The Busking Brothers share how life has changed since their cover of The Beatles went viral
Footage of them singing in a New York Subway station broke the internet
When twin brothers Rahiem and Amiri Taylor performed their cover of "Eight Days a Week" on the 14th Street Subway station, little did they know the footage would break the Internet. Overnight, the Busking Brothers became a viral sensation.
Since the mini concert was uploaded to Facebook, it's been viewed 22.5 million times and has 559K shares. While the twins' vocals continue to take over our social media feeds, the Busking Brothers, who are part of the band ‘Blac Rabbit’ have appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and have played and planned gigs across the US, including shows in Los Angeles and New York.
We spoke to Rahiem and Amiri Taylor, to find out what first inspired them to start busking in New York City’s subways.
“We started busking full time around two years ago, but the first time we did it was about three years ago," they said. "We were raising money for plane tickets to visit our mom who was staying in Puerto Rico at the time."
This footage from 14th Street station shows the brothers covering a song from The Beatles, but Rahiem and Amiri also like to sing their own songs when busking around the city, saying “We usually cover The Beatles when we busk. We also play our original music though”.
When asked if their life has changed since the video gained views across the globe, they unsurprisingly said, “yes, everything has changed since the video went viral."
Courtesy of 'Blac Rabbit' Facebook Page
The brothers are now recognized above the Subway tunnels of New York and love to sing in the city that brought them such success.
“We love performing at Mercury Lounge, but can’t wait to do Knitting Factory with our band Blac Rabbit on April 23rd," they twins said.
Next time you pass through 14th Street station, keep a look out for these famous busking brothers, and maybe one day soon you will be able to hear their vocals for yourself.