Amiri and Rahiem Taylor

Last updated
Amiri and Rahiem Taylor
Blac Rabbit NYC Subway.jpg
The Taylors sing in the New York City subway in 2017
Background information
Born1994or1995(age 29–30) [1]
Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres Psychedelic rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriters
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass

Amiri and Rahiem Taylor (born c. 1994) are American singer-songwriters. They lead the psychedelic rock band Blac Rabbit and are identical twin brothers.

Contents

The Taylors were raised in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and learned to play instruments in imitation of the Beatles. After high school they formed Blac Rabbit, recruiting a drummer and bassist, and eventually left supermarket jobs. They became known for Beatles covers on New York City Subway stations with voices said to closely resemble John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies.

Early life

Amiri and Rahiem Taylor are identical twins, born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, in the mid-1990s. They grew up around their grandfather's jazz and their grandmother's Beatles records. [2] Despite being surrounded by hip hop music in Brooklyn, they were influenced more by the pop, funk, and soul of the 1960s and 1980s. [3]

In high school they were introduced to playing guitar through the video game The Beatles: Rock Band , a Christmas gift from their grandmother. [4] From there they started emulating the Beatles by watching recordings of them; they call the Lennon–McCartney partnership "arguably the greatest songwriting duo of all time". [3] [5]

Career

They began composing original music after they learned how to play Beatles songs on actual instruments. Originally a hobby, their music evolved and "eventually turned into a band". [6] Shortly after graduating from high school in the early 2010s, they met drummer Patrick Jones at an open mic in Brooklyn. Keeping in contact, they formed a band which became the psychedelic rock group Blac Rabbit. The band released the self-titled EP Blac Rabbit in December 2017. [7]

The Taylors' first street performance was to raise enough money to visit their mother in Puerto Rico. They earned fare for round-trip plane tickets, about $400, within two days. [8] [9] After some time working in supermarkets and being prompted by their family to enroll in college, they began busking full-time, five or six times a week. "For us, it was music or die," Raheim said. [2] In the New York City Subway, their regular performing locations became the Times Square, Herald Square, and Delancy Street stations. [2] "Busking definitely sharpened our skills in terms of performing," Rahiem later said. [10]

Cell-phone recordings of the Taylors' street performances have garnered hundred of thousands of views online. [2] On January 26, 2018, New York Nico filmed them singing the Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" and released the video on his Instagram account. In March 2018, his recording was posted to Twitter and received 58 thousand retweets and three million views; the attention increased Blac Rabbit's Twitter follower count 33-fold. [7] "Now in the subway they recognize us much more," they told La Voz del Interior . [6]

Soon after they received greater online publicity, several fans began petitioning for them to go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show . [6] They appeared on the program on March 22, 2018. Before playing "Eight Days a Week", they told the host about their delight in seeing reactions to their Beatles covers: "When we play, usually people are expecting Bob Marley or Stevie Wonder or something," Amiri said. [1] Rahiem added, "It's cool to break people's expectations and to see their faces. A lot of people walk from around the corner and they just hear the music. Then, they see us and they're like, 'Whoa, really?'" [1] After their performance, DeGeneres gifted them guitars and amplifiers; they had mentioned that they lost a guitar at a subway station. [8] Jones and Lugo joined them on the show to play a cover of the Tame Impala song "Solitude Is Bliss". [11]

As of March 2018, they reside together in Far Rockaway, Queens. [2] They went on several tours with Blac Rabbit throughout 2018. [12] [13] [14]

Musical style

The Beatles arriving at Kennedy Airport in 1964 The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport.jpg
The Beatles arriving at Kennedy Airport in 1964

The Taylor brothers rose to prominence with their covers of Beatles song in the New York City Subway. [2] Singing in harmony and accompanied by acoustic guitar and amplified bass, they according to several writers sound so similar to the original artists that "you could close your eyes and mistake them for Lennon and McCartney". [7] [15] Some listeners once asked if their vocals were prerecorded, and they responded, "[We] wish we had the tech to dub ourselves out there!" [3]

Compared to his brother, Rahiem says that he is "the tech nerd" and "the mixing guy", being drawn to audio mixing and engineering more than Amiri, "the songwriting guy", who "has developed a great ear for chords". [10] Artists the twins credit as influences (besides the Beatles) include Tame Impala, Radiohead, Toro y Moi, Mac DeMarco, the Police, Talk Talk, and Michael Jackson. [6] The music of Blac Rabbit, their psychedelic rock band, incorporates elements of funk, surf music, and psychedelia. [16] With the band, they perform both Beatles covers and original songs. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beatles</span> English rock band (1960–1970)

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

<i>Revolver</i> (Beatles album) 1966 studio album by the Beatles

Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement as live performers and marked the group's most overt use of studio technology to date, building on the advances of their late 1965 release Rubber Soul. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music, with recognition centred on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds and lyrical content.

<i>Magical Mystery Tour</i> 1967 EP/soundtrack and LP by the Beatles

Magical Mystery Tour is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP was issued in the UK on 8 December 1967 on the Parlophone label, while the Capitol Records LP release in the US and Canada occurred on 27 November and features an additional five songs that were originally released as singles that year. In 1976, Parlophone released the eleven-track LP in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strawberry Fields Forever</span> 1967 single by the Beatles

"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented a departure from the group's previous singles and a novel listening experience for the contemporary pop audience. While the song initially divided and confused music critics and the group's fans, it proved highly influential on the emerging psychedelic genre. Its accompanying promotional film is similarly recognised as a pioneering work in the medium of music video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds</span> 1967 song by The Beatles

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Lennon's son Julian inspired the song with a nursery school drawing that he called "Lucy – in the sky with diamonds". Shortly before the album's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the nouns in the title intentionally spelled "LSD", the initialism commonly used for the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide. Lennon repeatedly denied that he had intended it as a drug song, and attributed the song's fantastical imagery to his reading of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Day in the Life</span> 1967 song by the Beatles

"A Day in the Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the final track of their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the opening and closing sections of the song were mainly written by John Lennon, with Paul McCartney primarily contributing the song's middle section. All four Beatles played a role in shaping the final arrangement of the song.

<i>Abbey Road</i> 1969 studio album by the Beatles

Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969. It is the last album the group recorded, although Let It Be was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly recorded in April, July, and August 1969, and topped the record charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A double A-side single from the album, "Something" / "Come Together", was released in October, which also topped the charts in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennon–McCartney</span> Songwriting partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collaborations ever by records sold, with the Beatles selling over 600 million records worldwide as of 2004. Between 5 October 1962 and 8 May 1970, the partnership published approximately 180 jointly credited songs, of which the vast majority were recorded by the Beatles, forming the bulk of their catalogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">And Your Bird Can Sing</span> 1966 Beatles song

"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on their 1966 album Revolver, apart from in the United States and Canada, where it instead appeared on Yesterday and Today. The song was written mainly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The recording features an extended dual-guitar melody, played by George Harrison and Paul McCartney, which anticipated the harmonised guitar arrangements commonly used by Southern rock, hard rock and heavy metal bands.

"Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album. The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George Harrison. Lennon said he was trying to paint a picture of a revolution using sound. The composition was influenced by the avant-garde style of Ono as well as the musique concrète works of composers such as Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Word (song)</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"The Word" is a song by English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded with Lennon on lead vocals. It was first released on their 1965 album Rubber Soul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dear Prudence</span> 1968 song by the Beatles

"Dear Prudence" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Written in Rishikesh during the group's trip to India in early 1968, it was inspired by actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow, who became obsessive about meditating while practising with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Her designated partners on the meditation course, Lennon and George Harrison, attempted to coax Farrow out of her seclusion, which led to Lennon writing the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cry Baby Cry</span> 1968 song by the Beatles

"Cry Baby Cry" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The coda of the song is a short segment referred to as "Can You Take Me Back", written by Paul McCartney, which was actually an outtake from the "I Will" session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Bulldog</span> 1969 song by the Beatles

"Hey Bulldog" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles released on their 1969 soundtrack album Yellow Submarine. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written primarily by John Lennon, it was finished in the recording studio by both Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song was recorded during the filming of the "Lady Madonna" promotional film, and, with "Lady Madonna", is one of the few Beatles songs based on a piano riff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby, You're a Rich Man</span> 1967 single by the Beatles

"Baby, You're a Rich Man" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the B-side of their "All You Need Is Love" single in July 1967. It originated from an unfinished song by John Lennon, titled "One of the Beautiful People", to which Paul McCartney added a chorus. It is one of the best-known pop songs to make use of a clavioline, a monophonic keyboard instrument that was a forerunner to the synthesizer. Lennon played the clavioline on its oboe setting, creating a sound that suggests an Indian shehnai. The song was recorded and mixed at Olympic Sound Studios in London, making it the first of the Beatles' EMI recordings to be entirely created outside EMI Studios.

<i>The Head Shop</i> 1969 studio album by The Head Shop

The Head Shop is an American psychedelic rock band from New York that released one eponymous album on Epic in 1969. The album cover features a swirling group of multi-colored boxes that surround a black-and-white image of a shrunken head. The back cover is mostly black with minimal copy but also includes a shot of the band lit from beneath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got to Get You into My Life</span> 1966 song by The Beatles

"Got to Get You into My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, first released in 1966 on their album Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is a homage to the Motown Sound, with colourful brass instrumentation and lyrics that suggest a psychedelic experience. "It's actually an ode to pot," McCartney explained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fest for Beatles Fans</span> American music festival

The Fest for Beatles Fans is a twice-annual, three-day festival that honors the lasting legacy of the Beatles. The festival takes place in the New York metropolitan area, ordinarily in March or April, and in Chicago, Illinois, each August. Running Friday through Sunday, the Fest features special guests, live concerts, exhibits, art contests, a Beatles marketplace, a sound-alike contest, a Battle of the Beatles Bands, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blac Rabbit</span>

Blac Rabbit is an American psychedelic rock band based in Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York City. It is led by twin brothers, songwriters, singers, and guitarists Amiri and Rahiem Taylor, and backed by Patrick Starr (drums), Frank Corr (bass), and Michael Meneses (keyboards). The band has released one self-titled EP. Their first full-length album, Interstella, was released on March 8, 2022.

<i>Blac Rabbit</i> (EP) 2017 EP by Blac Rabbit

Blac Rabbit is the debut extended play (EP) by American psychedelic rock band Blac Rabbit. It was released digitally by How Far Music on December 22, 2017. Inspired by the Beatles and Tame Impala, it was recorded in the homes of band members and the band's manager. Amiri Taylor wrote five of the songs on the EP, while his twin brother and co-frontman Rahiem wrote a sixth and handled audio mixing.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Marini, Ariana (March 22, 2018). "Watch These Twin Street Performers Play An Amazing Cover Of A Beatles Song On 'Ellen'". A Plus . Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rojas, Rick (March 18, 2018). "Live in the Subway: Maybe the Best Beatles Cover Band Ever". The New York Times . Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "New Yorkers Freak Out Over Brooklyn Twins' Cover of Beatles Song on Subway". NBC New York. February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ Richardson, Kimberly (March 1, 2018). "Sweet sounds of the Beatles from twin brothers from Bed-Stuy". WABC-TV . Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  5. ↑ Sheeran, Conor (February 26, 2018). "Amiri & Rahiem Taylor Covered The Beatles '8 Days A Week' & You Need To Hear It". COED . Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Heinz, José (March 1, 2018). "Blac Rabbit: "Ahora en el subte nos reconocen mucho más"". La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 Whitlock, Matt (March 2, 2018). "Meet Blac Rabbit, the Subway Buskers with the Internet's Favorite Beatles Cover". Pigeons and Planes . Complex Media. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Twin Subway Buskers in Viral Beatles Cover Video Set to Appear on 'Ellen' Thursday". NBC New York. March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ DeGeneres, Ellen (March 22, 2018). Twin Buskers Perform Amazing Cover of The Beatles. The Ellen DeGeneres Show . YouTube. Event occurs at 1:24. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Cromwell, Dave (December 27, 2018). "Blac Rabbit's Pedals and Creative Process". The Deli . Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ Paradis, Alexa (May 8, 2018). "NYC Subway Sensations Blac Rabbit Announce First Tour". musicfestnews.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ Blac Rabbit (May 17, 2018). "Blac Rabbit Spring 2018 North America Tour". YouTube. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ Blac Rabbit (October 15, 2018). "Blac Rabbit - Seize the Day Tour (Fall 2018)". YouTube. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ Blac Rabbit (November 15, 2018). "UK + Europe tour starting next week!!". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ The several writers:
  16. ↑ D'Orazio, Olivia (February 27, 2018). "Bust through the winter blues with Blac Rabbit's debut EP". Raz Mataz Magazine. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  17. ↑ O'Malley, Jen (July 26, 2017). "Rock! Away! Music Fest Highlights the Musical Renaissance Taking Place in this New York Community". musicfestnews.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.