D
HE GOT PIPES
uring a time in music when
romantic metaphors have
been replaced by blunt
vulgarities, one might believe that
R&B is dead. Or that the art of
wooing a woman through song
is now just a thing of the past. To
those people, I say hold on, there
is still hope. You merely need to
search behind under every unturned
rock to stumble across one of the
few remaining R&B crooners. A
crooner such as Mel Alston Jr. out
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also
known as Philly.
Mel Alston Jr., an indie singer/
songwriter, fell in love with music
at a very young age thanks largely in part to his mother, Renee.
His mother kept Alston and his
brothers busy with music to ensure
their safety growing up in Philadelphia. Everything felt to evolve
around music which really taught
Alston how to deeply appreciate
melodies and music creation. His
mother is seated high on the list of
people that have inspired him on
his musical journey. The list also
includes such greats as: Babyface,
Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson,
Jodeci and Steve Wonder to name a
few. Mel did not get into songwriting and singing until after attending Howard University. While at
Howard University he played the
trumpet for the “Showtime Marching Band.”
After graduating from Howard
Alston returned to Philadelphia.
Where he started acting and singing in local productions which
eventually led him to pursue his
solo career. He also sought to unify
local Philly through his Da Circle
Entertainment Group. The group
was created along with J. Forbes
and others with the primary focus
to positively impact Philly’s indie
music scene.
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In 2010 Da Circle Entertainment
Group presented Alston’s first mixtape, “Waking Up vol. 1.” “Waking
Up vol. 1” was recorded at Da
Circle Ent. Studios and contains 15
tracks of soulful R&B. It featured
four of Philly’s top indie artist.
Features by Jalima Shani on ‘All
Grown Up’ a track which evokes
childhood memoirs of summertime
fun, block parties, and community. Astro Inch on ’See Your Face’
a funky track which finds Alston
attempting to get a young lady to
go on a date with him in person opposed to simply chatting on social
media. Lei Row on ‘Never Be The
Same’ a duet between battling lovers trying to figure
out if they should
hold on to or let go
their dysfunctional
love. L.A.W on
‘Pretty Poison,’ the
first single off of
“Waking Up vol.
1,” an electric track
depicting the struggle Alston endures
when trying to let
go of a no good
woman. The mixtape has become
known as “music
for tha soul.”
In 2013 after
spending the
next three years
performing on
numerous stages
up and down the
East Coast collecting countless fans along the way
Alston released his sophomore
project an EP entitled “Waking Up
vol. 1.5.” “Waking Up vol. 1.5”
was released digitally worldwide
in conjunction with BYNUMAgency/iNgrooves/Universal Music
Group. The EP contains 6 tracks
of previously unreleased music as
well as remastered songs including
the motivational single “Dreamer.”
Much of the EP was produced by
Alston’s long time collaborator,
Willie Stone who also serves as
one of the Executive Producer on
the project. “Waking Up vol. 1.5”
was somewhat of an appetizer to
keep fans hungry for Alston’s