It’s been a minute since a male R&B group has emerged on the scene with the amount of buzz that this quartet group has. WanMor is the act signed to be signed to Mary J. Blige’s new label, Beautiful Life Productions, and 300 Entertainment. We had a chance to talk to the group about their journey in the industry so far, their new single “Mine” as well as their upcoming EP which will have a song produced by legendary R&B producer Troy Taylor.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about the early beginnings and developing your talents.
Big Boy: Firstly, we’ve been singing our whole lives since we were kids. We had our first performance together when I was 12 year olds. On my 12th birthday, we invited a bunch of people over. Our mom was like “You should perform for them”. We didn’t think anything of it and we decided to sing “Can You Stand The Rain”. Everybody loved it and the crowd’s reaction was amazing. Our mom was like “You should be a group”.
Chulo: She was like “You should start a group”. Ever since then, we’ve been doing vocal coaching and taking a lot of voice lessons. We’ve really been practicing and here we are.
Big Boy: Mary J. Blige and 300 Entertainment, it’s a blessing for sure.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Did all of you want to pursue a singing career?
Big Boy: Yeah, we all wanted to sing for sure.
Chulo: We’ve all been singing since we were babies.
Big Boy: We knew we had a talent, but it wasn’t in our mind to be singers. As soon as we did that performance, we were like “This is amazing”.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was that journey like for you guys to be singing collectively as a group? It’s definitely different than singing by yourself.
Chulo: I’ll say it’s bittersweet. There are some times where we do harmonies and someone may be a little lower than the other. It’s a process and I wouldn’t say it’s easy. I wouldn’t say it’s hard either because we’re brothers and we all know each other’s range. It’s in the middle.
YouKnowIGotSoul: In every group, every member has their superpowers when it comes to vocals. It might even be the writing, production or dancing. What’s each of your superpowers?
Rocco: I would probably say I’m the energetic one. I bring the energy to the group.
Chulo: Yeah, we call him the firecracker. *Laughs*
Tyvas: They say I’m the smooth one.
Big Boy: He got that silky tone!
Chulo: They call me the cool one. I get the ladies.
Tyvas: Man, they never call you that!
Big Boy: I’m the leader and the oldest in the group. I keep them in check. Sometimes they’ll be killing each other and I’m just the ringleader. *Laughs*
YouKnowIGotSoul: Is it easier to tell each other that one is off vocally with the singing because you guys are siblings?
Big Boy: Yeah, it’s definitely easy for us to determine that. It’s funny that you say that because if we do harmony and somebody is flat, we make fun of them.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about some of your influences growing up individually and collectively
Big Boy: We grew up listening to old school music. Back when we were cleaning and chores, my mom played old school jams like Mint Condition and New Edition.
Chulo: Even stuff now like Bruno Mars and Chris Brown. It’s from all the genres of music and we pick up as much as we can.
Rocco: I like to go to sleep on Music Choice. It’s all the old R&B classics, so I really like go to sleep on the old stuff. I might remember more old stuff than new stuff.
YouKnowIGotSoul: How do you fuse some of the old school R&B with what’s out today? You guys have a different perspective than we do because you guys are younger and you’re part of that younger generation.
Big Boy: Of course we keep it wholesome. We want something timeless. We can combine that with the producers out there now and the way they make the beats now, we can combine that with our sound.
Chulo: We’re so appreciative to give people music to listen from any age. They can be adults or kids. I think it’s an honor.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You guys signed to 300 Entertainment and Mary J. Blige. How did that all come about? I know you have been developing your talents over the years.
Big Boy: We started off singing a bunch of old school songs on Instagram. It put us on the map and basically what happened was Mary J. Blige’s team reached out. They were like “We want to sign y’all!”. It came at a Mary J. Blige listening party and we were just jamming to all her songs. She brought us to Kevin Liles. We sang for him and he wanted to sign us on the spot. It’s been a beautiful journey.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What kind of advice have they given you?
Chulo: Mary J. Blige taught us to have fun and stay focused. She told us to always listen our mom, I feel that always stuck out. She told us to do education as well. Kevin Liles always tells us to work hard no matter what. Work hard and then play hard.
Big Boy: One thing that did stick with me is to have fun. That’s what Mary J. Blige told us.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You guys recently worked with Troy Taylor. He’s a veteran and he’s worked with pretty much everyone in the game. What was that like for you?
Chulo: It was a fun experience.
Big Boy: He’s like a musical nerd and he has that vibe. He knows his stuff when it comes to music. He taught us different ways on how to sing and how to project. When you’re singing into a mic, he taught us how to stand. We’re very appreciative to have him in our live sand our musical journey.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about the first single “Every Pretty Girl In The City” and why you decided to go with that one first.
Rocco: I feel like we decided to go with that one because it was the most hype one and coming straight out with that one would make a really big impact.
Big Boy: It would show our personality. We were in the studio procrastinating a little bit. *Laughs* We were talking about our celebrity crushes and Rocco was like “We need every pretty girl”. We were just vibing off that idea.
YouKnowIGotSoul: The new single “Mine” is out as well. That song has such a groove!
Big Boy: When that beat drops, it makes you want to get up and dance.
Chulo: We’re so excited for that song to drop because we feel it’ll make a huge impact on the youth and we’re really ready.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You have an EP on the way as well. We’re waiting on a ballad from you guys!
Big Boy: We got one! We definitely got a ballad on that EP. You better be ready for that, it’s called “Must Be Love”. That’s actually our favorite.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about crafting this EP and what went into it.
Chulo: It took a lot of work and writing. It was a lot of brainstorming and really working with amazing people. They were got us thinking on what to write and say.
Big Boy: It was a fun experience.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What do you guys like doing outside of music?
Chulo: We are extremely competitive brothers and we play video games. We play basketball and football. We’re just some regular kids.
Big Boy: I don’t know about regular. We have dance battles and singing battles. *Laughs*
YouKnowIGotSoul: A lot of people will say that there’s no place for R&B groups in 2023. What do you think will be the key to helping you stick together and ride thins thing out?
Chulo: We’re blood brothers, so it’s easier. I feel like it would be different if each of us was from different homes and had different families. We’re blood brothers and we’re all together. You can’t break this bond up.
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