Kokayi’s Grind
Deanwood MC Kokayi is on a roll. On Monday, we learned that Ebony magazine named him, wife Seshat, daughter Phina, and son Dahvi one of the coolest black families in America. Then we learned that Kokayi secured a Sister Cities grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which will fund his [...]
"They say you got your whole life to make your first album," raps Oddisee at the top of "Ready to Rock," the triumphant, densely collaged opener of People Hear What They See, D.C. music critics' pick for the year's best local album. But for the Sudanese-American producer/MC, it didn't take a lifetime to finally pull [...]
City Paper-approved MC Kokayi goes head to head with his kid son in a freestyle battle. Watch! [Potholes In My Blog]
City Paper-approved guitarist Alex Minoff releases his album. Listen! [Bandcamp]
Bruce Springsteen throws his weight behind President Barack Obama in Virginia, and Rep. Eric Cantor's Democratic opponent in Virginia's 7th Congressional District has an advocate in bluegrass [...]
It was just three weeks ago that Kokayi released Pro Deo et Patria, a lively set of bouncy electro-pop on which the Northeast resident bemoaned racial injustice and police helicopters, among other things.
Released late Thursday, Kokayi's "Four Four" is a creeping rock ballad featuring a couple notable names in D.C. music: Zo! (a frequent collaborator [...]
Tricia Olszewski leads this week's arts section with her take on Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, which she says it's "expertly crafted and acted," but with some damning plot failures. She follows with her take on Josh Radnor's rom-com Liberal Arts, concluding that maybe dude should stick to doing sitcoms.
In theater, Rebecca Ritzel praises Round [...]
Each month, the Smithsonian American Art Museum hosts Luce Unplugged, a best-kept-secret of a concert series that's featured stripped-down sets from great acts like John Davis, Birdlips, Deleted Scenes, and Aaron Thompson. For the series' September installment, the Luce folks reached out to Washington City Paper to curate a lineup. We picked three acts we love: Grammy-nominated rapper/crooner/producer Kokayi; The Caribbean, and Alex Minoff. The show is [...]
What are you doing Friday, Sept. 14? Nothing? OK, we've got you covered.
Each month, the Smithsonian American Art Museum hosts Luce Unplugged, a best-kept-secret of a concert series that's featured stripped-down sets from great acts like John Davis, Birdlips, Deleted Scenes, Aaron Thompson, and more. The setting is the museum's intimate Luce Foundation Center for [...]
At a recent TED talk in D.C., Kokayi spoke on his love for hip-hop, a genre he says infuses all others. "When I hear people talk about 'Hey man, do you like rock music?' I'm like 'Yeah, I like rock music,'" he told the crowd. "It's hip-hop, with guitars."
Then perhaps his three-year-old ensemble The Dafnis Prieto Proverb [...]
You never know what to expect from Kokayi. On 2010's Robots & Dinosaurs, the Southwest D.C. native experimented with electro-pop and rock, with strong results. His subsequent remix album repackaged Robots & Dinosaur's chilling themes with bouncy dance beats. And after hitting you with old music from his first beat machine, Kokayi took listeners on a [...]
In September 2010, Prince George's County native Substantial and Seattle producer Marcus D. released their Bop Alloy project, a greasy hip-hop album more suited for adult contemporary radio than urban airwaves. Sure, piano chords, string arrangements, and horn solos aren't foreign to rap, but the abundance of such instruments made songs like "Chillaxation" and "Still [...]
