Linzy-Franco Collaboration Rises

33-three-year-old performance and mixed-media artist Kalup Linzy met actor and jack-of-all-trades James Franco at the Raleigh Hotel during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2009. A spark was lit, with Linzy becoming Franco's muse. True to both artists' styles, their subsequent two-year collaboration has taken manifold forms—a July 2010 guest spot on the daytime soap "General Hospital," performances at Campari's 150th anniversary and last winter's Sundance Film Festival, and a pop-house single, "I Love You," which the duo put out in February. The latest is a lush synthpop track, "Rising," released this week. "It's intended to be inspiring," says Linzy. "It has a Motown type of sound, and I wanted to release it now—with Independence Day on the way and gay marriage just approved."
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