When a friend’s online relationship proved to be one-sided, local musician, Jilib – the front man for the Vermont pop, dance and hip-hop band, A2VT – wrote a song about it.
“It didn’t happen to me,” Jilib said of the sticky situation, “but I witnessed it happening to my friend. And the song is about a real story that happened.”
The Vermont-based, A2VT, writes danceable grooves and sings in up to eight unique languages.
The new single, “Before The Night Is Over,” has an accompanying video, shot at various locations around downtown Burlington.
Jilib said of the online relationship, “(My friend) was having a conversation with her for a very long time and he was really falling in love with her, but deep down she just wanted to be friends.”
The band has been making music in Vermont since 2012 – not long after fleeing from conflict in their home countries of Burundi, Somalia and Tanzania.
The members recorded their first full-length album, “Africa, Vermont,” that year, and since then, have released multiple singles and videos.
Last year, the band was named Best Hip Hop Group by Seven Days in the news outlet’s “Seven Daisies” awards.
Bandmembers Jilib, John Key, Janvier Maufume and King Bee 9 released “Before The Night Is Over,” in early October, and the video is on Youtube.
Find all of A2VT’s music on streaming platforms.