Conscience Hip-Hop with a hard Street Edge.

13 MP3 Songs
HIP HOP/RAP: Alternative Hip Hop, HIP HOP/RAP: Spiritual Rap



Details:
With his groundbreaking solo debut, tentatively entitled Royal Commentary, Detroit rap artist SOLIL (an acronym for Strong Outspoken Lyrically Intelligent Lyricist) serves up a tasty stew of socially conscious poetry, riveting rhythms and a straight-arrow delivery that combines equal parts precision and power.
And although Commentary represents his first commercial turn on his own, SOLIL is no newcomer to hip-hop. A Detroit native, SOLIL (government name: Kevin Kerridge), spent several years honing his abilities in the city's competitive hip-hop underground, as a solo artist and as member of numerous musical collectives. He was among a number of Detroit emcees who were part of the scene at the noted Rhythm Kitchen nightclub, a weekly proving ground that helped prep several other local stars.
"That was a time when Detroit was trying to find its own way, its own identity," says SOLIL. "We were kind of caught between the New York sound and the LA sound back then. That movement gave us all an opportunity to showcase what we had, with the open mics, the ciphers, the competitiveness. Everyone was trying to make a name for themselves."
Even then, SOLIL stood out, holding his own onstage alongside all of the other ultra-talented local lyrical stylists. But even before he was picking up mics and rapping on stages, SOLIL maintained a deep love for the art form.

Royal Commentary was recorded and engineered at Diversion Studios by Victor Perraino, who played synthesizer with Arthur Brown who recorded on Polydor Records.