Bruce LaRon Melton aka B La’RoN is a Windsor, Virginia native making his debut this year. Born and raised in Virginia, B La’RoN was widely recognized as the state’s songbird. He comes from a family of singers from his mother’s side, extending from his aunt, his great aunt and uncle to great grandmother. B La’RoN is an entrepreneur, businessman, singer, songwriter, philanthropist, humanitarian, and an advocate of many organizations and communities such as Cancer Awareness, HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ. In this interview, we discussed his inspirations, upcoming releases, and a lot more.
Hey! Introduce yourself. Where are you from?
My name is B La’RoN, a songbird from a little town in Virginia called Windsor.
When did you start making music?
I began making music at a young age, I’d say around 8 or 9 years old playing around on the piano at school in music class and at church before getting yelled at.
Who inspired you to start making music?
Well growing up in the church and listening to a lot of Gospel music was definitely an inspiration. I was also inspired by Kirk Franklin when he was just starting out with The Family. Gospel music was all I knew, then I was introduced to what we called “Down Home Blues aka Soul” and it was very intriguing to see how Gospel and Blues were highly similar to one another. Then I became blown away with music from legends like Whitney Houston, Babyface, and Prince.
How would you describe your music style?
My musical style is heavily rooted in Soul. Although I have reached an area of R&B, it’s not the traditional Urban R&B but more like music that doesn’t just stop at your ears, it reaches your soul.
Who are you listening to now?
To be frank, I am still listening to the same wide range of artists from the ’70s into the early 2000s like Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Tamar Braxton, Prince, Maxwell, Donny Hathaway, Brandy, and Ledisi. I will say that I have added a few more to my repertoire of artists such as Yebba, Luke James, and PJ Morton.
What upcoming releases from you to look out for?
The upcoming release to look out for is the debut single entitled, “I’m A Fool in Love” followed by the self-titled debut album, “B La’RoN: The Beauty Behind Chaos”.
Have any shoutouts?
I’d like to give an enormous shoutout and thank you to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with the gift of song from the tender age of 2. A warm shout out to my mommy and daddy for loving me in spite of my shortcomings, I love you both so much. My only brother, Larry Warren aka Telly, I love your big brother!
A big shout out to my spouse and best friend, Gennairo, better known as Geno, for his endless support and for seeing more in me than just a partner, I love you. To Mom and Daddio McClain, I love you for raising such a wonderful soul as Geno and allowing him to introduce what real love is to me.
Shout out to JaeMar Thomas for writing such a beautiful song as “I’m A Fool in Love” and knowing how impactful it would become even before I did! My 3 Cs and a J, my nieces, my lovelies, Shay, Chaz, Chelsie, and Ja’Asia, and grand nieces and nephews, Uncle Ron loves you! To my spiritual brothers and intercessors, Alan aka “Ace” and Kevin aka “Big Kev”, I love you both, and thank you for being there for me!
To my dears, Jessica, Yvonne, Sheena, Dee Dee, and Kijuan, thank you for your endless love and support! Wherever I go, you go!! Shoutout to the mentors, vocal coaches, producers and engineers, Adam and Lara Gillman, and the Deck & Drive crew for their limitless support in pushing me to continue to be great!
To Mama ToNiya, thank you for pushing me to my limits and never stopping dreaming, I love you!!! To my deceased Godmother, Chase Manhattan, I miss and love you. Thank you for believing in me. It’s because of you that I am still here! Now look, I made it!
Lastly, to my old fans, new fans, super fans, LGBTQ+ community, and lost lovers who are trying to find hope in love, I truly hope this single and album be a blessing to your heart! Don’t give up on love, love yourself and love will find you! There is a rainbow after the storm for a reason!
Stay tuned for B La’Ron’s debut single, I’m A Fool in Love, releasing in January 2023. Want more? Follow B La’Ron on Instagram.