It’s no secret that the grind to get discovered is real for all new artists in music. It’s time consuming, hard to get noticed, exhausting, but ultimately incredibly rewarding. Two months ago, Pigeons & Planes and Hornitos got creative and set out to celebrate artists who are bold and authentic by giving them a new way to showcase their talent and get spotlighted via the Take Your Shot program.
After 15 days of open submissions, executives from both teams reviewed endless hours of music from artists who were willing to bet on themselves. Submissions were whittled down to eight incredible rising artists including semi-finalists Willy P, Club Oro, Will Cherry, and Kwame Adu.
Then, the four Take Your Shot winners were announced. Hailing from Los Angeles, Queens, Harlem, and the Bay Area, allow us to introduce grouptherapy., Hadji Gaviota, Porsh Bet$, and GOVAN. All with the dream of sharing their music with the masses, these artists didn’t hesitate to take their shot, and we’re ready to shout them out. Learn more about each artist below.
grouptherapy.
Song: “Tangerine”
Three words to describe their music: honest; defiant; versatile.
grouptherapy. is a Los Angeles-based collective whose journey is 15 years in the making, but it didn’t start there. Jadagrace, SWIM, and TJOnline were child entertainers, who, individually, had a goal of what they wanted to do, whether it be rap, sing, model, or act. But after crossing paths so many times on sets and in classes, these three formed a genuine connection and saw the potential of what’s to come if the combined forces. In the beginning, music was just therapy for them, but as their friendship grew, so did the depth and creativity of their music. They are the true definition of group therapy.
grouptherapy. on “Tangerine”: TJ and Jada collaborated on this song. TJ had the idea for the tangerine metaphor, and Jada went in the booth to lay down melody ideas. It honestly came together better than we expected, and we knew we had to drop it immediately. It was one of the few songs we played over and over again after we made it. We realized we just wanted to make a really fun song that made people instantly smile.
GOVAN
Song: “Heartache”
Three words to describe his music: charming; dynamic; passionate.
GOVAN isn’t just a singer, rapper, songwriter, or all-around Renaissance man, he’s a first generation college graduate who’s following his dreams and putting on for his family. Coming from the Sunshine State, GOVAN uses his East Bay Area roots to influence his coming-of-age story that chronicles his life in love, life, and breaking barriers of masculinity and identity. He has an old school soul that comes to life through his new school flair with lyrical fluidity and quite the swagger.
Govan on “Heartache: “Heartache” came into creation when I got set up with producer and co-writer Davin Kingston. We got together for a session, and kinda were jamming and vibing. I showed him the EP I was working on and [the music] I was inspired by at the time—Charlie [Puth], Doja [Cat], Kyle vibes— and also what was going on in my life. During this time, I was starting to fall for this person hard, but from the get, we knew it was going to be love on a timeline. But I was so lovestruck by this person that I didn’t care, even though heartache would eventually come. So I pretty much told Davin all of this, and read some thoughts off my notes app. One of them was “I know you’re finna break my heart,” and the rest is history. To me, the song means just loving in the present regardless of the heartache down the line. Just feeling that love is what matters. And it’s a fun thing to do.
Hadji Gaviota
Song: “Oyster”
Three words to describe his music: “left-handed music” as in it’s a mix of a bunch of different genres…with little twists on them. That’s either three words or one (laughs).
Coming from a place known to produce artists of all genres, Hadji Gaviota is proud to call New York home. Born in Queens and living in the Bronx, this 26-year-old is a borough baby making music that makes you want to bounce. A combination of indie-pop, rock, and R&B, Hadji intertwines his mellow sound with to-the-point raps that rehash moments from his past. And you can’t help but listen and enjoy the ride. Hadji attributes his sound to growing up in an eclectic musical household and his love for later ’90s-style punk rock.
Hadji Gaviota on “Oyster”: Growing up I was very close with my grandmother, who passed away in 2019. She always used to tell me that I could do whatever I wanted in this world as long as I have the drive to do it. I didn’t really understand what she meant until I started making music, and figured out it was my passion. So the line, “Yiayia (which is grandma in Greek) told me just remember, the world’s your oyster if you’ve got the drive,” is kind of the meaning of the song to me. She wasn’t able to live long enough to hear this song, but she was able to hear some of the music I’m proud of while she was still alive.
I made the song in September of 2020 with Mike Mroz (one of my closest collaborators, who has produced over half of my tracks) on a day when his Ableton [music software] wouldn’t open. He was like, “Hey, do you mind if I use FL Studio?” I was a little skeptical he wasn’t gonna be able to make something good, and then he made one of our best songs within 10 minutes. I was about halfway through rolling out my 2020 project PURGATORY, and was in the middle of the pandemic trying to figure out where life was going and where I was supposed to go next. Once I made this song, I knew I had the direction for PASTIMES+, and everything started to fall into place.
Porsh Bet$
Song: “Here”
Three words to describe his music: sticky; honest; animated.
Porsh Bet$ is a fun, light-spirited artist whose music serves as a quintessential blend of rock, pop, rap, and R&B. He uses his mellifluous vocals to detail honest stories about his life—good, bad or funny—and that’s what keeps his fans coming back for more. Porsh is lyrically witty and able to remix his cadence with a single pause of breath, and have fans singing along without missing a single beat.
Porsh Bet$ on “Here”: I wrote “Here” when I was crashing in a basement in Massachusetts. I had gotten into a fight with my girlfriend at the time. This was right before I had a Zoom session with this producer, so when I got online, I was like, “To be honest, bro, I’m not really in the mood right now. But instead of leaving like I wanted to, we just talked it out. He sent me a beat, then “I just want you here” was the first thing that came to mind, then the rest of the song wrote itself from there.
Most of the vocals you hear on the song are the same ones I recorded on my makeshift setup that day. Usually my first takes feel the best because I’m not overthinking anything, it’s all just instincts. The version of “Here” that’s out is actually different than the original beat I got sent. Long story short, I couldn’t use it anymore so my friend Bigfoot reproduced it.
