Words By: Rob Lucchesi
I grew up in a rock n’ roll heavy household. My dad was a big Stones guy, with the Beatles at a close second. I cannot tell you how many times my sisters and I beat down Yellow Submarine when we were younger. Santana, Eagles, my ma even sprinkled in a little Song
About Jane in there when she could. Long story short, I was never a pop kid- rejected the radio, actively tried to stay ‘old skool’, all that crap, but as you get older, you get a little softer. The things you thought you hated are maybe not so bad anymore, maybe your broccoli can taste good some ways. 17 Letters’ new single “starlight” is my broccoli.
17 Letters has, what I believe to be the potential to be one of the next big things out of North Carolina in recent years. The indie-pop-hip-hop duo is made up of artists Cye and Jack Danger, who met in their first year of college here in NC and began making music together, releasing their first project together, Fall Tape 1, in December of 2019.. They started out in mostly hip-hop, but have since transitioned into a more pop and indie influenced sound. These styles have especially influenced the last several singles the duo has released, “WASTED YOUTH” and “if my life is a movie (it’s the worst i’ve ever seen)” in 2021, and “writing on the wall” and “december” earlier this year. Since moving into these genre, 17 Letters has become far more comfortable in their sound and in their style.
Because, see, the thing about us North Carolina folk is, for us, just about everything has meaning. We can’t even go to the Cook Out without developing some kind of emotional
attachment to it, that’s why our music sounds like that. It’s steeped in nostalgia like the oatmeal your dad needs to make. “starlight” hits that nail on the head, and then hammers in another seven nails over its two-minute-five-second runtime. This track gives you that same feeling that songs like “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas or “Forever” by Chris Brown give you. That bouncy ‘everythings gonna be alright’ feeling right there in the pit of your stomach.
All in all, I don’t think I was aware of how much this single would resonate. It scratches that perfect summer itch, and if they keep on the track they’re running down currently, they stand to really make a wave in pop music. Eat your heart out NYC, you couldn’t hang onto the Billboard forever! But in any case, I highly recommend giving 17 Letters’ new single, as well as the rest of their discography, a good listen.
Rob Lucchesi
17 Letters
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