Tadashi and Xavier Monclova, better known as Hillside Drama and X Dineroo, are multi-talented bi-racial artist with Japanese and Puerto Rican heritage, serial entrepreneurs , and music influencers with all together 15,000+ followers on Instagram and co-founders of the record label “Stack or Starve Sink or Swim Entertainment” alongside their two brothers Nathaniel better known as Nikoduh9, and Elijah more known as FMB Eli.
Back in 2019, Hillside Drama and X Dineroo observed that although the music industry was crawling with opportunities for aspiring artists, there was little or no guidance for these artists to navigate the maze of the music industry. “There weren’t many people or places to go that would teach you the right way to do things in the industry,” he observed.
With this, the brothers banded together to establish their label “Stack or Starve Sink or Swim Entertainment” so those future artists would have a leeway to become successful without a handout or having to resort to looking into others to help them become successful. “We want to be able to give the underdogs hope and give them the energy and confidence to strive for greatness through any situation to come and to help them keep on pushing,” they shared.
As a brand focused on bringing diverse artists to the limelight, the name and logo of the label were chosen after much consideration to be an inspiration. As explained by the founding partners, “The brand name and logo stand for never giving up even when at your lowest. You strive to either stack or starve, and in the points in the world where you feel like you’re drowning, you choose either sink or keep on swimming and we plan on giving that helping hand.”
With the establishment of the family and community-oriented brand, Hillside Drama and Xdineroo hope to inspire the younger generations and help fight against violence and drug abuse in their community. They are currently in the midst of creating a program for students in elementary, middle and high school to teach them different techniques and skills in the subject of art , give them points on the nitty-gritty of running a business at such a young age, and teach them about running an independent record label for kids that are interested in music. In addition, the brothers also strive to help less fortunate people around the community with donations and food. Every few weeks they get together to give back to the community by either handing out merchandise from their company so the homeless stay warm during the weather change ups or cooking a home cooked meal so the less fortunates stomachs are full for the day.
Besides the record label, the brothers also run two other family businesses, one of which is a T-shirt company that has made custom designs and merchandise for clients and big businesses all over the United States. The other enterprise is a new tattoo company that provides professional services and cosmetic tattoos for breast cancer patients and people with disabilities worldwide that lose body parts or pieces because of their illness. Since becoming a professional artist hosting big concerts at local clubs and promoting and performing at parties around New York and Florida, Hillside Drama and Xdineroo have been setting up big goals for the upcoming years. They plan to capitalize on their most recent achievement of reaching over 10,000+ views on Hillside Drama’s “ZaZa” music video on YouTube in just three months. Also pushing their new song and music video “On and On” featuring his brother Xdineroo or even his upcoming single release “Classy Girl” hoping to reach a Diamond or Platinum record.
