Misanthrope By Sam Hill (Cage) Produced By FSTLANE

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Savannah, GA microphone monster DOPE KNIFE is set to drop his self-produced full-length SFdigi debut “NineteenEightyFour” (featuring Sage Francis, Ceschi, and more) on January 27, 2017! 
Get your MP3 download, CDs, + 7-inch Records exclusively at http://tinyurl.com/DopeKnifeSFR 

Perhaps it was the euphoria of the first time he heard a rhyme collide with a beat. It may have been the gruesome civil war that touched his young life, and that war’s impact his family. Likely, it was the fusion of the two experiences that inspired a young Kedrick Mack to develop and refine his sound into what is now the intense, distinctive art of emcee/producer Dope KNife.  

“NineteenEightyFour”, KNife’s Strange Famous Digital debut, effectively demonstrates his style in ferocious, focused bursts, fused to form a gritty boom-bap soundscape littered with dense wordplay. Within this world, the listener has the opportunity to come to learn who Dope KNife is, but only if they choose to: “I think of this album as a character portrait; it's like the movie Taxi Driver in rap form,” says Mack. “It’s one man’s experience with the world, laid out for society to see, but there’s no guarantee the world will understand it. You either vibe with the experience and accept that it has a reason for existing, or you just think its a collection of songs that you like or dislike individually. I’m fine with either.” 

The son of a US diplomat, Mack's childhood was spent hopping around the globe in the course of his father's work. Most of that travel was within the continent of Africa, including a residency in Liberia, his mother's home country. Liberia's civil war broke out, and while Mack and his immediate family were able to evacuate, his mother's extended family were not so fortunate, leaving them to live amongst the chaos of a decade-long conflict.  Mack would learn of his family’s tragedies and hardships through the tears on his mother’s face, an almost daily ritual that left him feeling isolated during his teen years. His discovery of music, and hip-hop in particular, gave him a way to reach out: he began to immerse himself in the culture, finding inspiration in artists as disparate as Rakim, Nine Inch Nails, and Ice-T. He began fronting a rap/rock band and spending time on the freestyle battle circuit.  ￼ 

Mack forged strong friendships through his foray into music, friendships which lead to the formation of a DIY record label that allowed him to release 2 full-length group LPs under the crew name Dope Sandwich.  

Remaining true to his collaborative roots, Mack invites a gang of indie emcees to contribute to “NineteenEightyFour”; rappers with whom he built a mutual respect over years of extensive touring appear on the posse cuts “#SQUADGOHARD” and “Tombstone”. KNife uses the solo album format to display his sharp wit and a knack for social commentary, and to explore heavier subject matter and experiment with his own music production. Moments of note include the first single, “Name Up”, and the introductory mission statement “Nothing To Lose”. Strange Famous label boss Sage Francis makes an appearance on “Cult Personality”, and indie rap troubadour Ceschi pops up on “Fear and Loathing”.  

The title “NineteenEightyFour” refers to both the year of Kedrick Mack’s birth, and to the year of an experience that helped to set him on his path - an event captured by artist Pat Jensen on the album cover. Mack explains: “When I was a baby, I fell into a water well in Sierra Leone. I have a scar on the back of my skull from it. How it happened became one of those stories that my mother would reveal to new acquaintances as they became friends. As a result, as an adult, for me, the story is like the last barrier of information I give a person as an affirmation of our relationship. If a person has known me long enough for me to tell them how I fell in a well as a baby, it's a sign I’m opening up to them. “NineteenEightyFour” is that last barrier for me as a musician.”

NineteenEightyFour

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"NOTHING TO LOSE" - Dope KNife

El-P - Stepfather Factory

insane rare eyedea track recently unearthed from a old 2002 Stealth magazine promo cd.  please share this with everyone you know.

(Down) the Left Hand Path (acapella)

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