Repping the greater DMV area with his unique collage of Afro-pop, trap, and R&B, emerging artist 301icon is a man on a mission. Born to a pair of worship directors, he showed an early affinity towards music. At age 4, he picked up piano and by age 9, he started playing live at services. But it was through his first young heartbreaks that he learned the power of music to express, transmit, and heal emotions and mental traumas.
That’s what set him on the mission he’s on today: to break genre boundaries on the path to deeper human expression. His main brand celebrates life and encourages healing and growth, while his alter-ego – expressed through his Broken Lover releases – grant listeners permission to live more openly through difficult emotions like heartbreak, anger, and grief. That sums up to a complete artist able to create from any state of being, wielding dual blades of vulnerability and perseverance.
With releases that range the whole palette of human emotion and musical expression, 301icon is now taking LA by storm—winning the Grammy-week Something Dope competition weeks after moving to the City of Angels. Keep tuned and be that supporter who knew him right before he popped off.
301icon’s new single “Love Songs” exemplifies the singer-producer’s nuanced emotional approach to music. Off 2022’s Broken Lover II, the track serves as a frantic journal entry cataloging the bipolar journey of heartbreak. Over a muted trap beat and swirling background instrumentals, Icon flexes the intense emotional range of his inhuman vocal cords. When he’s hurt, you hear it. When he’s pissed, you feel it. And it’s all wrapped up together in a stream of conscious flow that even a seasoned emcee would kill for. Listen once, and you’ll be back again and again exploring the depths of expression this man is creating. There’s too much happening here for just one listen.
Dive into the multi-layered story behind the song with the music video for “Love Songs” (directed by Errand Boy and produced by Rèmi Fréyo). Strewn over a sofa behind a bleeding neon heart, we find 301icon painfully belting out his woe. In cutscenes, we see the source of his pain: toxic infidelity and dishonesty. The video commutes a deeper message as we see his unfaithful lover lead him into an interrogation room where he’s beaten by faceless women. When your love is unfaithful, it can feel like you don’t even know who they are, and all you can feel is pain. Or, if you’re 301icon, you can sing out your hurt and move on to being the next big thing.
