In the STU with Roy Hamilton III

Last night I hung out in the studio with Roy Hamilton III and he played his micro-mixtape, The International for me.

Just in case you don't know who Roy Hamilton III is here's a little background. He's been in the game since he was 16. Started out as an artist, and his career didn't really take off, but he continued to be diligent with his hustle and ended up writing and producing with artists like Britney Spears, JOE, R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, Nas, this list goes on and most recently working with Keri Hilson and Day 26. He spent 3 years as the Director of A&R at Capitol records shaping the careers of MIMS, Letoya Luckett, and others so he not only knows how to make a hot record but he knows the business side as well. With the knowledge he's gained over the past 10-12 years he's started his own label and is finally ready to show the world the man behind the music.

He's released a record "Invisible Man" that is basically his testimony and talks about the journey. When I first heard the track I was surprised to hear him rapping. I thought for sure with all the amazing R&B artists he has written and produced for that he was definitely going to be singing.

 Check out the track and get exclusive info on his album and mixtape after the jump.


Click on the pic to listen.

When asked about his style Roy states "I'm not a rapper. I don't want anyone putting me in a box. I can do any type of record I want to do and I want to cater to everyone."

Thus the reason he has made 4 different versions of this song. The urban version above, and he also played a rock, reggae, and dance version of this track for me last night. He really wants to make music for all people.

His objective is to make feel good music, and after listening to his micro-mixtape last night, everything he does definitely makes you feel like you're on cloud 9. I'm not even a fan of dance music, but the tracks are so infectious you can't help but dance uncontrollably. He has the type of records that are going to take black people out of their comfort zone on the dance floor and wild out on the dance floor like white people do and not care if they are on the beat or not...lol.

His micro-mixtape The International drops on January 5th, 2010 where he remixes some of the hottest dance tracks out right now, one being Kid Cudi's "Day & Night." The mixtape is hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Do-it-all and makes you feel like you're on a roller coaster. He sings a little bit on the second track and I wish he would sing more since he has such a nice tone to his voice, but all over this track he expressed he's just trying to have fun.

He acknowledges his west indian roots with the last track where if you're a urban dj that plays dance music or not, you are going to want to have this record on you every time you're in the club. This is going to be the record you drop at the top of the night to get the party started for sure. It also has some hard drums that remind me of the black college battle of the bands days. I can definitely see a couple colleges doing their own renditions of this joint.

The mixtape is also going to drop with Royality TV which are short clips of behind the scenes footage of him in the studio working on the album and with all his celebrity friends that frequent the studio. All of this is a set up for the release of his debut album MA-Day to be released on May 5th, 2010

Thanks for the invite Roy. Can't wait til this joint drops.