![]() We wrote a song and Leo had a flight scheduled that night. Millsaps: We started that day with a writing session and wound up with a record deal. How did your deal with Red Street Records come about? Millsaps: We started recording scratch vocals and cold chills just went over everybody. ![]() There were some nerves - I hadn’t even been in a full-fledged Nashville session at the time.īrooks: I was just hoping this guy could sing. Millsaps: The next morning we were recording together. How long after you met did you start recording together? Jimmie was like, “You guys have to be sure you want to do this.” We got some beers and hung out that evening and just clicked right away.īrooks: It’s like a movie - so randomly put together, but we just get along so well. Leo flew into Nashville and we met at Jimmie’s house. Pitbull told Jimmie about me, because I wanted to do my own thing, musically. He liked my music, we exchanged numbers - and maybe two weeks later, he called and asked if I had ever thought about being in a duo, and introduced me to Leo.īrooks: I played with Pitbull for 12 years, and was his musical director on tour, but I was the only one in the back of the bus listening to George Jones. I didn’t think anything of it, but about six months later, I was playing at Whiskey Jam and saw him again. I randomly met Jimmie on an elevator at that hotel and we connected on social media. Later, I had a job interview in Nashville and was staying at a hotel downtown. Millsaps: I started playing in the bars during college. Jimmie Allen brought the two of you together. “We want to kick the doors down and make a little noise,” Millsaps says of the song, which pays homage to the “farm tan crew” and “the ball cap boys with a six-inch lift.”īrooks says of the song, “It represents everybody. In June, they inked a label deal with Red Street Records (led by Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus), and landed their first entry on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart when “Bout Damn Time,” written by HARDY, Tyler Hubbard, Jordan Schmidt and Hunter Phelps, reached No. They also collaborated with Allen on “Livin’ Man,” from the latter’s 2021 album Bettie James Gold Edition. Millsaps and Brooks formed Neon Union and Allen subsequently signed them to his management and production company JAB Entertainment, which Allen launched with John Marks and Aaron Benward. When Pitbull realized Brooks’ own music had a country vibe, he connected him with “Freedom Is a Highway” hitmaker, songwriter and exec Jimmie Allen, who felt it was a match for Millsaps’ burly voice and energetic stage presence. My dad gave me a guitar and taught me to play George Jones and Hank Williams,” Brooks tells Billboard via Zoom. “The main music on the island was classic country and reggae music. Blige, Nas and John Legend.īut country music was a strong influence when he visited family on the Honduran island of Roatan. Along the way, he also played bass for artists including Mary J. He also co-wrote Pitbull’s “Echa Pa’lla (Manos Pa’ribba),” which earned a Latin Grammy for best urban performance, and contributed to songs, including “Que Lo Que” (recorded by Sensato featuring Pitbull, Papayo and El Chevo) from the Grammy-winning project Dale. ![]() Meanwhile, the bilingual, Miami-based Brooks spent years honing his talents playing bass on tour with Pitbull and Lauryn Hill. Millsaps focused on writing songs and performing around his native North Carolina, at one point winning the MerleFest Chris Austin Song Contest and performing his original music during the roots music festival MerleFest. ![]() Jordyn Shellhart: February Country Rookie of the Month ![]()
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