NASHVILLE, TN – Carlton Waller – better known to his fans as C-Fo D-Fo Bailey – has quite the pedigree when it comes to music.
His great uncle Love Child Scruggs was a part of the 1960s group The Winston’s, which had a hit in 1969 called “Color Him Father.” It reached No. 6 on the Top 100 Billboards. His godfather, Carlos DeFord Bailey, is the grandson of Deford Bailey, who was the first black country music star and a pioneer of the Grand Ole Opry. He was the first artist signed to RCA Records in 1924.
As C-Fo looks back on that legacy of music industry greats, he’s simultaneously humbled and inspired. He feels a deep sense of responsibility to continue the legacy that has been passed down to him, and so he approaches his music career with the utmost seriousness and professionalism. Like the legends before him, he approaches his sound and style with an approach that is intentionally progressive and new. He wants to create a fresh sound and style that has never been done before, and launch the music industry into a new era in similar ways to those who came before him.
“None of the younger generation of my family does music,” he said. “It’s kind of been left up to me. And nobody knows the history of our family like I do. I mean, my great-grandfather influenced a lot of major acts today in country music. He invented a sound with the harmonica. His story is incredible. It’s a story that has to be told. It’s been a big inspiration to me to have that background, and now I’m stepping in and keeping his name alive and trying to follow in his footsteps.”
As C-Fo works to pave his own path and create a reputation for himself, he said he’s willing to experiment with different sounds and styles. He said that he was one of the first artists to mix EDM, dupstep and trap all into one – something he was creating a decade ago. And today he continues to push the envelope and create sounds that no one else is doing, albeit in ways that nod to the sounds and styles that are widely accepted on radio waves today. His most recent single, “White Girls Trappin’” is his most recent gift to the world. It’s a song that showcases his unique talent while still embracing the trap sound that is popular on mainstream radio today. Furthermore, “White Girls Trappin’” is a phrase that has never been used by anyone and was coined by C-Fo.
“It’s something major,” he said. “It’s basically a song about women trapping, which in itself is a little unusual because in most urban areas you hear mostly about guys trapping. And I do focus on all girls trapping, but what makes this so new is how I talk about a white girl trapping. That’s a rare thing, but I was inspired by one of my friends who’s a white girl and she traps hard.”
C-Fo said he hopes fans will appreciate the novelty of what he’s trying to create with this song, and that the upbeat hook and EDM-influenced beat will be catchy in a way that makes people want to play the song over and over. He also said he hopes listeners will look past the obvious meaning of the lyrics into the deeper meaning – that he’s using trapping as a metaphor for the work that so many women around the world have to put in on a daily basis to succeed in life.
“I want people to think I’m a unique artist,” he said. “I’m not a cookie-cutter artist. I’m not trying to be something I’m not. I’m very creative. My godfather basically invented country music, and I want to invent my own music. Nobody is doing anything like how I’m doing things, and that’s what separates me from other people.”
In addition to C-Fo’s new single, he’s currently hard at work on a full album called “Beer, Waffles and Bass.” He said the album should drop sometime early 2018. In the meantime, he will be taking a radio campaign tour through 15 states this fall while pushing the new single.
To listen to C-Fo’s music or to follow him on social media, please visit the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/cfodfobailey/
https://www.instagram.com/cfo615/
https://twitter.com/CFO615
https://soundcloud.com/search?q=cfo615
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