Today, South Florida rock artist POORSTACY releases his latest single “Children of the Dark,” out now via 10K Projects. The second single released ahead of his forthcoming album Party at the Cemetery (set to release this fall), Stacy considers “Children of the Dark” to be a precursor to the full album. “‘Children of the Dark’ kind of sets the tone for the album more than anything. It was the record I recorded that really helped me guide the full project. It’s a tribute to the lives of my friends who have died, but it’s also very live and energetic,” he says.
“Death is the one thing everyone’s super afraid of, but it’s the only thing we are promised. I’m choosing to celebrate it instead of being sad,” POORSTACY explains. For the South Florida native, the last few years have been some of his hardest, but they also have given him purpose and conviction like never before.
With his upcoming album Party At The Cemetery, the rock artist pays his respects to his friends who passed away. Self-admittedly, he’s lost really “all [his] original friends,” in one tragedy or another, and the music reflects that. Forged in equal parts pain, apathy and celebration, POORSTACY tells a nuanced story of life and loss with a level of understanding that can only come from someone who has seen it all.
For Stacy, born Carlito Milfort Jr., making a rock album like Party At The Cemetery is not a trend, designed for clout. In fact, he “doesn’t give a fuck” about that kind of thing at all. This is the music that soundtracked his life. Growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida, Stacy fell in love with music by hanging out in the crowds of local shows. “I’ve been going to shows since I was 12 or 13. Slam punk, metalcore, death metal. Lots of satanic shit. I also went to a lot of raves where there was a ton of drum and bass,” he says.
Though the rock and electronic music that he gravitated towards as a kid once seemed like two very different scenes, they both thrived on a true DIY sensibility which Stacy loved. By his late teens, he began releasing his own songs to SoundCloud, in hopes that he could capture that same DIY spirit native to South Florida. Part of the early wave of emo-rap talents on the platform, Stacy penned underground hits like “make up” which gained millions of streams and ushered the subgenre into the mainstream consciousness.
His influence on the streaming platform led him to a deal with Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects where he began releasing songs with labelmates like producer Nick Mira of Internet Money and iann dior and other talents like Travis Barker and Whethan. With his acclaimed crossover project The Breakfast Club and single “Choose Life” (a nod to the film Trainspotting), Stacy showed his penchant for storytelling and allusion, something which he cements as one of his artistic signatures on Party At The Cemetery.
Even his name is an homage to one of his favorites (skateboarder Stacy Peralta) who inspired POORSTACY with his craftsmanship and his ability to play the long game. “Stacy Peralta himself was not shown a lot of attention at the start, but he ended up being one of the biggest legends in skateboarding in the end. I always loved the idea of that, of doing your own thing and having it pay off.” Just like Peralta, POORSTACY isn’t making music for short term accolades and fame, he’s doing this for the art and legacy of it.
With this boundless interest in pop culture and art, POORSTACY’s first fully fledged rock record Party At The Cemetery is an eclectic collage of the stories, films, friends, and subgenres that have captured his attention and inspired him throughout his life. “I want to incorporate it all into my art. I love ballet. I love Stanley Kubrick. I love Tim Burton. I love Victorian architecture. There’s so much I draw on,” he says.
LISTEN TO “CHILDREN OF THE DARK” HERE
AND WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO HERE
