Brandon “King” Sykes, co-founder of Diamond City Boyz, is a new up-and-coming rap artist with an entrepreneurial spirit. Still in his teens, King Sykes is busy creating moving, emotionial rap tracks, as well as branding himself successfully online.

I listen to a lot of rap artists, and King’s music stands out to me as a very different unique kind of rap. There is a strong emotional undercurrent to his songs, and you get the impression that he is truly writing from the heart. Combine that with his savvy business sense, and you can see that this young man is on the path to success.

King has also taken on social media successfully. He has a Twitter account, Facebook page, website, InstaGram and YouTube channel.  You can view more about Diamond City Boyz on his website:

“Diamond City Boyz or DCB was founded in mid-2005 as just a group of friends that are like family. As we grew with each other we began to grow more and more interested in music. Therefore I decided to get us up and running as a label. We have many different artist and such a wide range of creativity ready to be released to the world. We feel as if you give us a chance we can deliver great music to you guys, the fans to enjoy and share with others. With that being said take a look around and enjoy.! :)” You can also view the other artists in DCB here: http://sykesmb.wix.com/diamondcityboyz#!artist/c1h6a.

With all these social media channels, King is way out in front of many artists. There are so many ways to brand yourself and your music using social media, and King is a good example of an artist who is taking advantage of the publicity outlets that social media provides. He is successfully cross-branding himself by putting links to all his social media sites on each channel (Twitter, YouTube, etc.)

Take a look at his sites and listen to his music; use his examples of social media use, and enjoy rap from a warm heart in chilly Chicago!

My favorite King Sykes tracks:

• Real Words
• Top