Genre-blending artist, Kris Kollins has released his new soul/funk-pop single, “U“, which pays homage his 1980’s influences. The track, which highlights the beauty beyond a person’s gender, ethnicity, religion, material and finances, can be heard now below.
Of the song, he explained, “The original demo was created alongside an amazing friend of mine, Robot Disco Puma, while in Los Angeles. I wanted to reimagine the song, and I brought a fresh idea to Stuart G. Murphy (aka That Dude Stu) in Miami and we started off with a cool beat box pattern. We added this sick bass line then once we recorded vocals I had to get Ken Karsh in Pittsburgh to give me a good Jimi/Prince guitar solo for the bridge.”
The empowering release marks just the beginning for Kris, who hopes to create a space for queer men of color in the R&B world. He continued, “As a queer person of color I strive to be what I didn’t have when I was growing up, a proud and confident role model in mainstream media. Throughout my career I’ve been forced into closets because of the stigma that ‘there is little to no success if an artist is both of color and queer.’ For everyone out there who is afraid to be their true selves…let’s flip that energy, and be the example we want to see in the world.”