Just beyond the doors of The Masonic, the city of San Francisco is, cold, rainy, and buzzing with traffic. But inside the 106.1 KMEL Holiday House of Soul, there is only the sweet warmth that is unique to the vibrations of your favorite songs being played over a PA system. Despite all of the space, the Masonic feels like a small nightclub full of eager music lovers about to be put on to a fresh new sound. That fresh new sound? Layton Greene, who comes out on stage in a green and white Adidas tracksuit and a DJ playing her tracks and hyping up the crowd.
She starts off her set with the song that started off her career, "Roll In Peace Remix." Greene's start in the industry, like so many of her contemporaries, happened on social media. Her cover of the Kodak Black song "Roll in Peace," went viral on Twitter and her Soundcloud tracks racked up tons of streams. Her voice attracted the Atlanta based label Quality Control Music (QC) and even though they had yet to sign any R&B acts, they took a chance on Greene. That chance payed off. Greene unveiled her knack for delivering moving personal stories on accessible and memorable R&B tracks on her debut EP Tell Ya Story.
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She follows up her viral Kodak Black cover with one of her first original solo songs to find a strong audience, "Blame On Me." The fans in the crowd throw up their hands and sing along with the lyrics that chronicle the struggles Greene faced growing up. When she notices that there are people who know every word, she squats down at the edge of the stage to look them in eye. For a moment it doesn't feel like she's performing, it feels like a group of friends singing a song that holds so much shared meaning for them. Greene continues with the personal and goes into "I Love You," a true story about unrequited love.
Greene reminds people to stream her new EP before going into the track that suggests her potential as a rising star. Her collaboration with City Girls, Lil Baby, and Pnb Rock for "Leave Em Alone" just went gold and it earned her airplay on urban radio station around the country. She's likely to have more hit songs in the near future, but for now she's reveling in the fact that she can so clearly see who her music is reaching.
Before her performance she also chatted with the Sana G Morning Show backstage: