New England is an unlikely but growing hub of hip-hop music. In the last decade, local artists have emerged from all six states, performing at any venue that will allow them to showcase their talent.
Hip-Hop originated in the 1980s in a borough of South Bronx, N.Y. Since then, hip-hop has spread worldwide, and is now mainstream on radio stations everywhere. Although one usually hears of hip hop artists emerging from California, Atlanta, New York, New Orleans, and even Toronto, Canada, (where the latest hip-hop icon, Drake, was born), talented hip-hop artists are emerging right under our noses here in New England.
For example, O'Mega Red, also known as Robert Grant, is a native of Dorchester, Mass., and has been involved in the local music scene for more than ten years. O'Mega Red is not only a rapper but also a CEO/record producer of "The Jugganautz Music Group" and record label executive of "Stay Grindin' Inc."
In April 2007, The Boston Globe published a feature article on O'Mega Red describing the struggles that he had to overcome in order to be known in the music industry. To this day O'Mega Red says it is still an everyday struggle.
"At times people around you have no desire to see you succeed, so you'll hear all the negative comments about what you're doing wrong instead of people supporting what you're doing right," he said.
O'Mega Red continues to pursue his music career, and is currently working on an album with producer "Detail" of Konvict music.
His first single, "Endz," which features Detail, has been played on Music Choice, and is in rotation on the Boston radio station Jam'n 94.5. Although O'Mega Red is in the process of obtaining a distribution deal, he still finds time to perform at local venues throughout New England. He says that he hopes to eventually collaborate with other local artists and form a unified community of musicians who can be supportive of each other.
Another local artist, Mr. Keys, also known as Keyshawn Wallace, is an R&B singer out of Roxbury, Mass. He discovered his love for music at the early age of 7, when he would sing every Sunday with the choir at Charles Street AME church in Roxbury.
"I knew I wanted to sing ever since the first time I heard my own voice. I was shocked that the beautiful sound I heard was coming from me," Mr. Keys said.
He also had a hard time getting to where he currently is with his music. "Growing up in Boston, it was rare to see a man who wanted to sing. If I wanted to be a rapper than that probably would've been okay, but people assumed that because I wanted to sing I was either soft or sensitive, so I switched it up on them and decided to sing about ‘hood-related issues. I consider my genre of music R&G, rhythm and gangster.
Now I have all the rappers coming to me, asking me to sing a hook on their tracks. They all call me the ‘King of Hooks,'" he said.
Mr. Keys continues to be featured on other local artists' tracks while also working on his own mix-tape. He's constantly performing at local venues, and is usually the DJ and the host of the event. He says he loves to perform at live shows because he enjoys seeing the reaction from the crowd when they realize that he's not going to rap but is actually going to sing.
The rap group the "Usual Suspecktz" consists of three members out of Malden, Mass. There's Bobby O, Medicin Man, and Shivaa. The unique thing about this group is that each of them has his own exclusive style. Medicin Man has a raw hardcore type of lyrical flow, which allows people from the inner cities to relate to what he's saying. Shivaa, on the other hand, is more of the intellectual type of rapper who usually expresses himself through metaphors and personal experiences. Bobby O, who is originally from Miami, Florida has a very deep, raspy voice, and brings some of his southern style to the group.
Although they all have different styles of rapping, when they combine their talents into their songs they're in sync with each other, and appear as one. They all agreed that they felt the biggest challenge for them is the fact that they're a group.
"You don't hear about rap or hip-hop groups emerging on the music scene anymore. I believe that is going to be our challenge, but I also hope that maybe that might be the one thing that helps us stand out from all the other local New England artists who are trying to make it in the music industry,"
Bobby O said.
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