Northern California duo, NOBLE POETS, came to shine a light on the darker side of life. Jevon ‘ODW’ Barnes and Caleb May are bringing an honest, earnest brand of Hip Hop, derived from real life to real fans of the genre. The duo’s new single “Xans” comes as the upcoming EP (The Flaw) becomes available for pre-order.
On the heels of the profound videos for “Humpty Dumpty” and “Never Fit In,” the video for “Xans,” speaks to the trauma regrettably passed on by Barnes to his daughter. The video was inspired by a sensitive part of Barnes’ real life experiences – how what he went through affected his eldest daughter, Mekenzie (played in the video by his younger daughter, Adelyne). In fact, the narrative of the music video was – in part – written by Mekenzie Barnes herself (20 years later). “I was so proud to have Mekenzie write parts of the video. I am so grateful for her resilience and perseverance. She never ceases to amaze me.”
Discovered by Brian ‘Head’ Welch of KORN, NOBLE POETS brings something fresh to the scene. “I met Jevon around 2012 and it didn’t take long to realize how much we had in common. Years ago, after hearing some of his demos, I noticed right away there was something appealing about Jevon’s flow and how he opened himself up so completely with his lyrics,” Welch explains. “No flash, no pretense, just REAL life and real suffering laid out, in order to connect with others. With the addition of Caleb, the missing ingredient was discovered and the formation of Noble Poets was the logical next step. I really believe Noble Poets put something together that goes deeper that just music and will affect their fans in a profound way.”
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.