GAWNE

MAKE RAP GREAT AGAIN.

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DDG

Darryl Granberry Jr., also known by his Hip hop moniker, DDG , is an American Recording artist, YouTuber, and Entrepreneur who’s music video for the song, “Givenchy” went viral in late 2017. The song and music video became a single which increased his Social media following on his numerous YouTube channels, allowing him to also become a social media influencer.

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REVERIE

Reverie was raised by a single mother in Northeast Los Angeles, Highland Park. Her household was full of dysfunction & she ran away for the first time in the 3rd grade. Her poetry was always her safe haven. She frequented the school counselor, detention & was suspended often. Despite her behavioral issues, she maintained good grades & even had her poetry & art published. In the 7th grade, Reverie discovered “underground hip hop” & her poems transitioned into raps.

In high school, Reverie obsessed over graffiti, which lead to her first arrest & fights, which eventually got her expelled from school. She began kicking it with a gang & heavily abusing drugs to mask her depression. Louden, her brother & now producer, was selling crack to feed his heroine addiction, got stabbed & shortly after was sentenced to 1 year in a juvenile detention center.

In hopes of a second chance at life, Louden & the family moved to Washington, where they began to record music. In 2009, they released Reverie’s first mixtape ever, ‘Castle In The Air,’ & within 24 hours, it got 3K+ plays. It was then that they realized their music could become something much bigger.

9 years & 10 chronicled projects later, Reverie regularly tours all over Europe & USA & has dedicated fans around the globe. She & Louden still record music together regularly & have cultivated an organic, cult-like following, which they call ‘Satori Mob,’ which is also the name of Reverie’s urban wear clothing brand. Hip hop saved their lives.

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KB. DEVAUGHN

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BOOGIE

Few hip-hop artists command a space as purposefully anomalous as Long Beach-born, Compton-bred Anthony Dixson, whose stage name, Boogie, foreshadows his intrinsic talent for writing music that is rooted in realities that are simultaneously melancholy and joyfully uplifting. Oscillating between a soundscape underpinned by ardent praise rhythms and the gritty memories of a youth spent immersed in gangbanging, Boogie’s brand of rap is as much a credo of the streets as it is a constant reflection on purpose and growth.

For Boogie, the path to artistry actually did begin within the sequestered walls of a Compton church. In eighth grade after a string of minor incidents at school, his mother – who raised him within a close-knit circle of aunts – began to worry that her son was getting into the kind of trouble that could negatively impact his future. Under her firm guidance Boogie was soon an active member of the church choir where his natural affinity for melody blossomed. Ironically, it was also within church he was introduced to gangbanging by a friend with Blood affiliations. After only a year in the choir, the neophyte musician had gone from writing his first rhymes on pen and paper to memorizing lyrics and creating melodies in his head. “I have really bad eyes and I broke my glasses in ninth grade so I couldn’t see anything for a minute. I just started doing everything in my head,” he explained. “I started off doing little gospel raps but I realized we were in Compton and gospel rap didn’t really work outside of church so I transitioned into more mainstream rap. Music became a form of expression for me. I’m not a very talkative person so it became my getaway, it was a place I could talk about what I was going through,” Boogie noted.

The rapper’s first mixtape, Thirst 48, released June 24, 2014 on his son’s birthday, provides an honest chronicle of some of the very struggles that punctuated his rise. Yet five years before Boogie poured his story into the tape’s lyrics, the birth of his son Darius in 2009 prompted him to take music more seriously. In 2010, he enrolled in Long Beach City College to take courses in recording, he also used his financial aid money to buy studio equipment. Despite taking the steps to ensure a better future for his family, Boogie soon found himself back at square one. “For a long time it felt like nothing was working for me. I dropped out of school and starting working at Samsung. Those were really dark days for me but towards the end of 2014 I met my former manager, Clayton Blahla. He was the first person to take a chance on me and invest in my talent.” Blahla was also the co-founder of Skrillex’s OWSLA label. With his encouragement Boogie re-acquainted himself with the studio, pouring his experiences into Thirst 48 and promptly following up with his breakthrough mixtape, The Reach, (also released on his son’s birthday). The latter spawned the Jahlil Beats produced single “Oh My,” whose viral success cemented the rapper as one of the most refreshingly honest new voices emerging from the West Coast.

Boogie credits the birth of his son as the turning point that helped him refine the raw, unfiltered lyricism that has garnered the praise of artists like Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, who signed him to Shady Records in October 2017. “Around the time my son was born I started to be more open about my circumstances. Before that my flow was more concentrated on punchline rap rather than telling a story,” he shared. Embracing his natural ability to manifest vivid narratives informed by real life experiences was the calling card that brought an Interscope record deal to his doorstep in 2015.

With his star on a speedy trajectory upward, Boogie shared his debut studio album, Everything’s For Sale with the world to massive critical acclaim January 25th 2019. Inspired by the natural progression of life and his complicated relationship with the streets – something he neither glorifies nor dishonors – the project serves to be his most introspective effort yet.

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KUR

Philadelphia has come to be known as the “land of the spitters,” where rappers from all walks of life are competing to be the very best the city has to offer. For Kur (pronounced “Core”), his rendition of Drake’s “Pound Cake” featured a list of past relationships and experiences with women in Philly. On the remakes, he held nothing back, addressing a lot of them by name and started to network within rappers and promoters. People instantly started noticing his true potential.

In May 2015, Kur dropped How It Never Was that featured his anthem “I’m a Star,” which caught the ear of Timbaland who initially wanted to help push the record. To top off the year, he released another mixtape, Finally Happened showing his unbeatable work ethic. “The house I was raised in turned into a trap house” is just one of many written truths. The realness of “Have Nots” got him a response from G.O.O.D. Music president Pusha T who shared on Twitter: “Your truth is your greatness.”

Backed by multiple top musicians in the industry and a loyal fan base, Kur’s profile increased value when he signed with independent label eOne in August of 2016. Kur collaborated with Harlem’s own Dave East to piece together an EP called Born Broke, Die Rich that was recorded and released in the span of two days. On the horizon is a re-release of “I’m a Star” with added verses, as well as an appearance in one of the cyphers for the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards that aired on Oct. 4. While constantly releasing new music, and getting great feedback; he’s already being called a ‘beast in the studio’.

“This tape, I wanna really rap,” he says. “That’s why I put the record ‘Have Nots’ out just to let people know who I really do it for. I feel like there’s more people that’s broke than rich. I really don’t make music for rich people. I really make it for people on the come up.”

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