Kompanion – Redo

Personal pain and pleasure enlivens new music from alternative Hip Hop artist, Kompanion

DENVER, CO – When Kompanion (also known as James Patrick Sullivan) speaks, there is a lot of pleasure and pain because he has seen both sides of life. Music helped him get through the roughest parts of growing up and helped him express a lot of his emotions. “More than anything,” Kompanion said, “it’s helped me redirect my emotions into something positive that can help other people.”

Further to the purpose of using his music is to connect with those in need, Kompanion released his single, “Redo” last month. A mixture of old and new age Hip Hop, “Redo” is a song about second chances in anything in life you want to do over again.

Exposed to more hardcore music at a very young age, Kompanion was influenced by the music of Kid Cudi, Mobb Deep, Brotha Lynch Hung and the Dog Town Gangster sound. Kompanion has a style that is unique and hard to classify which is best described as alternative / new age Hip Hop.

On November 30th, Kompanion will drop his new album, “The Kompanion.” The 7 track collection of all new, original material was recorded at his professional home studio, then mixed and mastered by Kentucky-based producer/engineer, Studio 17 llc. The artist’s description of “Motivation,” the album’s first track, is intriguing – “All I was thinking while recording this song was ‘I’m so hungry, both literally and figuratively!’” Kompanion also feels that “Smile” is another track that people will particularly enjoy. Things that built up in his life and came to a head are expressed in this album which gives an amazing inside look at the life of someone who has overcome recidivism, alcoholism and drug addiction.

Moving around and experiencing difficulties at home and in school, Kompanion made some bad choices and ended up in many unfortunate circumstances. In and out of jail over the years, he found himself in a position where he got pushed down. His experience is that everyone at every level wears a mask, whether they are conscious of it or not. Kompanion said “I try to approach people with a tremendous amount of respect because I know that everyone has something going on.” That respect allows him to see the real person, and he is hoping that people see the real him when they hear his music.

Kompanion believes in love for all and hatred for none, and is passionate about helping people from all walks of life. Luckily in 2003, Kompanion found his passion for music which he can attach to other things to help people. He also works with many charitable organizations such as “Be the Match” and “Peace Jam” that help build individuals and communities by addressing power and privilege issues. “I just like to use my platform to try and help somebody because I’ve been in some bad spots,” Kompanion said. “I know that social support is the most important thing when it comes to helping people who are struggling.”

His life experiences allow him to operate from a position which those who are in need can relate to. And Kompanion strongly believes that “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”