Mariella

From Adam Bernard:

"It’s rare, but every once in a while the entire hip-hop community embraces a female singer and makes her an integral part the scene. In New York City that singer is Mariella. Along with iLLspoKinN, Mariella co-hosts Freestyle Mondays at Sin Sin, one of the city’s longstanding hip-hop events, and that, along with the respect everyone has for her singing abilities, has made her one of the first ladies of NYC’s underground hip-hop scene."

"This week I caught up with Mariella to find out about her journey in music, how she became a part of the city’s hip-hop community, and the interesting way Bob Ross has had an impact on her life. Yes, that Bob Ross, the king of the white man afro."

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

Hank & Cupcakes

From Adam Bernard:

“A few weeks ago I made a trip into the city to see Hank & Cupcakes. I’d heard, and dug, their self-titled EP and figured they’d be a good time live. With Hank, bass in hand, hitting the stage in sunglasses and unbuttoned coveralls, and Cupcakes taking her place standing behind her drums, wearing a shiny silver half jacket over a cropped top and also donning shades, I knew the performance I was about to see was definitely going to be different. In this case, different was good. Very good.“

“Funky, vibrant, and just plain fun, Hank & Cupcakes are dance music with an attitude, and within one song they had the entire audience, myself included, moving to their beat. I caught up with the duo soon after the show to find out more about who Hank & Cupcakes are, how Cupcakes fell in love with the drums, and where they feel the unintentional sex appeal of their music comes from.“

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop’s Adam’s World category.

ILLUS

From Adam Bernard:

"Born in Bridgeport, CT, raised in Stratford, educated throughout NYC, and now residing in New Haven, Illus is known for a variety of artistic endeavors. A veteran when it comes the pen and the pad in more ways than just one, in addition to penning his lyrics, Illus is also an accomplished comic book artist, and has led panel discussions on the topic at CMJ, NYU, and various Comic-Cons."

"His latest album, Feel Good Music, is a collaboration with producer J.J. Brown, and it's already drawing rave reviews from the likes of Chuck D, who Illus notes "said it was one of the best albums of the year on his radio show." He adds "hearing him say that was pretty amazing." This week I caught up with Illus to find out more about his dual loves, in what ways they crossover, and the song he felt he had to make."

Read the complete interview here.

Available on Amazon:
ILLUS: Feel Good Music

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

M.A.E.

From Adam Bernard:

"I first heard of M.A.E. in passing when someone told me about the duo while I was heading to Homeboy Sandman’s album release party in June. I stayed aware of the music they were making, checked out their video for "F*ck Dancing," and took a listen to their free EP More. The jazz tinged production and great lyricism that showed a high level of wit and personality really impressed me."

"This week I caught up with the M.A.E. duo of Express The Motif and Indigo (pictured L to R) to find out more about their work, how they’re going about making sure they’re original, and how they really feel about dancing."

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

J Ross Parrelli

From Adam Bernard:

"As I’m sure you all know by now, I’m very open to recommendations when it comes to music. When my homegirl, super talented fine artist Blair Urban, told me I should link up with her friend J Ross Parrelli I added her on various social networking sites and we started talking. I also started listening to her music. Months passed and I came back to her work a number of times. There was really no defining it. With elements of reggae, soul and hip-hop Parrelli and her band have created something original, and I love when artists can still do that in 2010, and do it with instruments rather than a computer."

"This week I caught up with Parrelli to learn about her musical history, how she’s been livin since she moved to NYC, and the three places you’ll never find her."

Read the complete interview here.

Available on Amazon:
J Ross Parrelli

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

Soce The Elemental Wizard

From Adam Bernard:

"I'll admit it, I probably should have been aware of Soce (pronounced So-Say) The Elemental Wizard a while ago. He's a part of the NYC hip-hop scene and we have a lot of friends in common. Ironically, it was Iowa's own Coolzey who, in a way, introduced us. During the 12 week run of Coolzey songs on this site one of them, week ten's "Graduation Day," was produced by Soce. Soce tagged me in a Facebook post about it, and alakazam, suddenly I was introduced to the wild world of Soce The Elemental Wizard."

"This week I caught up with him to find out more about that wild world, including his love of wizardry, how being openly gay has affected the way he's been received within hip-hop, and how he scored the best website name on the planet."

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

Sintex

From Adam Bernard:

“A lot of artists like to say they can see the future of music, but how many have actually been to the future? According to Sintex, he has, and it was the inspiration for his 2009 album, 2020. Originally from Ohio, but now a Queens, NY, resident, Sintex’s story is an interesting one, and not just because of the time travel.“

“Sintex had an extremely religious upbringing, and when I caught up with him this week he discussed it with me, as well as the way in which he rebelled against it. Also, since Sintex claims to have been to the future, I grilled him on when we’re going to get hoverboards, flying cars and robot maids.“

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop’s Adam’s World category.

Willie Green

From Adam Bernard:

"Many great producers don’t get the face time they deserve, which is why this week I made a trip behind the boards to catch up with beatsmith extraordinaire, Willie Green. Originally from Hartford, CT, but now residing in Brooklyn, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Green’s work, but just don’t realize it. He has production credits on the Super Chron Flight Bros’ latest album, Cape Verde, and on Premonition’s just released The Build."

"Green’s latest solo release is Dirty Jordans and when he sat down with me we discussed the album, why he likes the idea of dirty, rather than clean, Jordans, and what he has in common with some other famous Willie Greens, including an NBA player and an organic farm."

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.

Grey Matter

From Adam Bernard:

“You may remember a few weeks ago I told a story about meeting two artists while waiting for the 6 train. The first artist was the recently featured Truth Now. The artist that was doing the beatboxing during their freestyle session was Grey Matter. After honing his craft and linking up with Kid Lucky and Beatboxer Entertainment, Grey Matter, although he still loves a good session on the train, has become one of the leading beatboxers in NYC.“

“This week I caught up with him to find out more about how he became interested in beatboxing, why we see so few great beatboxers today, and the secret power of beatboxing that was revealed to him in Paris.“

Read the complete interview here.

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop’s Adam’s World category.

Side Effect

From Adam Bernard:

"I may not like their sports teams, but man oh man does Philly have some fantastic emcees. One such emcee is Side Effect. Side Effect's been building his name in Philly's underground scene for nearly a decade. His first album, Underground Concoction, was a self-released effort that came out in 2003. He followed that in 2004 with Rocking Chair Theory, which was released on Krush Unit Inc. and featured the single "Spitacular," the video for which earned Side Effect a few dates on that year's Vans Warped Tour."

"A few more albums, and a few collaborations with Snowgoons, later, Side Effect is bringing people Cabin Fever. The Karma Response Unit Records release features production from Happ G and some of the best lyricism around. This week I caught up with Side Effect to find out more about his music, the audience he hopes it reaches, and the reasons why Philly's underground hip-hop scene sometimes flies pretty far under the radar."

Read the complete interview here.

Available on iTunes:
Side Effect

For previous Artists of the Week see ProHipHop's Adam's World category.