A New Class of Rap
Boston/New York-based hip-hop duo Black Hoodie Rap have been working to carve a niche into the rap landscape. Integrating a passion for some obscure musical genres and an emanating love for traditional boom bap, these boys have followed a path unexplored by most. From their inception they’ve been trailblazers — leading the way for a new class of collegiate-minded, tech-savvy crowd of hip-hoppers to make their mark in the game.
College can be a time of exploration in a number of different ways. For some it’s a chance to spread their wings outside of the nest and get a taste for the real world without having to hold down a real job. Others treat the years as a last hurrah of adolescence and freedom—trying drugs and getting laid as much as possible before settling into an office job for the rest of their lives.
Another group of individuals use their time in college to find their true passions and pursue them, gaining knowledge and experience in the incubational university setting.
Mark DiSalvo and Brandon Dottin fall into this last category, the ones that show up on college’s welcome mat with bright eyes and big hopes, looking to embrace all that secondary education has to offer.
Many MCs and producers have a traditional back story, getting into rap music via graffiti or break dancing, but neither member of BHR took any sort of conventional path into making hip-hop music. Both DiSalvo and Dottin came into their roles in BHR via academia, proving again the elevation of hip-hop into the collegiate sphere has reshaped the way it’s received by many.
There’s no blueprint; you have to work really hard.
Journalism brought DiSalvo around, his focus at the time BHR came into existence. DiSalvo was writing news articles for Boston-based online hip-hop retailer UndergroundHipHop.com (UGHH) at the time, connecting his course of study to a passion for hip-hop.
“DJing was the coolest thing for me,” says DiSalvo, who handles the production for BHR, explaining how he first became enthralled with the art of cuts and breaks. He continues by explaining the transition into beatmaking, “I realized what I was really interested in was production.”
When he and Dottin began working together, he had already started learning Pro Tools on his own and was starting to think of music as a serious career option. “I knew I’d go into music—in some capacity—midway through college,” he explains.
Dottin’s path stemmed from another art form entirely. His studies in film lead him to believe he had a future in directing rather than rapping. “I was much more interested in music videos,” confesses Dottin, denying any conscious knowledge that it would someday parlay into his own musical endeavors.
He stepped into MCing with a longtime appreciation for poetry. The sound of flowing words and strong metaphors intrigued Dottin even from a young age.
Although they met in 2006 during their freshman year at Northeastern University in Boston, they didn’t really start hanging out until the Spring of 2008 when Dottin enrolled in a music production class using ProTools software and they began working together to learn the intricacies involved in hip-hop production.
The two took DiSalvo’s previous experience with the program and what Dottin had learned in class to their slab-stone dorm rooms. The name, derived from the opening lines of Jay-Z’s “Brooklyn (Go Hard)”, is an indication of the type of music they set out to make.
The pair picked up quickly, moving on to make music in the studios available at Northeastern and eventually setting up their own vocal booth in an apartment closet.
It took them a year and a half to get to the point where they were comfortable with their music and ready to release their first project. Fast forward to October 27, 2009 and the group’s initial release, For Rent was made available for free download across the ‘net.
“Some grit”, they call it because, “it’s not polished.” The music from their debut release has the sort of elements that are hard to define. They’re hard to point out like an evolving sound-scape that’s constantly changing in consistency and complexity. Their website cites initial influence from favorites such as 60’s blues rock and 80’s punk… check; hair-band metal power chords… check; down-tempo classical orchestra … check. Each piece is lined up linearly and the entire package is brazened with the flavor of hip-hop’s most identifiable constructions and seasoned to perfection.
Sometimes it’s hardest to get the support of people that know you coming in.
“It’s a big step,” says DiSalvo, “going from making a beat with maybe one verse and no hook to making a full song,” recalling the process of recording their first three tracks that took them nearly an entire summer.
Their leap into hip-hop came pretty easily, because their very distinct blend of eclectic tastes and sounds is so unique it put them in a new sort of class – one that doesn’t work well with conventional comparisons.
It also put them into a new class socially; diving from the ranks of normal students to recording artists meant a total shift in identity amongst their peers.
“Sometimes it’s hardest to get the support of people that know you coming in,” says Dottin, explaining how his mother only officially gave him her blessing a few weeks prior to the interview, “But, when we decided to do this, we didn’t yell ‘I’m a rapper!’ and be in people’s faces – we used a lot of word of mouth.”
“It shows you who your friends really are,” adds DiSalvo. “You always have to bypass stigma.”
“There’s no blueprint; you have to work really hard.”
Dottin explains how he deals with it by focusing the people most important to him. “Make sure the people around you know what you’re doing, you’ve got to get their support before you get the world’s support.”
We haven’t changed who we are.
“We haven’t changed who we are,” says DiSalvo.
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January 30th, 2010 at 12:38 am
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January 30th, 2010 at 12:43 am
[...] Click Here to read “A New Class of Rap”, our feature in aboveGROUND Magazine! By Mark, on January 29th, 2010 | Tags: aboveground magazine, black hoodie rap, boston, hip-hop, new york, rap | Category: News, black hoodie rap [...]
January 31st, 2010 at 8:43 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Marty, Zach Cole, Gavin Smith, Mike Jones, aboveGround Magazine and others. aboveGround Magazine said: RT @ZachInBoston: Check out @BlackHoodieRap on @abovegroundmag: New Post: A New Class of Rap http://bit.ly/9mZatr [...]
January 31st, 2010 at 9:07 pm
I can’t find Black Hoodie Rap’s music online. They got a myspace? email me back.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:43 am
@Moth1ne: Hey man, I don’t think they have a MySpace page but you can listen to more music and get more info on their webpage. There’s a media player in the middle of the page on the right side, check it out here (http://blackhoodierap.net/). Also, you can check em out on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Hoodie-Rap/139556535891).
February 20th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for showing them to the site, Justin.
Moth1ne, we keep http://blackhoodierap.net as our portal for everything us. You’ll find all our music there, as well as our daily blog and anything we’re involved in. You can also stream and download FOR RENT from http://blackhoodierap.bandcamp.com
Thanks for taking an interest in us. And a big thank you to Tyler for taking the time to interview us and put together this piece!
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:28 pm
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March 8th, 2010 at 8:12 am
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