We’re sure you’ve heard this song on the radio at some random point this summer. Well here’s the music video for Verse Simmonds‘ debut single, “Buy You A Round.” Don’t try to put this guy into a traditional musical genre though. He’s not hip-hop, he’s not R&B and he’s definitely not pop. He calls his genre of music “Island & B,” which fits his Carribean-ish accent and musical style perfectly.
I came up with the name ‘Island B’ after people would ask me to describe my style,” he explains. “I don’t feel like it’s true R&B, since I’m more inclined to sing a song the way Bob Marley would as opposed to Marvin Gaye.”
Born in Puerto Rico but raised in St. Thomas, Verse was first introduced to music through the radio. “I remember being 3 or 4 years old in the back of a car singing along to Ralph Tresvant’s ‘Sensitivity,’” recalls Simmonds, who would steal his mom’s mixtapes and bring them to pre-school for show-and-tell. “In the Virgin Islands, only Top 40 songs make it on the airwaves, so as a kid, I was influenced by some of the biggest songs in the world. To me, music always felt natural.”
Verse Simmonds’ debut album, Stories of a Bachelor, doesn’t have a set release date yet but in the meantime, check out his new video below!
