To a hip-hop head, the radio is dead; magazine coverage matters little; and the television couldn’t be less of a concern. One of the most respected underground lyricists from the South, Emcee Lyrikill, views a different future for the music of a generation than today’s commercial variety suggests. With his debut album, The Canvas, Lyrikill begins to repaint hip-hop as the incomparable medium for expression that it is.
"It’s time to bring back individuality to this music—while I'm proud of the South's success, I don't think it really reflects many true elements of Southern living," said the 28 year old southern nomad. In his youth, Lyrikill had roots in rural Louisiana, also spending significant time in Houston and Dallas, Texas. Lyrikill eventually called New Orleans, Louisiana, home and completed studies in Fine Arts and Management at Dillard University.
Upon relocating to the Crescent City, the emcee formed close bonds with several fellow emcees and established the underground hip-hop and mixtape crew Eupham. Through original elements of hip-hop culture – social awareness, fellowship, cunning lyrical style, and flow friendly production – Eupham represents the principle that hip-hop is more than music, it’s art.
Lyrikill insists upon a viewing his music as a means of fellowship. "I earned my stripes by being able to hold my own in any region, physically and lyrically. Coast to coast my respect level is consistent, and most rappers cannot truly say that." Lyrikill maintains close ties with producer 3M from Washington, D.C., and Eupham representatives from across the United States. In fact, Lyrikill formed an extension of Eupham—the Euphonetiks—a crew that achieved its own underground and mixtape successes.
In preparing his first solo projects for wide-release, ‘Kill decided to tackle three of his passions—hip hop, shoes, and art. The first of these is a mixtape titled, KILLmatic, a collage of tracks that pays homage to a hip-hop classic. Lyrikill is also debuting a major, international mixtape dedicated to another love—sneaker collecting. When asked to elaborate on the project, the artist had little to offer, "All I can tell you right now is that this going to be a huge project. There are going to be some very talented artists collaborating with me to make sure this project is top notch."
When Lyrikill is not penning classic lines, he is developing manuscripts to uplift his misguided brethren and to highlight positive and creative hip-hop. "Your regions music is a reflection on the people and of those people. When the people start to believe that they're ignorant and hopeless--they eventually become that way. The New South Movement is about putting our art and culture back in the hands of the people who care about it and aren't just out to make a dollar. They can't just come to our hoods, put crack and guns in them and leave to go back to their safe homes. We cannot accept that in our music either."
Lyrikill has graced stages alongside Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Zion I, Camp Lo, Heiroglyphics, Living Legends, and Jurassic 5 among others. His Euphonetiks crew has achieved notoriety through the release of mixtapes and a debut album which received good rating from various magazine and internet sites. He is prepping collaborations with various "middle-ground" emcees and readying the release of Statik Selektah's Down Bottom/Up Top series of which he is the lead off feature.
His debut solo album on the Eupham imprint is due early 2009.
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Other Lyrikill Performances: Heiroglyphics, Jurassic 5, Mos Def, Living Legends, Murs, Camp Lo, Jurassic 5, Slum Village, Planet Asia, Dilated Peoples, Zion I, Louis Logic and Cee-Lo.
Lyrikill Collaborations: Living Legends, Statik Selektah, Truth Universal, MFNtertainment, El Sherriffo, Caligula, Professional Navigators and others.
You may like Lyrikill if you like: Talib Kweli, Little Brother, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, MF Doom, Royce the 5-9, Joe Budden and Ghostface Killah.
Lyrikill Won 2002 Mic Check Battle (New Orleans) and has been featured/mentioned in Where Y'at Magazine, Da RUDE magazine, www.allhiphop.com and www.rapreviews.com
For press or booking inquiries, please contact LYRIKILL's management:
Orriel "O" Richardson, President/CEO, Savvy Maven, LLC
orriel@savvymaven.com
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