In light of the recent tragedy in Paris, France last night, and in the face of public backlash, DJ/Producer Kill Paris has decided to change his stage name. In a lengthy Facebook post, Paris (real name: Corey Baker), explains that the name was inspired by Paris, the wealthy Romeo & Juliet suitor that was killed by Romeo in the play. Baker wanted his DJ alias to serve a symbol of standing for love and creativity, rather than “magnifying and supporting the negatives in life.”
But after last night’s events in France’s capital, Baker felt that keeping a name like that would be inappropriate, especially with so many people unaware of his work as an artist. Now, he’ll use the moniker Chill Harris, and will continue making music. His post also includes a link for anyone wishing to be donate and help those who have been affected by this tragedy. You can read Baker’s full post below:
By it’s definition a name is just a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. When I chose my name as an artist at the age of 16, it was after reading “Romeo and Juliet.” Paris was the name of Juliet’s rich and entitled suitor. I meant it as satire against a side of life that that tries to hold creativity and love down. From the beginning, it has always stood for sharing and focusing on the good and positive things in life, instead of magnifying and supporting the negatives in life.
While there is tragedy everywhere, every day, and every person has their own, the events in Paris yesterday have made me feel that my name as an artist is not appropriate anymore. What my music stands for is love and peace, and I hope my fans know that. Moving forward, I do not want people to get the wrong idea about me and my music just because I’ve gone under a particular pseudonym. I am dropping my old moniker and will now use the name Chill Harris.
My music has always been about sharing the moments with others where no language is needed to understand each-other. I will continue to share the love, and stay true to the music. I believe music helps us connect and understand each other. We need this understanding and respect for each other more than ever right now.
All of this said, this is NOTHING compared with what the people of France are going through right now. Please keep your thoughts with them. No matter your creed, age, place of birth or any other label that society has decided to create, we are all in this together. It’s so tragic when a few can forget this and cause so much pain to the rest of us.
There are people out there that could use all of our help right now. If you want to help, this site will let you know how:
http://mashable.com/2015/
For more information on what you can do to help those in France, please visit this site here.