“Just when we thought we were gonna make it, we didn’t. I got a daughter and I thought to myself, that I just might have to get a regular job. I know people who are better than us, and I’m being real. ‘There might be a possibility that we’ll never make it.’ As soon as I started to think like that, everything changed around.” – Da Spokesman, Rock City.

The beautiful ocean shore, various shades of brown skin and the Earth’s colors never looked so gorgeous. The summer breeze, the smell of the island’s spices and the taste of fresh fruits melted on the tongues of many. Vibrant carnivals, Calypso music and Caribbean rhythms make St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the ideal place to vacation and retreat, after months and months of hard work and stale routines.

The skies are blue and the clouds are white, over the locals and the sounds of Reggae with Hip Hop nuances are providing vibes that influence the people to rock back and fourth to the island's unique sound. Local men with long locks and women the shapes of hourglasses dance under the sun, while celebrating life’s treasures. This isn’t a dream, it's Rock City.

After writing songs for more people than Lil Wayne’s been featured on, Theron (Da Spokesman) and Timothy (Don’t Talk Much) have devoted their lives to helping other artists live out their dreams. With a successful career in songwriting, the two brothers had neglected their hopes of being a music duo to the backseat- until now. Coming from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the tandem is bringing their soulful approach to pop culture, while adding a dash of dialect and introducing another side to their American resume.

Rock City, named after their island, made their transition to the U.S. in 2000 and have since then graced the concrete of Miami and killed the music scene in Atlanta. After getting their name placed in the mouths of top industry people, Rock City signed a deal with Akon’s Konvict imprint as a group, destined to make their mark.

This week DXnext takes you outside of the continent and brings back “World Muzik” from Rock City.

Hailing from: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

Current works: They’re currently working on their album as Rock City the group, versus being known as songwriters. “We’re behind scenes trying to come to the front,” said Da Spokesman. They also have a mixtape, The Black Beatles and their debut, Wake The Neighbors, which you should be looking out for.

Connects: Beanie Sigel, Akon, Rich Boy, Wish Bone, Pussy Cat Dolls, Mario, Macy Gray, Sean Kingston and other key players in the game. “Right now, I think we’re connected to 90% of the industry.”

Past collabs: They’ve written and worked with Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Akon, Mario, Enrique Inglesias, Sean Kingston, Usher and Eve.

Life outside of music: “Real talk, its weird,” said Da Spokesman. “When we got in the business, they were like, ‘It’s going to be parties, there’s going to be girls, you’re going to be living the dream…’ and when you’re young you’re like, ‘Hell yeah!’ We worked our way up and now that we’re successful we don’t do anything. All we do is go to the studio, we come home, we be in the hotel and the only thing we do is go to the movies.” He goes on to admit that when they’re not at the movies, they’re at home watching one out of their 3,000 movies. “Ask anybody in the game, we are the movie collectors.”

Life before rap: “We’re from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. We’ve pretty much been doing music our whole life,” said Don’t Talk Much. “Most people don’t know this, but we’re very, very popular and very well known back home. We have a huge fan base. We grew up in the one of the worst projects in the St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, also known as housing. We come from the struggle, and we represent the struggle.” He goes on to admit that they were the only local artist who were going around St. Thomas, signing autographs, taking pictures and having girls scream “Oh my God!” yet they were flat broke. “Girls were chasing our car, but we ain’t have no muthafucking money,” Da Spokesman said while laughing. “We had to get out of there.”

Career sum up: “Oh man, I would say a blessing, man. It's weird because we go places now and we meet people who say, ‘Man, I’m from Wisconsin and it's hard, or I’m from Utah and it's hard’ and you be like, ‘Dog, I’m from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands our island is 3,200 miles,” laughs Da Spokesman. “I never met anybody from the music industry who was trying to look for talent where we are from. They don’t care. When people come to Virgin Islands, they are coming to chill…our career has been the most unexpected roller-coaster ride we’ve ever been on. Our life has been full of surprises.” Continued on page 2 »