Local underground music scene consists of unique, passionate artists
All around us, young musicians are thriving and contributing to the ever-evolving underground music scene present throughout the world, let alone eastern Pennsylvania.
With streaming technologies, like SoundCloud and Spotify, making it easier than ever for artists to connect with fans and share their talent, underground musicians have made their way into the entertainment industry.
Three Carbon County up-and-coming artists speak out about breaking into the underground music scene and gaining an understanding for the passion it holds.
RX Fantasy
Palmerton’s 19-year-old Zach Russo, better known as RX Fantasy for his work with hip-hop and rap, recently released what he deems to be his most creative album yet titled “Undercover” on Spotify and SoundCloud last month.
He also labels his content as mature and not appropriate for younger audiences.
According to Russo, his musical journey was sparked his sophomore year of high school when a literary teacher acknowledged his writing talent.
He also said that throughout his life, he always had a passion for music and knew the words to every song he listened to. In this, his passion for writing music came naturally.
Growing up in the early 2000s, Russo acknowledged that Eminem was a major archetype for what rap should be but his true inspiration was Mac Miller.
Young $chmoney
Another artist from Palmerton who shares Russo’s passion for rap is Sebastian Mooney, 19, also known as Young $chmoney.
Mooney’s desire to become a rapper wasn’t triggered until just two years ago when he was discussing it with one of his friends.
This past year, he started to publish his works on SoundCloud, which currently holds three songs, but he’s in the process of creating an album in order to have a wider set list to perform.
Although he spent much of his younger years attempting to replicate Eminem’s speedy verses, some of his biggest inspirations are G-Eazy, Post Malone and Lil Skies.
Lil Skies, originally from Waynesboro, inspires Mooney because he was able to get out of the small-town scene and make it big.
“(Our area) is very small, very secluded,” he said “(Artists) want to be able to get out of this setting.
“I’d call this place a trap because a lot of people that live in the town that we live in, they get stuck here, and I want to be able to say I came from this really small place.”
Mooney was thinking of dropping the “Young” from his title and going by $chmoney to stand true to the importance he places on uniqueness, acknowledging a lot of rappers use Young or Lil in their titles.
“Being unique is what makes you, you,” Mooney said. “To be an artist, you have to be unique in order to get out of the underground … sometimes people get lucky and they can do something very generic and it works for them.
“Me, on the other hand, I want my music to stand out.”
DJ Danny E
An artist unique from the rest in pursuing a musical career in the electronic hub is Dan Edmunds, 23, better known as DJ Danny E, from the Lehighton area.
Edmunds explores the entire electronic realm: house, techno, jazz, rap/hip-hop, R&B, etc.
A music enthusiast, Edmunds’ inspirations are expansive, including The 1975, Glenn Miller, KC and the Sunshine Band and the Commodores.
He describes himself as a saxophone player first and a producer second because he’s been playing since the third grade. He also said that given 10 minutes, he can play almost any instrument including bass, guitar, drums and some woodwinds.
Starting in fifth grade, he was part of concert and jazz bands and went on to being in the marching band in high school.
Focusing more on funky beats rather than getting caught up in lyrics, Edmunds said “music makes sense to me but words are the tough part.”
Edmunds has both held performances and published his work online on Spotify and Apple Music. He DJs mostly private events such as weddings, sweet sixteens, school dances, homecomings and even house parties in the Philadelphia college scene.
It was not until after high school that Edmunds recognized his passion and truly pursued his musical career.
After attending Lehigh Carbon Community College for a year, he realized education was not the route for him, preferring to dedicate his time solely to music and working full time to support himself.
“If I could sit down and just be a musician, DJ and producer, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but it’s not the way the world works sometimes so sometimes you have to have a backup plan,” Edmunds said. “But with that backup plan, it takes pressure off of the music you’re doing too because that’s not your sole source of income, it allows you to be a little more creative and free with yourself and what you’re doing with the music.”
The underground vibes
Mooney said the surrounding underground music scene can simply be described as possessing a ‘small-town’ vibe. However, this ‘small-town’ setting consists of musicians performing under many different genres.
“(The underground scene) is all over the place … you have all sorts of people doing all sorts of things,” Edmunds said, which he believes is attributed to the area’s diversity and culture.
However, although the area boasts of a diverse music scene, inclusivity becomes an issue for certain artists.
While Edmunds does well in performing publicly, rappers like Mooney and Russo mainly publish their works online.
In all, while the various underground musicians throughout the area differ in their own unique qualities, many of them have the same message for other aspiring musicians.
“Don’t give up, don’t let anyone tell you you’re not good enough, don’t let anybody outside of your vision interfere with your vision,” Russo said.
“Your vision is your vision for that sole purpose, because you can achieve anything you want if you work hard and try.”
Mooney recommended for artists to “stay on it.”
“If you put your mind to something, you can do anything you want … if you work hard enough and you got that dedication, you can make it happen,” Mooney said. “Don’t ever give up on yourself, don’t say ‘if,’ say ‘when.’ Mindset is everything.”
Alternatively, Edmunds explained that artists should pursue their passions, but for the right reasons.
“You can’t do it for the money, you gotta do it because you want to do it,” Edmunds said. “If you go into it with that mindset, it will follow … you’ll start to prosper in personal growth and then the financial side of it will fall into place.”
Russo, who attests for the region’s underground scene’s passion, explains that regardless of genre, all artists have something to give to the world.
“There are a lot of artists in the area that wake up with the same passion that I do, that want to improve and have so much to give this industry,” Russo said. “(They) push upon the barriers they’ve already broken to go on to new heights and basically break the ceiling of what an independent artist is.”