When Keon B. moved to New Orleans at the age of 17, he knew he was taking a big risk. “After I graduated high school, I just up and left for New Orleans, where I wanted to work on music,” the 21-year-old, tattooed MC said, as we sat in a plush conference room in Hollywood. Why the Crescent City? “Two of my friends were moving there, had big jobs and I figured I had nothing to lose,” he explained. “So I was like ‘fuck it, I’m 17 and I want to get away from my parents’ and I just went.

Once in New Orleans, Keon B. met Blair Taylor, which was the formation of the duo’s project, Speakers. Though we disagree on what’s the best Po’ Boy in the city (he says Gene’s, I say Domilise’s), what we can agree on is how New Orleans has shaped the duo’s sound. The eclecticness of the culture, which ranges from jazz to Creole to delta blues to rock has had a profound influence on the duo, who recently released their debut single, “Bass,” on Virgin Records. “There isn’t a divided scene there, but rather a strong sense of community,”

Though simple, the duo decided to go with the name Speakers, but not after doing some research to ensure that nobody had taken the name first. After a Google search confirmed it was for the taking, Taylor and Keon adopted the moniker. To the outsider, Speakers may seem blasé and unoriginal, but there’s more to it than meets the original meaning. “I thought, since Blair and I are so different, what’s something that has a left and a right and has something to do with music and means something to both of us,” he explained. “So I said Speakers. Blair was like ‘Damn that works because you’re left and I’m right and when we come together, we make this crazy sound.”

There’s always a moment in a band’s career when the respective parties realize their onto something. He can’t speak for Taylor (who wasn’t present due to a personal matter), but Keon realized almost immediately that they were onto something. “It was definitely when I started working with Blair. I was making music, but it was nothing like what he was making. It was like he already knew what I was going for without having to say anything.”

After several years of working with Taylor and spending dollars to fly to and from Los Angeles, Keon decided to ditch his job as a barber and made the move to Tinsletown in order to pursue his music career. Although Taylor worked as a music teacher back in New Orleans, the communication and bond between the two strengthened, as did their confidence in their talents.

Just about the time when he was on the cusp of running out of money, Keon started to receive offers from major labels, however, he knew he couldn’t go at it alone, at least without his musical soulmate. “I told him to move out and quit his job and we dropped all our jobs and made music our life.”

Speakers’ tireless work ethic has left them with a treasure trove of material. Over the course of nine months, the duo recorded anywhere between 60-70 songs for debut album. What makes these guys different is that all their songs are written, produced and recorded in one day, leaving a treasure trove of extra material, which Keon says will go on future albums

The duo’s yet-to-be-titled full-length is slated to come out early next year, but in the interim, expect to see Speakers drop a bevy of material, including a mixtape.

Although their album hasn’t been released yet, the early returns on “Bass” have been overwhelming. At the time of this piece, the video has received over 250,000 hits on Vevo, which has put more pressure on the duo to produce better material.

 

“I’m more excited about what’s next and how to not let people down,” Keon said. “It scares me that we got so many views because it’s like fuck, the next thing we do has to be just as big as this thing.”

With a tireless work ethic and a hunger to succeed, expect big things from Speakers not only in the upcoming months, but also in the years to come.