Name: “Orion”
Origin: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genre(s): Hip-Hop, Trap, Rap, RnB, Pop
Occupation(s): Rappers, Singers, Songwriters, Producers
Instrument(s): Vocals
Years Active: 2018 – Present
Label(s): Tric-Jam Records
Associated Acts: Kara Romero, Marina Balan, Aubrey Mikkel
Members: Bellows, Boa, Circuit
“Orion” is an American hip-hop trio from Detroit, Michigan, founded in 2018. They are composed of three rappers known by their stage names, “Bellows”, “Boa” and “Circuit”. Consisting of brothers Jadyn “Boa” Ghalen and Jamal “Circuit” Ghalen and cousin Brayton “Bellows” Carter, they've managed to build themselves a modest reputation around the Michigan, Indiana and Illinois area. In late 2019 and early 2020 they saw their reputation grow beyond their home state and surrounding areas into New York and found themselves working alongside rap artists from New York, so much so that they landed their highest profile job as a group in producing and backing New York based rapper, 'Kara Romero' on her 2020 E.P “The Therapy Sessions (Vol. I)” as well as a run of underground New York shows which saw the groups reputation rise even further.
Following the production of Kara Romero's 2020 E.P, the group received interest from a number of record labels and eventually signed their first ever recording contract with 'Tric-Jam Records', a subsidiary of the Studio60 corporation in June 2020 and immediately began work recording songs that would form the basis of their debut album expected in late 2020.
HISTORY;Jamal “Circuit” Ghalen (born 7 September, 1994) is the oldest of the trio and the brother of Jadyn “Boa” Ghalen (born 14 August, 1996), their mother worked as a teaching assistant during the day and a cleaner during evenings, while their father left when Jamal was five years old and has been estranged from the pair ever since, leaving their mother to raise the two boys on her own alongside their cousin. Brayton “Bellows” Carter (born 4 July, 1999) is an only child, whose mother passed away when he was only two years old, he was taken in by his Aunt and the trio became practically brothers. Brayton showed a love of all kinds of music from a very early age, however, like his two cousins, he found himself drawn to the troublesome nature of their neighbourhood and city streets. Often getting himself in difficult situations, he begun running with a gang before an incident gave him clarity to step away from that world.
Eventually he became a highly talented multi-instrumentalist and begun writing raps in the process while Jadyn and Jamal were more drawn to sports with Jadyn a promising young basketball player at high school level and Jamal only slightly behind Jadyn when it came to his basketball promise and ability.
Although they didn't excel academically, both Jadyn and Jamal have been described as slightly above average students, but they were more swayed by a rebellious teenage curiosity. Brayton was considered an anomaly, with a natural ability to take in and retain information and as his teenage years developed, was very headstrong, he was always considered to have the potential to be a straight-A student but outside distractions put a stop to his progress from a further education stand point. But his love and natural ability for music sent him on the pathway to a career in the industry regardless of how his education went, his driven nature was enough to see him hustle until he was able to turn his passion into a career.
In 2018 the trio decided to try to work together musically, writing songs together and playing around with the technology and instrumentation of music, they realised that they had a lot of passion for the project and quickly decided to start taking it seriously as a possible career path. They worked together tirelessly to create their own songs and got some minor success with regular touring pattern in their home state of Michigan, but it was clear that there was more interest in them as DJ's in the local clubs than holding audiences attention with their own original material.
It wasn't until a run of shows in New York in the summer of 2019 when things started to really begin happening for the group,they were hired to DJ for a surprise birthday celebration for New York based rapper Kara Romero, with the rap artist stating that she was so focussed and blown away by what they were doing and the mixes they were putting together that she spent the majority of her own party at the booth, stating that they probably had a lifetime of bonding and getting to know each other in one evening. She made sure to keep in touch with them and asked them to head back out to New York in the winter for some life shows that she wanted them to provide the backing music for. This in turn led to her asking them to produce some material she was working on, initially this wasn't intended for anything but her own self-reflection but later led to becoming her 2020 E.P “The Therapy Sessions (Vol. I)”.
Following on from their work producing the E.P and it's summer 2020 release, they were praised for their work as both backing musicians for the recording and as a production team, with particular reference to their ability to understand the lyrical content and craft the sound of the E.P to match the tone of the lyrics without taking away from the lyrical content of the release. It was at this point where they were able to consider a number of different offers within the music industry, one of which was continuing solely as supporting musicians for Kara Romero, as well as a couple of offers from record labels as a group. Eventually they agreed a two album recording contract with Tric-Jam Records, falling under the Studio60 corporation, a move which will likely see their debut album recorded and released in 2020.
MEMBERS;
Brayton “Bellows” Carter – vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, lyrics
Jadyn “Boa” Ghalen – vocals, guitar, bass, lyrics
Jamal “Circuit” Ghalen – vocals, drums, lyrics
DISCOGRAPHY;Studio Albums:•
"Orion" (January 30, 2022) [#1]
• "Orion II" (TBC)
Singles:•
"Fuck Me Over" (June 24, 2020) [#1]
•
"Make America Breathe Again" (July 25, 2020) [#2]
•
"Playin'" (feat. Aubrey Mikkel) (August 30, 2020) [#1]
•
"We Bring Em' Up" (December 26, 2020) [#5]
•
"Remedy" (feat. Alexis Brooke) (March 13, 2021) [#2]
•
"Dynasty" (June 26, 2021) [#1]
•
"Rookie of the Year" (August 15, 2021) [#1]
•
"Homecoming" (October 24, 2021) [#3]
•
"Unstoppable, Unplayable, Unkillable" (feat. Marina Balan) (February 20, 2022) [#2]
•
"MVP" (August 20, 2022) [#4]
•
"Off-Season" (August 20, 2022) [#4]
•
"All Accelerator, No Brakes" (February 17, 2024) [#1]
As Featured:• Tisha Jackson - "Emancipation" (TBA)
E.P's/Mix-tapes/Live Albums/Compilations;•
"The Off-Season E.P" (August 21, 2022) [#1]
PRODUCTION;•
Kara Romero - "The Therapy Sessions (Vol. I)" (June 13, 2020) [#3]
•
Orion - "Orion" (January 30, 2022) [#1]
•
"The Off-Season E.P" (August 21, 2022) [#1]
•
Kara Romero - "Post-Traumatic" (February 4, 2023) [#1]
AWARDS;• FCA VII - Artist to Watch [2020]
• FCA VII - Best Urban Single - "Fuck Me Over" [2020]
• FCA VIII - Favourite Urban Act [2021]
