When I first heard R&B singer-songwriter Larrenwong's song Mama I had to know more about him. Born Warren Long and professionally known as Larrenwong the song is smooth and sexy, I know the ladies are swooning. He definitely has that D'Angelo sexy vibe to him. He originates from Union City, California, and has a diverse background. He is of Philipino and African American heritage and his grandfather is the reason he is in the music business. His grandfather a New York Philharmonic big band Jazz leader and flutist heavily influenced him and got him started. His music is a mix of some of the influences he listens to like Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and J Dilla. He started playing guitar by age 12 and also learned to play the bassoon, piano, and bass guitar.
He grew up surrounded by music because his father is a DJ and as mentioned his grandfather was a jazz musician. He admits that it was not easy to impress his grandfather but I'm sure he's proud of him now. He went to college and graduated with a Master of Science in Leadership at Northwestern University. He ended up as a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks but decided he wanted to do music. He is not vocally trained and is a self-taught musician. I will say vocally he is great and his songwriting is from his life experiences. Check out the song Dead Wrong and its great melodies. He just was featured on the Colors Show. He made his debut this past July with the album, Songs That I Hate to Sing. He is also producing his own songs and is doing a phenomenally great job putting out his own music. He was asked recently what artist would he most like to collaborate with and his answer was Drake. We can't wait for him to tour and come to NYC to perform. Check out this multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter and support independent music and musicians. Happy listening!
Mama
