#millivanz

Continuing his tradition of hosting semiannual days of outdoor games for his friends and family, Derrick "Millivanz" Williams got busy with the 2024 summer gathering. Both the winter and summer events include flag football, but the warmer weather also brought basketball, softball, and kickball for the teams to contend in.

Since his music video collaborations with J.None for the previous year's winter event went so well, the pair teamed up again to announce this next iteration. And when the time came for a little pre-game motivation, they brought another friend in on the fun.

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J.None couldn't make it back to Orlando to film for this video, but the layered vocals he recorded more than made up for his physical absence. Combined with footage from previous years, it's quite an enticement to join in.

Details:

title: Derrick Summer Games 2024 sign-up promo

performer: J.None

original song / performer: "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King

written by: Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, & Mike Stoller

arranged by: Derrick "Millivanz" Williams & Jessie "J.None" Nunn III

release date: 8 April 2024

My favorite bits:

J's smooth, clear timbre on the opening lines

staying higher for ♫ "light we'll see" ♫

showing off those bassy lows in the backing vocals under his fantastic riffing of ♫ "I won't be afraid" ♫

adding sweet, legato harmonies in the chorus

fading from the song into the participants saying "Underdogs always end up on top." and "Sportsmanship's where it's at." (Both good sentiments.)

Trivia:

Enrollment lasted for a month, and the gathering itself took place on July 7th.

In the lead-up to the actual games, the group held a media day with the participants. They conducted interviews with the captains and members of both teams, then decamped to a club for a little fun.

J's former bandmates in VoicePlay also recorded an a cappella version of this song a few months later, with the group's original high tenor Mykal Kilgore returning as a featured guest.

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NOTE: The lyrics of this song contain genre-typical cussing.

The players were willing to sweat through a summer day in steamy Orlando, so the guy in charge put together a song to help get them hyped up and released it on the eve of the competition.

Details:

title: Summer Games Again

performers: Metane, feat. J.None

written by: Derrick "Millivanz" Williams

release date: 6 July 2024

My favorite bits:

the synth brass fanfare to announce the players' arrival

the grungy beat dropping as Metane starts spitting bars

♫ "You bet on the weak and I bet on the monsters." ♫

J.None picking up the lead with just the right amount of grit in his tone and those crisp riffs

adding more layered harmonies as the chorus repeats

♫ "Don't get involved if you don't want bruises, contusions, and scars." ♫ (Whew!)

the swag in ♫ "I don't see no competition-AH!" ♫

the pair of guys in black ball caps dropping into a slick groove

Trivia:

This video was filmed at the Keg Social venue in Orlando, a sprawling event space that includes areas for bowling, billiards, arcade games, karaoke, and axe throwing, as well as a full pub menu and multiple well-stocked bars.

After the event was concluded, Derrick put together a 20-minute recap video showing highlights of each activity, along with spectator commentary

Starting in 2018, Derrick "Millivanz" Williams has been organizing annual community events for his family and friends in the Orlando area that give them an opportunity to get together for a day and play. With contests including dodgeball, flag football, and volleyball, these grown-ups get to relive the best parts of school field days and enjoy simply playing for bragging rights.

These videos were created to announce the 5th annual* Christmas Classic, and to showcase the results.

* They skipped 2020 for pandemic safety reasons, so that year doesn't count.

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Most people announce that event sign-ups are open by sending out an email or making some social media posts. Maybe even hanging some fliers around the community. These guys wrote and recorded a song, then made a music video, which really embodies the saying "Work hard, play hard."

Details:

title: Get Ready

performer: J.None

written by: Derrick "Millivanz" Williams & Jessie "J.None" Nunn III

release date: 10 October 2023

My favorite bits:

layering chatter from the players over simple piano chords

integrating "Go big or go home" but as a question

J.None's bold timbre on the repeated ♫ "Fear can't hold me back." ♫

the subtle backing harmonies of ♫ "with a vengeance, baby" ♫ that sneak in before the lyrics show up in the melody

the layered vocals in the chorus

Trivia:

The performance sections of the video were filmed at Momentum Studios in Winter Park, FL.

The crew returned to the same location a couple years later to record parts of Sitrine and J.None's "Red Coat" music video. J also filmed there with VoicePlay for a cover of K-Ci and Jojo's "All My Life" around the same time.

Enrollment lasted for three weeks, and the gathering itself took place on December 10th.

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If you go to the trouble of producing an entire music video just to encourage folks to participate in an event, then you've gotta give them a suitable wrap-up, as well. After all, it doesn't really matter whether you win or lose when it's all in good fun.

Details:

title: Come Together

performer: J.None

written by: Derrick "Millivanz" Williams & Jessie "J.None" Nunn III

release date: 19 February 2024

My favorite bits:

the opening synth hits and guitar riffs 🎹🎸

how deep J's voice gets on ♫ "it's ’bout that time" ♫

the anticipatory rising instrumentation leading into the pre-chorus

♫ "it's cold in the winter" ♫ (Is it though? You're in Florida.)

the steady rhythm of ♫ "If they really want war, we gon' bring the fight to ya." ♫

the lighting making his white jacket look really blue

Trivia:

The performance sections were filmed at the trellis inside Luminary Green park in downtown Orlando.

The two non-singers featured are the captains of the participating teams, the "Stone Kings" (blue shirts) and "The Row" (aka "Death Row East", white shirts).