Meet Your Brambleton Neighbor:

Yonas originates from New York City but moved to Brambleton 5 years ago.  Yonas has been making an impact in Loudoun, and his song “Photo” was recently featured in the Loudoun County Economic Development Group’s viral mannequin video challenge which was also picked up by the International Economic Development Council’s website.

Yonas is one of hip-hop’s most-hyped emerging artists.  Known for his incredibly unique style, the 30-year old makes it known that he is unlike anyone else in the game.  Fusing thought-provoking content and infectious melodies with crossover music production, Yonas has begun changing the face of music.  In just the past three years, Yonas has independently sold 100,000+ songs, 15,000+ albums, and has accumulated over 70 million streams digitally.  His albums have consistently reached Top 5 on the iTunes Hip Hop Charts, Top 25 on the overall iTunes Albums Charts, and Top 50 on the Billboard Hip-Hop charts.  The buzz generated from Yonas’ movement has also captured the attention of Mainstream Culture.  His song “Fall Back” was featured in the major motion picture The Place Beyond The Pines, leading to similar song placements in major campaigns with Warrior Sports, Pepsi, and Fuse TV.

We caught up with Yonas for an interview before heading out on his nationwide tour which ends at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA on Friday, March 10!  Tickets are $10 in advance / $15 at the door.

 

1) Where did you grow up, and what inspired you to have a career in music?

I grew up in the Bronx in New York.  I began my music career at the age of 5.  My parents enrolled me into violin classes in an attempt to help me focus my energy in a positive way.  I studied classical violin and even attended Juliard for youth classes.  I started getting more into the culture of New York City and became interested in writing Hip Hop.  I started my professional career as an artist at the age of 21.

You can hear my music on all music platforms including YouTube where I have over 27.5 million views, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, etc. My song “Fall Back” was featured in the 2013 major motion picture, “The Place Beyond The Pines,” starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper.

My music is influenced by all sorts of genres and artists.  I really appreciate the content in Hip Hop Artist Macklemore’s music.  I was honored to open for him in 2014 at James Madison University’s Spring Festival Concert.

My wife and I dated long distance for 3 years between New York City and Brambleton, then I really started to appreciate the quality of life Brambleton had to offer and made the official move in 2012 where we reside today.  It’s a great melting pot of cultures just like NYC.  Plus there’s golf, breweries and vineyards – What’s not to love!

One of their employees knew about my music and asked me to take over the Department’s social media for the day and show them a day in my life in Loudoun. They then asked if I would be a part of the challenge video as well.  I love Loudoun and hope to make a positive impact on the community.  I love seeing it evolve.

I tour twice a year, so I go on the road for 2-3 months at time for that.  I will be finishing my nationwide tour, “The Roll One Up Tour” on March 10^th at the Tally Ho Theater.  I travel for meetings, music video shoots and recording sessions between here, Atlanta, New York City, and Nashville often, but luckily we were able to build a studio in our Brambleton home.  It’s convenient having IAD just down the road from us.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have my albums reach #4, #5 and #9 on iTunes, as well as be signed to a record label, travel the country and open for artists I admire.  I guess the next goal would be to reach a level that could have me sitting at the Grammy’s one day.  I want to continue to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

 

 

8) Tell us about your upcoming concert at Tally-Ho.  How and where can we buy tickets?

You can buy tickets in advance for $10 at http://tallyholeesburg.com/ or yonasmusic.com as well as for $15 the day of the concert at the door of the Tally Ho Theater.

 

9) Tell us about some of your favorite Brambleton hangouts or a fun fact about yourself.

I love SweetFrog, my go to is the mixed cakebatter and strawberry swirl covered in Butterfinger.  We live across the street from the town center so I spend a lot of time at Blue Ridge Grill watching sporting events, I probably should spend more time at  One Life fitness!  I just recently started playing golf so the Brambleton Golf Course was a 2^nd home for me this summer.

Fun fact: my wife and I threw a surprise wedding at Quattro Goomba’s brewery.  All of our guests thought they were coming to our engagement party but when they got there, we surprised them and had a wedding ceremony!