Don Stone aka Daddy Rose, Music producer, Script writer, Videographer, Film editor  


RICO JEEZUS is an American recording artist born in Panama City, Panama; the son of an American serviceman stationed there and a Dominican mother. He was raised in the Dominican Republic briefly before traveling to the United States, eventually settling in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His parents divorced shortly after and he went on to be raised by his mother.

RICO was a voracious reader and won a Young Authors award in grade school. He and a group of fellow students were honored with a local trip to Western Michigan University, where he would go on to graduate cum laude with a BA in political science later on in life.

Throughout his schooling he wrote poetry and hip hop songs half-heartedly as the realities of normal life closed in around him. He began to see the world the way it truly was. He saw people doing things they hated every day to afford just enough food, shelter, and clothing to make them believe they were making progress.

RICO saw dead eyed beings all around him simply going through the motions. He saw zombies going numb in front of dazzling lights on television sets in every home and people desperately clinging to their families and children for identity and some form of validation of their existence. He saw individuals whom had let their dreams die through indifference at the behest of the loved ones in their lives urging them to be "realistic", and others finding comfort and purpose in abusing food, drugs and alcohol.

His observation of everything around him aroused a kind of crisis within him in which he felt the need to leave the US to find some sort of happiness. During his time at WMU he considered finishing his undergraduate education abroad. He was accepted to study at a university in Madrid, but chose to be more conventional and finish school locally, the cheaper way, to reduce his loan repayment burden when he found his way into the full-time workforce.

He noticed something strange happening. He felt he was losing his imagination, his ability to think creatively and to take chances. And it caused a severe anxiety within him to believe that he was losing the best of himself under the boot of a life path he was told would lead to happiness. He would wake up each day and stare at the ceiling of his campus apartment under the weight of an impossible sadness. He would lie there, with nothing to look forward to, and the truly bone chilling feeling that he was more dead than alive.

One summer day after walking home from the university, he threw down his book bag, and turned on some Miles Davis. He poured himself a glass of rum, stared out of the window next to the desk in his bedroom and began typing a story. That day of inspiration led to everything after. He began writing songs again and found purpose in life. He promised himself that he wouldn't live the way he had again because he now understood the consequences of ignoring his heart. He knew that the price of compromising his vision was death.

RICO made a decision henceforth that he would rather fail and deal with the harsh consequences of creating art that people rejected and not succeed in chasing his dreams, than to live as though dead in corporate servitude always wondering if his art would have given him life.

James Yancey (1974-2006)
http://www.j-dilla.com/biography/

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An underdog from the underground, Buffalo-bred rapper Westside Gunn brings the sounds of '90s hardcore rap into the 21st century alongside his brother and fellow emcee Conway. With their tales of street life, drugs, and gun violence, the pair have employed sample-heavy production in the gritty East Coast tradition of the Lox, Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, and the Wu-Tang Clan. In addition to his work with Conway and their Griselda labelmates, Westside Gunn branched out on his own with a series of Hitler Wears Hermes mixtapes issued in the 2010s, as well as solo albums such as Flygod (2016), Supreme Blientele (2018), and Pray for Paris (2020), the latter of which cracked the upper half of the Billboard 200. The lengthy, guest-heavy full-length And Then You Pray for Me appeared in 2023 and reached the Top 30 of the same chart. The EP 11 and a mixtape, Still Praying, were released almost simultaneously in 2024.

Born Alvin Lamar Worthy in Buffalo, New York, Westside Gunn started rapping at a young age. In high school, he joined with Conway (born Demond Price) and fellow rappers Benny the Butcher and Machine Gun Black as the Forerunners. They stuck together over the years and in the early 2010s, they founded Griselda Records. In addition to output as Westside Gunn & Conway, Worthy began issuing his own mixtapes, including the Hitler Wears Hermes series, which kicked off in 2012. With his strong, steady rhymes and often laid-back production, he released five installments of the Hermes series into 2017. 

His debut studio full-length, Flygod, arrived in 2016 and featured appearances by Benny, Conway, Roc Marciano, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, and more, as well as production by Statik Selektah and the Alchemist. In 2017, Griselda inked a deal with Eminem's Shady Records, which graduated Westside Gunn to the majors. That same year, he hopped onto a collaboration with MF Doom titled WestsideDoom, and a year later he issued his sophomore LP, Supreme Blientele, which featured many familiar faces from Flygod, as well as new guests Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak, and producers Pete Rock and 9th Wonder. 

After Griselda hit the Top Ten of Billboard's R&B/hip-hop and rap charts with WWCD, Westside issued the solo album Pray for Paris in April 2020. DJ Premier, DJ Muggs, the Alchemist, and Tyler, The Creator were among the contributors to the set, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 67 and the R&B/hip-hop chart at 39. A second Gunn album, Who Made the Sunshine, was initially set for release that August, but it was delayed following the death of longtime Griselda Records collaborator DJ Shay from COVID-19. The album eventually appeared in October 2020 and featured appearances by Benny, Conway, Slick Rick, Black Thought, and others. Two tracks, "Julia Lang" and "TV Boy," arrived in March 2021 as the first songs released off Gunn's mixtape Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely, Adolf. Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B followed. The mixtapes Peace "Fly" God and 10 (the final installment in the Hitler Wears Hermes series) appeared in 2022. The studio album And Then You Pray for Me arrived in 2023, boasting guests like Rick Ross, DJ Drama, Denzel Curry, and Boldy James. It reached number 29 on the Billboard 200. In 2024, Gunn issued the EP 11 as well as the DJ Drama-hosted mixtape Still Praying. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

In this place I/we create greatness. PRODUCER/LYRICIST 
IG @digitalkwan

Digital Kwan is a reclusive underground hip hop artist who has been making music for years. He is known for his unique sound, which pays homage to 90's hip hop. His music is a blend of classic boom bap beats and modern production techniques, creating a nostalgic yet contemporary sound.

Digital Kwan is a true fan of the genre, and his love for 90's hip hop is evident in his music. He draws inspiration from artists like MFDoom, Wu-Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest, and his lyrics often reflect the themes and issues prevalent in that era.

Digital Kwan prefers to stay out of the spotlight and let his music speak for itself. He rarely does interviews or public appearances, preferring to maintain a sense of mystery and enigma around him. His fans appreciate the authenticity and rawness of his music, and his influence can be heard in the work of many up-and-coming artists.

Digital Kwan's dedication to 90's hip hop has earned him a loyal following in the underground hip hop scene, and his music continues to inspire and resonate with listeners of all ages.

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