‘Drunk’ is the debut single and video from 20-year-old singer and songwriter Alec Petrus, out now on Top Notch.
Alec was born in New York as the child of parents working in Brazil’s diplomatic service and moved to Namibia as a 4 year-old, where he fell in love with music and started to learn how to play the guitar. After a few years back in Brazil, the Petrus family transferred to Suriname, South America, when Alec was a teenager.
Because Suriname is a former Dutch colony, there are strong ties between the two countries. Amsterdam-based record label Top Notch – the first label to sign Stefflon Don – has dominated Dutch hip-hop for over twenty years and has signed several Surinamese singers and producers, including James Francis, who Alec became close friends with in the capital city of Paramaribo. It was only natural that Alec‘s demo would also find its way to the label.
‘Drunk’, a bittersweet dancehall tinged Jodeci-namechecking R&B jam, was recorded in Suriname and produced by Oath. Alec elaborates, “We didn’t have the professional equipment that they have in the Netherlands. It was mostly played on real instruments: a piano, guitars, violin. That’s why it sounds more raw and pure. The song is about someone I used to be with. You know that moment in a relationship when things aren’t going well and you take a break from each other? I was in a moment where I needed time away from the person I was with. It’s a song about making a mistake, realising what you had and telling the other person that you miss them.”
The ‘Drunk’ music video was directed by Lisa Smidt in Suriname.
