guest spots from Rich The Kid and Russ, the song racked up over 20 million streams across platforms and reached the Top 40 of Mediabase’s rhythmic radio airplay chart. The singer proved that he was much more than a one-hit-wonder when he dropped “Play,“ which transformed Diddy’s “I Need A Girl (Pt. 2)” into a bass-boosted player’s anthem. “Play” found its way onto More Vibes, Derek’s 2019 debut project. With Let’s Be Honest, Derek looks to keep the momentum going and establish himself as Northern California’s go-to listen for all things R&B.
Watch “Enough”: https://youtu.be/xK8A12o6D14
Buy/Stream “Enough” and pre-order Let’s Be Honest: https://empire.ffm.to/enough
Please contact Michelle for more info.
The Background:
With his “Tetris” viral single and social media challenge leading the way, Derek King put up a high score in 2019. The breakthrough song achieved nearly 20 million plays across platforms and had Billie Eilish among its participants. Derek spent the year on the grind, including a tour with Sage The Gemini to support the hit and his More Vibes full-length. Now, the Bay Area native follows up with Let’s Be Honest. The sophomore EMPIRE album featuring Eric Bellinger, Likybo, E-40, King Combs, and others spotlights King’s songwriting as well as his vocal abilities. The Bay Area product continues to cement himself as one of R&B’s hardest working talents.
Links:
official site | instagram | twitter | youtube | soundcloud | spotify
“Enough”: https://youtu.be/xK8A12o6D14
“No Scrub”: https://empire.ffm.to/noscrub
“Dead Roses”: https://Empire.lnk.to/DeadRoses
“2 Much” ft. E-40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ-BtmLPmXA
“Play”: https://youtu.be/YHQJ2ZP-5m0
“Tetris”: https://youtu.be/DQ-BtmLPmXA