“Video7 is the furthest thing from mainstream and something you can always get a piece of for yourself.”
That is how R&B singer and producer Brendan Asante would explain the 18-person creative collective group known as Video7. The group, consisting of a wide range of musical and entertainment talents, continues to push the sonic envelope in music and beyond.
The collective was created in 2013 by the aforementioned Asante, jazz pianist and house producer Ian Finkelstein, and DJ and producer Spencer “WebSlinger” Christovale. While at the School of Music at the University of Michigan, Asante and Finkelstein became familiar with each other’s talent and brought Christovale in after seeing him at a beat battle through the hip-hop organization FoKus. The three went on to score a fashion show at the school, and soon after curated the opening performances for 2 Chainz and Common at the MUSICMatters festival in 2014 and 2015.
Asante and Finkelstein moved to Detroit after graduation and continued to grow their collective. As they continued to get in contact with more and more solo artists in the area, they began what is now known as Video7. The co-founders started hosting weekly jam sessions in their homes, and their first performance was at SXSW in 2016 at a Detroit Music Showcase where they performed as a supergroup.
The group has continued to grow in the time since that SXSW performance. The collective now consists of 18 people with a wide range of talents. The group is currently made of singers, MCs, producers, jazz instrumentalists, an actress, a videographer, a graphic designer, and an animator.
Photo Credit: Karen Guzman
The collective had a very busy 2017 as they premiered their Cable Nights show at El Club, which gave Detroit fans the opportunity to see each member of the collective perform in their own element. Asante also developed ProducerHaus, which brought together even more of Detroit’s most talented artists. He says to expect even more in 2018 as there’ll be more Cable Nites and ProducerHaus events on the horizon.
“The group looks forward to furthering their reach and depth in their sound in 2018, with a mixture of solo releases from individual members and a group release in the works,” Asante said.
You can keep up to date with everything that Video7 has coming up, along with checking out some of their previous work on their Facebook page. You can also hear their music on their SoundCloud page.