Andre Darmanin’s first presence at the Bay Music Awards has seen his song being nominated for Best Song Award, the first time a HipHop song got nominated for an Award at the Bay Music Awards. The song released by the rapper in June 2011, has become popular thanks to being radio waved on all local major radio stations. It also received radio play in Hamilton Canada and was included on UK’s Capital Radio amateur playlist.

‘Can’t Be Friends’ is Andre’s third officially released song, and is distinguished by its jazzy and HipHop feel. His first track was called “Without You” and co-featured Boris Cezek. The second track, “All my life”, co-featured his cousin Eliza Borg from Ellie and the Oscars. As a strange coincidence the 2011 BMA nominees for Best Song Award were two of Andre’s cousins – Elisa of Ellie and the Oscars, and Ivan Filletti.

Andre Darmanin started discovering various genres of music at a young age, even whilst being constantly intrigued with HipHop after first hearing Coolio’s hit single ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ way back in 1995. By 2002 he formed part of a HipHop crew known as ‘The Unexpected Crew’. From the creation of poetic rhymes he moved on to music production, which experience flourished by 2003 when ‘The Unexpected Crew’ joined forces with another underground HipHop crew ‘Exhumed’, to form ‘Prodigal Sons’. After a year of activity the members of the “Prodigal Sons’ decided to go their separate ways and only three members remained heavily involved in making music. Andre joined forces with Joanne Scerri in 2004 and engaged in a project known as Jo & Dre, involving HipHop and alternative rock.

Being heavily influenced by hip hop and alternative rock music, Andre decided to experiment on a new style which gave a new identity to his music and helped produce two hit singles.

Andre’s work as a rapper/producer is enhanced by his collaboration with producer/music engineer Boris Cezek, singer Rylan Patissier with whom he has been creating music for the past 10 years,  photography/design manager Andrew Bugeja, website creator Ben Buhagiar, photographer Faye Bonnici, and distribution overseer Emilio Ellul. Andre says “I consider Rylan as my right arm and Boris as my left arm in music and this is what I define as project chemistry.”

In the wake of his nomination in the BMA, Andre is currently working with Claire Galea on his new single which should be release at the end of this month.

“My rapping is always about things that I would have experienced or issues that I feel should be brought up. My objective is to reach people that need a song that they can relate to and help them feel better. One of the nicest compliments I ever received was ‘Those are the words I should have said to my ex boyfriend when we broke up!’”