The local arts scene took a huge blow this spring when Covid-19 shut down the entertainment industry. But it takes a lot more than a pandemic to get Quad-Cities artists down and out. And it takes even more to get the big idea makers to stop dreaming.

Enter Royce Barnett, Mr. Crunk Chocolate.

Quad-Cities Repping Giving Platform To Area Musicians

Royce Barnett

Barnett, a Quad City resident and popular voice on social media and podcast platforms, where he often posts under the name Crunk Chocolate, has launched Quad-Cities Repping, a one stop shop Spotify playlist of Q-C artists.

“The Ultimate Goal is to have The most complete Q-C Anthology of our local artists,” Barnett said. “Easily accessible to any music lover.” In addition to listening at leisure, Barnett hopes the music can be used in other ways to further the exposure. “People can listen or play them in the background of their Twitch streams to avoid copyrighting infringement that comes from major music companies.”

How does it work? It’s simple. Local talent needs to LIKE and FOLLOW the playlist and the add their music to the stream. Artists can do so by following this link:

Barnett hopes this will lead to more collaboration between local musicians and those creating podcasts, films, web series and beyond.

As for Barnett’s next endeavor, His Fat Sacks FESTIVAL will be held July 24th at Renwick Mansion. The event will be an outdoor music concert with one DJ and five musical acts of differing genres. Tickets can be purchased here.

Quad-Cities Repping Giving Platform To Area Musicians
Tristan Layne Tapscott has been dubbed the “Quad Cities’ P.T. Barnum” and although the person who initially said it meant it as an insult, he happily accepts the title.
Quad-Cities Repping Giving Platform To Area Musicians

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