About this user
A prolific and sensitive songwriter/artist with a contemporary sound that is both fresh and
mature, Darren J nee Darren Joseph Hampton is among the young graduates emerging
from the re-burgeoning Detroit music scene. Born and raised in "the D" Darren's family
realized his gift early on when he was just four years old singing and dancing to Michael
Jackson, New Edition, and Babyface. Reared in a creative family -- his mother Josephine a
songwriter and his cousin Dream Hampton an iconic hip hop journalist/filmmaker -- Darren's
parents did not dismiss his enthusiasm for entertainment. They in fact encouraged him and his
brothers, Kenny and Marlon who too were musically inclined. The boys formed a trio called
Hampton 3 and by the time Darren was 11 the group garnered a name for themselves with the
independent releases for two singles, "Don't Wait" and "The Rock," that enjoyed heavy rotation
on the gospel airwaves in metro Detroit. The local success of Hampton 3 fueled Darren's desire
to immerse himself in music prompting him to choose Cherry Hill School of Performing Arts for
high school where he continued to hone his songwriting and performance skills. Upon
graduation he furthered his music studies at the Recording Institute of Detroit though he
could've chosen a traditional four year college education and pursued baseball -- a sport he
plays well and has great love for.
By his early 20's Darren, a self described "highly driven and dedicated" artist, branched into the
secular world of music. Independently in 2008 he released a single called "Her" that spun in
frequent rotation on Detroit's premiere hip hop and R&B station, FM98 WJLB. And not only did
he pen and record music for himself but Hampton became one of the go-to writers in the city
joining a writing team called the Track Pack with Brandon Smith, Jason "JV" Vaughn, Gairyd
"Gee" Fuller, and Lawrence Secrest. Solo and with Track Pack Darren has churned out local
song favorites for artists such as BOi, John Gillette, and TraVon.
In the fall of 2009 Darren signed to a Las Vegas based indie record label called FMF
Entertainment owned and operated by a native Detroiter, Joab "Joe" Dew. By February 2010
Hampton released an EP entitled "Preview" led by the JV produced mid tempo track,
"Quicksand" that had critics referring to him as "a singer with the emotion of a modern day
Sam Cooke and the vocal range somewhere between Michael Jackson and Maxwell." Darren,
the consummate gentleman with a humble spirit takes the praise in stride however, grinding it
out in the studio as he works on his full-length album release due out in the winter of 2011.
CONTACT: JOAB "JOE" DEW, FMF ENTERTAINMENT
JOEFMF@YMAIL.COM, TELEPHONE: 702.540.2449
