Edreys

You could be forgiven for wondering if Buffalo has a hip-hop scene of its own, so diffuse, scattered and underground has that particular community remained over the past 20 years.

But that will change, if Edreys Wajed has his way.

For the past 10 years, Edreys –pronounced “E-drees” –has been charting his own course through the hip-hop industry as an independent artist, all the while working to unify Buffalo’s piecemeal rap scene. He also has challenged the bountiful stereotypes that have plagued hip-hop from its beginnings in the early 1980s.

“Hip-hop gets a bad name, and some of that is justified,” says Edreys, who also performs beneath the nom de plume Billy Drease Williams. “I’ve always worked against that whole idea that hip-hop concerts are unsafe, that anyone who raps is a drug addict who carries a gun and has a misogynistic streak.

“Hip-hop is art, when it’s at its best. And it is also a significant part of the culture – here in Buffalo, of course, and in the whole country, as well.”

Casting himself as a conduit between what he sees as the popular conception of hip-hop as a dangerous, unsavory art form and the reality –“It’s a celebration of a culture, and of art in general” – Billy Drease Williams has balanced his career as MC, record-maker and songwriter with efforts to provide opportunities for the Buffalo rap community to flourish.

Along the way, he has become the most promising, adventurous, nigh-on-visionary hip-hop artist Buffalo has yet produced.

Growing up in Buffalo under trying economic circumstances, Billy Drease realized from a young age that he wanted no part of the stereotypes that surrounded him. He fell in love with soul music first, submitting to the deep sway of pioneers like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Chaka Kahn. When rap came along, it hit him hard –“As much as a cliche as this is by this time, I still remember buying the Sugar Hill Gang vinyl, getting it home, and saying, ‘That’s what I wanna do’!” –and he soon became hopelessly immersed in the form’s possibilities.

But from the get-go, Billy saw himself as “different,” as an outsider with his own vision of what a career in hip-hop might mean.

It boils down to his desire to present himself as a positive role model in an industry that thrives on “gangsta” mentality. Loving the music but rejecting the lifestyle so often associated with it, Billy Drease focused on his love of visual art, writing and his burgeoning MC skills while many of his peers fell into the traps set for them.

Jeff Miers, The Buffalo News



Billy Drease Williams Good Morning AMY

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Against a dismal landscape littered with record industry ruins, financial recession and deferred dreams, GOOD MORNING AMY bursts from the horizon bright and colorful. The album’s thirteen songs paint a vibrant, thought-provoking and inspirational narrative. They combine gritty old school New York City Hip Hop with a backdrop of soulful and classically inspired production. The album is the contemporary equivalent of a Tony Robbins audio book with the momentum only Hip Hop can deliver. The balance of the record redefines “the album” in a singles-driven environment by illustrating a cohesive mentality while satisfying the short, 3-minute platform toward which most digital consumers gravitate.



Developed organically over two years, GOOD MORNING AMY maturely reflects the culmination of lifelong efforts, determination and perseverance at the will of Billy Drease Williams. The album is Williams’ debut full-length release and illustrates hopes of restoration and revitalization of the simpler things that matter: Life, love and inspiration through rhythm and word.



The question then becomes, “Who is Amy?” Williams answers, “Everyone has an Amy! Amy is the personification of one’s goals, desires and ambitions. Amy is what motivates a person every morning to reach their personal best. She is our deepest wish within which we find our own burning passion.” GOOD MORNING AMY is a healing soundtrack to self-motivation, daily gratitude, positive thinking and goal attainment. As indicated in the title track, “Every morning is a moment where you got to make a choice to be good or be great; to be love or be hate, but the choice is yours.”



Billy Drease Williams Good Evening Billy

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A profoundly versatile collection, Good Evening Billy has something to

satisfy whatever your taste buds may desire. Each track is a work of art

in its own right. The syncopated rhythms of the leadoff track "Oh No"

demand you to move your body; while on "Purple," Billy Drease speaks on

the hardships of not just his hometown of Buffalo, New York, but the nation as a whole; and calls all people to start taking more responsibility for what is going on around them.



Whether it's the smooth soulful feel of "I Like It" or the hard-hitting

scratching on "Fresh," Good Evening Billy will certainly give you Something you've been searching for.



Born and raised in Buffalo, Billy Drease Williams is a multi-talented artist, a voice of change, a narrator of current affairs, and an all around Renaissance man. The album is unlike any other: bringing together vintage hip hop beats, soul-ripened horn riffs, smooth piano melodies, turntablism and innovative instrumentation that'll make you nod your head and shake your body. It's pure genius.