The people said they needed a break from the sameness. There was no creativity. They had given up hope and fallen out of love with Hip-Hop. Then, along came KidSyc@Brandywine.
In early 2010, KidSyc recieved an e-mail with the subject line, “We respect your MC abilities…”. This e-mail, sent by bassist Charles Hodge eventually ended KidSyc’s year-long search for a live band and sparked what was soon to become an artistic force to be reckoned with.
With a pair of plaid pants and an undenialby magnetic sound, KidSyc@Brandywine captivated crowds at the 2010 Savannah Urban Arts Festival and broke the monotony of Savannah’s Hip-Hop scene. Listing influences like Earth, WInd, and Fire, Radiohead, J. Dilla, Eminem, and Stevie Wonder, (to name a few), its no wonder a song like “Different” serves as a great snapshot of what these guys are all about.
If you take the thoughts, ideas, and emotions of your average misfit, sprinkle in some new-found confidence, and spread it all across a bold and adventurous soundtrack. What you will have is a KidSyc@Brandywine song…… and a new favorite rap.
P. Blackk has came to the rap game to change a lot of misconceptions. The art of females that do more with their vocal abilities than their sexual appeal is fading away fast. P. Blackk strives to bring the “female rapper” back to the forefront. Blessed with a unique voice and lyrics that can match most male rappers, P. Blackk is releasing her debut album, “My Own Reality Show”.The album is 15 tracks of pure energy complimented with insightful lyrics. P, Blackk is able to go from playful teenager to serious poet easily.Lead by her first single, “Goin 2 Da Party”, which showcases P. Blackk’s ability to have fun on a record, this album is all original production with pounding bass lines mixed with soulful samples. Songs like “Serious”, “You Wanna Fight”, and “I Run This” showcase P. Blackk’s ability to transition from a teenager to skillful rapper. “Angel”, “Turn Around”, and “My Life” shows P. Blackk in a more poetic form.P. Blackk’s goal is simple…”I don’t want to be the best FEMALE rapper. I want to be the best RAPPER…PERIOD!”
Adolfo Hernandez is a self-taught painter born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México and raised in El Paso, Texas. The border life between the third and the first world had a great effect on what Adolfo perceived art to be. He first begin to recognize objects and duplicate them on sheets of paper at the age of two, when he was forced to fill up pages with lines and circles by his mother. Eventually this lead to early self-portraits, farm animals, luchadores, comic book superheroes, etc. Many methods and styles of painting are influential in Adolfos paintings, such as surreal art, talavera art, graffiti and stencil art. Adolfo makes every attempt to experiment with painting on different surfaces, from traditional canvas to scarps of old wood.
Lieby by Adolfo
The Rock by Adolfo
Most of his paintings are reflections of his adulthood with the unconsciousness of childhood memories. Adolfo uses metaphors and symbols to illustrate stories and tell them to audiences using a visual canvas. For example, the “nopal” is his representation of a human with scars and wounds but disguises himself with flower buds to hide his imperfections. Adolfo has completed several commissioned art projects locally and abroad through is own arts company, Inope Visual Arts Studios. http://www.inopeartanddesign.com/
Kevin ‘Floco Torres’ Williams Jr. got his name from a childhood friends grandmother who noticed how “skinny” he was growing up. When she passed away he decided to take her last name “Torres” and create a brand that would influence people to inquire before they judge(Black Man-Spanish Name). At the age of 22, Floco has created his own hollywood called “Psycadelphia”, won two indie awards for that said hollywood and his music movement in general, created a fan base from his hometown Willingboro New Jersey all the way down to Macon Georgia, and continues to make his mark as one of the next influential entertainers/entreprenuers/inspirations in the industry. Born in Willingboro, New Jersey, he grew up five months at a time in places from New York to Pennsylvania, with a few years in the South thrown in for good measure. He’s in Georgia now, visiting family and building a base in the Southeast as he’d been doing back home. It’s been a little culture shock to say the least, but standing out just fuels the fire.
In an area dominated musically and culturally by mainstream country and thug rap, he’s a dude channeling a variety of influences, not only in his music but also in his very walk. That’s drawn a lot of attention from folks who feel just as isolated by their upstream efforts for individuality. They identify because he uses sarcasm and self-denigrating humor to defend the big gaping wounds on his shirt-sleeve heart. And they flock because he funnels it all back through a passion and intensity on the stage that matches the lyrical wit and charm in his recordings.
There are moments when, in the throes of a crowd-rousing chorus, you think he could be an old school soul singer, pouring it out like there’ll never be another performance, like there are generations of mixed-up sorrow and satisfaction that he’s got to unleash. Then, just as impressively, he starts a chuckle and the whimsy returns, playfully eschewing objectification, telling all the ladies in the crowd, “I’m not trying to be rude/I’m not lookin’ at your boobs/I’m just checking out your sneakers.” (from the song “Chicks With Kicks” featuring Al K!NG).
He’s just a dude being himself as best he can, navigating the gauntlet of simply being alive. Just like everyone else, except he’s recorded 300 songs in the process. His ambitions are no different than most folks: he wants to make a living and be able take care of his family. He labors in the studio and on the stage. There isn’t a blueprint for what he’s doing, but he stays on top of all his options, anchoring a seat in the bookstore, combing over magazines and researching changes in the world around him, keeping his toes dipped in several different cultural ponds, and looking for an opportunity to reach more people. If his gut and that growing throng of fans are right, he won’t have to spend as much time figuring out a way to reach people as he will being able to just enrich the ones who’ve already found him.
SUAFRadio Interview w/Mr. Al Pete-Click on SUAF Radio
Video: “Something More” featuring Tony White
In this day and age, true to heart Hip-Hop artists are far and few between, and Mr. Al Pete is definitely one of those artists. One part Emcee, one part DJ, and one part Musical Entrepreneur, makes up just some of the ingredients in the recipe for this hip-hop elitist in Jacksonville, FL.
Entering into the world of writing rhymes at the young age of 9, Al Pete has been perfecting his craft for some time now. Once he began his journey into adulthood, Al Pete decided to make moves towards his goal of being one of the top entertainers in Hip-Hop. One of his initial steps involved coming together with his long time friend and musical peer Shirl Dee Capital, to create GrownFolk Entertainment in 2004. Providing an umbrella for many different entertainment aspects of Shirl Dee and Al Pete, GrownFolk was just the beginning of many avenues to come.
In 2005 under the advisory of his Uncle, role model, and mentor Tru.ski, Al Pete decided to take his love for the genre, and enjoyment of creating musical sets for friends and family, to another level by learning the art of turntablism which is housed under the G.F.E. label as well. Al Pete began spinning for parties, poetry events, social gatherings, venues, and fashion shows. Along with all of this Al Pete was still working diligently to keep his own music flowing and to keep up with performances in and out of town.
In the spring of 2006, Al Pete and Shirl Dee decided to put together the first mixtape to come from GrownFolk Entertainment; “Exhibit A” which received an overwhelming response from the masses. That year momentum kept pushing forward, and in the winter of 2006 Al Pete joined alongside with The Elevated Hip-Hop Experience for a special live recorded album. Drive still pushing on in 2007, the spring brought another compilation album release “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” which included two of Al Pete’s close companions and fellow artists Tough Junkie and Picasso.
On February 10th 2009, Al Pete released his debut album “Talk About It”, which includes his popular singles “Somethin’ More”, “All is Good” and “The Truth”. Creating videos for “All Is Good” and “The Truth” has only continued to keep the buzz for the album going. Receiving 4 out of 5 with Reax Magazine’s review and also a write up in Jacksonville’s own Folio Weekly. Mr. Al Pete has been spreading through out the region with shows in various cities in Florida and Georgia.
Mr. Al Pete continues moving at full force with performances, features on various Hip-Hop albums, and mixtapes, and still offers DJ services with events such as Nokturnal Escape and Fashion Forward Inc. With his new album G3.0 being released in December of 2009 and the buzz for his acting debut in Be Dynamik’s upcoming film “Treacherous” to be release in 2010, nothing will dull Mr. Al Pete’s shine.
“Bored with the streets wanted to see the tree tops// Let my eyes get the birds eye view// ‘Cuz I’m sure flying’s cooler than walkin’// I mean look at Superman and Clark Kent//”
The opening lines from KidSyc’s latest project, The Fly High Mikstape, just about sums the Atlanta-bred rapper up in four bars. His style is intricate, but clear. Intelligent, yet concise and to the point. “I don’t think packing my verses with overblown vocabulary makes me a better artist. It just alienates the average listener, and that’s the opposite of what I want to happen when you listen to my music.” At 22 years old it seems Syc has found what it takes most emcees years in the game to discover. Complexity does not equal greatness. Without watering down his content, KidSyc draws you in with a flow that constantly surprises the ear and hooks that stick with you for days at a time.
The passion for creating music was almost forced on him. During the five years he lived in Minnesota after his parents divorce in ’92,KidSyc, born Lloyd Harold, attended a fine arts elementary school across the street from his house. “We had to play strings, a band instrument, take Spanish, and art classes. It was like basic training for the creative mind.” Growing up on the music of artists like Micheal Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, and Anita Baker, provided the blueprint for the type of music he would aspire to one day create.
“For You” (Live @ Tantra) – Kid Syc
KidSyc, had a late introduction to hip-hop. With a mother that kept close tabs on what got into the eyes and ears of her children, it was almost impossible for him to explore the world of rap music. “My mom wouldn’t let us watch the Simpsons ’cause Bart was disrespectful, so you can imagine how she felt about 2Pac.” These restrictions were something he would later come to appreciate, and view as necessary to his development as an artist. (more…)
