A group thatpossesses style, talent and taste is Baton Rouge natives Us 3. The groupconsists of Geno McLaughlin, Tre’ Virdure and Ian Spooner. The trio met in thechoir at Robert E. Lee High School in Baton Rouge.
The group hasbeen in existence for the past seven years.
“We used to becalled The Untouchables. We had different members coming in and out, but it always ended up with just usthree,” said Ian Spooner.
The music of Us3 is made up of more than one entity.
“We don’t justtarget one audience. Our music is R&B soul, new contemporary, hip-hop twistand more,” said Spooner. “It’s the kind of music that last.”
The influencesof other R&B artists can be heard throughout the music of Us 3.
“You can heardifferent influences in our music such as Carl Thomas and Musiq Soulchild,”said McLaughlin. Us 3 has also opened up for such artists as Joe, HeatherHeadley, Montell Jordan and Jagged Edge.
Though this isUs 3’s debut album, there was a lot of creative control among the group.”Ninety percent of the album, we did ourselves,” said Spooner.
Us 3 isprepared to give audiences music and style that is above the norm.
“We want peopleto see Us 3 for who we are and not guys coming out here to fit a mold theirused to,” said Spooner. “We have a wide variety of styles influencing ourstyle. Diversity is Us 3.”
The trio hasplayed the music circuit in Baton Rouge for many years, which has allowed thegroup to be more in touch with the local music scene.
“Weretrendsetters here in Baton Rouge, from our style of dress to just us beingmusicians,” said Spooner.
Along withtheir own career, in the future they would like to help the development ofother artist.
“We want tohelp put out other upcoming artists. We write, produce and perform. We want toput new artists in the game,” said Spooner.
Throughout the past seven years, Us 3has had many individuals attempt to change their style and also their music.Through it all they have been able to sustain their own individuality. Virdureknows the success of Us 3 is in their hands.
“If it’s asuccess, it’s because of you. If it’s a failure, it’s because of you,” he said.
Virdure andSpooner are cousins with deep church roots.
“If it wasn’tfor gospel music I probably wouldn’t be singing. Gospel has been a biginfluence on us since day one,” said Virdure.
The group hasovercome many obstacles.
“In a group youhave to learn how to compromise so much,” said McLaughlin.
What sets Us 3 apart from many othercurrent groups is that more than music bonds them together.
”Were not just a group, we are friends,”said Spooner. ” It’s like a family.”
