Making moves as an independent MC, YONAS has been gaining ground with his fusion of thought-provoking lyricism, infectious melodies, and crossover music production. The NYC-based rapper has been hailed as a contender for years, building an impressive repertoire and audience on his own. Yonas continues his rise with sights set on breaking through with his new album, due out this summer. His recent single “All Rise”, has been hailed as showcasing Yonas’ “lyrical prowess, providing an uncanny dose of his talents behind the mic.”
According to Yonas the song is a defining moment in his career. He explains, “I feel like as an independent artist, I’ve accomplished so much more than I could of imagined – from touring the country 4 times, now heading overseas for the first time, to generating over 200 million streams online, to working with some amazing artists…But even still, it’s not enough in todays industry. I took a break to really evaluate where I want to go next, and what I want to achieve next, and now its time to go after it!
Today Yonas has shared the official video for the motivational track. When asked about the “All Rise” video treatment, he shared, “Any time you take even the slightest of breaks in the music world they assume you’re dead and gone. I think this video helps set the record straight that no matter what, my fans will always dig me out of that proverbial grave, and the music will always survive beyond the judgement of critics. It’s my time.”
Yonas began his music career at the early age of 5 when he was enrolled in violin classes in East Harlem by his parents. He went on to study classical violin at the legendary Juilliard School of Music. Fast forward a few years after putting the violin down, Yonas became entrenched in the house party and club culture, becoming one of New York’s notorious freestyle rappers.
He won a Billboard Songwriting Award for his single “Banga” and racked up hundreds of thousands of downloads for his independently released projects. His albums have consistently reached top 5 on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts, top 25 on the overall iTunes album charts and top 50 on the Billboard Hip-Hop charts. His video for “Fall Back” found its way into the 2013 major motion picture, “The Place Beyond The Pines” starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. Yonas gained major momentum with his “Freemix Tuesdays” series, with his remix of “Pumped Up Kicks” going viral to the tune of over 6 millions views. He was also featured as a Breakout artist in XXL magazine in June 2012.
Over the past 3 years he has independently sold over 150K songs, 20K albums and accumulated over 250M streams. He has performed with many notable musicians including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wale, Juicy J, Logic, and more. He’s currently on a month-long Western European tour in April hitting Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria – US dates coming soon.
YONAS ONLINE:
https://yonasmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/YonasMusic
https://twitter.com/itsYONAS
https://www.instagram.com/iamyonas
Vandala Magazine 