From fast food sales to car insurance, hip-hop fingerprints are those days.
This year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and Delaware has many ties to culture. Names like Eminem, Drake and Beyoncé have ties to First Estate. But that’s not all.
Here are 50 hip-hop facts and figures similar to La Petite Merveille:
Many rap performances have come to Delaware, and the biggest ones have been at The Woodlands of Dover at the 90,000-seat Firefly Music Festival.
Since the festival began in 2012, some notable hip-hop artists who have directed on the occasion come with Public Enemy, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, OutKast, Travis Scott, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, Ludacris, Nelly, T-Pain, Westside Boogie, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Gucci Mane, Chance The Rapper, Action Bronson, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Busta Rhymes, A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels.
Earl A. Cooper of Wilmington is a prominent PGA golf instructor who is also a co-founder of the Eastside Golf lifestyle apparel logo, which has given golf apparel an urban twist. the Jordan logo for the “Out of the Mud” collection. Ajanaku, two Morehouse College alumni, aiming to achieve a younger generation, adding other people who didn’t play golf. The couple made a hole-in-one with Eastside Golf.
Less than 10 seconds after his first verse in 1996’s “Street Dreams,” the Queens Nas legend called it First State, while rhyming a story about the drug trade:
“My guy introduced me to the fourth A component heading to Delaware, with a gear shift. “
The legendary rap trio Run DMC at Dickinson High School in Milltown in 1984. Almost 20 years later, the band Rock
Middletown’s Adam Blackstone has a knack for running at Super Bowl halftime. He made rap history in 2022 as musical director of the first hip-hop halftime exhibition at SB, for which he also played bass. The occasion attended through Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent. The legendary feature earned Blackstone an Emmy for his remarkable musical direction.
He continued to serve as musical director for Rihanna’s halftime show in 2023, an event that generated a stir when the singer revealed she was pregnant with a child of the moment.
Producer Ben Billions lives in Miami, but was born in Delaware. He has worked with a multitude of artists, including Beyoncé (“6 Inch”), Future (“Low Life”), The Weeknd (“Party Monster”) and several DJs. Ben Billions (Ben Diel) grew up in Rehoboth Beach, a block from manufacturer Starrah, according to an interview with Fader.
As mentioned above, producer Brittany’ Starrah Hazzard is also from Rehoboth Beach and her resume is also extensive. The manufacturer co-wrote Meg Thee Stallion’s “Savage” remix with Beyoncé, which won a Grammy. He has worked with other big names such as Drake (“Fake Love”), Big Sean with Eminem (“No Favors”), such as Tory Lanez, Kevin Gates, Rihanna and more. His voice appears on G-Eazy’s song “Order More,” which has over 66 million perspectives. on Youtube.
When rap artists want a song’s original owner to approve samples, they turn to Wilmington-born Deborah Mannis-Gardner, owner of DMG Clearances, Inc. Eminem, Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Kendrick Lamar and many more.
Famed boxing promoter Butch Lewis, who had a home in Bethany Beach, worked with Muhammad Ali, Joe Fraizer, Michael and Leon Spinx. In 2005, he introduced his own label called Voicez Music Group, a joint venture with iconic hip-hop label Def Jam and Universal.
Lewis, born in Woodbury, New Jersey, died in 2011. He was 65. His high-profile funeral was held at the Chase Center in Wilmington with actor Denzel Washington and boxer Mike Tyson in attendance, according to The Associated Press and Lewis. Obituary at CongoFuneralHome . com.
A long list of top rappers, from Nas to Wiz Khalifa, have worked with Newark maker Sap. Its call level is an acronym for Sound of a Pioneer. Trump,” Nipsey Hussle’s hit “Victory Lap” and Meek Mill’s “In My Bag. “
Did you know that the famous song “the roof is on fire” was probably triggered through a rap song with a connection to Delaware?That’s what AllHipHop. com co-founder Greg Watkins told News Journal/Delaware Online. The song we’re talking about is an ’80s vintage called “The Roof is on Fire” through Rock Master Scott and Dynamic Three.
About 33 seconds after the rap song, Delaware is dissected in the ultimate ’80s style:
“Now raise your hands in the air and wave them like you don’t care. What if you’re not a square Delaware and wear blank underwear and your mom gets welfare?Someone says oh, yes (oh, yes). “
Towards the end comes the annotated word “the roof is on fire”, followed by a component that played an important role in popularizing the song: “We don’t want water, that the mother does —- burn”.
“Old Town Road” rapper Lil Nas X is a fan of Delaware’s most popular furry: Dominique “SonicFox” McLean. Lil Nas posted a photo on Twitter with one of SonicFox’s stuffed animals. SonicFox is one of the most productive professional wrestlers of all. time, and essentially the Michael Jordan of sport. The player is known for dressing up in a fox costume in tournaments. On October 24, SonicFox tweeted in capital letters about his meeting with Lil Nas:
“OMG NOT ONLY LIL NAS X RECOGNIZED ME IN THE AVERAGE [. ] BUT HE INVITED ME TO THE STAGE AND WE HAVE PICTURES AND VIDEOS [. ] I’M AMAZING [. ] PLEASE SEND ME ALL THE PHOTOS. “
Before Cardi B has become a world-renowned artist, the New York local is a stripper. He stopped undressing in 2015 and one of his last performances at the Gold Club in Wilmington. It was a great moment when he returned to town in 2019, this time as a Grammy-winning artist headlining a concert at Chase Fieldhouse.
In 2014, when Ye was scheduled to headline the Budweiser Made in America Festival in Philadelphia, the rapper attended a wedding rite for a family circle member at the University and Whist Club in Wilmington, according to Delaware sources. Online/The News Journal at the time. Ye attended the rite with his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, and their one-year-old daughter, North.
There’s an explanation for why Billboard called Brandywine Hundred’s Derrick Milano “hip-hop’s favorite secret weapon. “The Concord High graduate has worked with many other stars, adding Justin Bieber, Pop Smoke and Nicki Minaj.
Jet Phynx (Parris Duncan), a Wilmington local, is one of the few Delaware rappers to appear in a song with Ye. More than a master of ceremonies, Jet Phynx is also a top-notch videographer. corporate production company Jet Phynx Films and owns a studio in Wilmington.
Jet Phynx has created music videos for many artists. He shot rapper DJ Holiday’s video for “Stress,” which was released in May. Includes OT Genasis and Firefly alun Wiz Khalifa.
He recorded singer Ashanti’s video for “Falling for You,” which was released in October and racked up five million views on YouTube. Jet Phynx has worked with local artists such as Dover venue Amillion The Poet and Wilmington emcee Richard Raw.
The cameraman last year hosted the Dirty Popcorn Film Noir Festival, which returns to the Delaware Museum of Art in Wilmington on Aug. 12.
After splitting from his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, Ye made headlines with a new woman in 2022: Dover local Chaney Jones. Jones, who looks like a clone of Kim, graduated from Caesar Rodney High School and college. Delaware. Si while Jones and Ye’s dates didn’t last long, the rapper allegedly bought her a $275,000 Hermes Birkin purse from Privé Porter, according to the New York Post.
Renowned photographer Joe del Tufo de Arden had a special assignment at the Grand in Wilmington in 2012. He asked to create the album canopy of Ye’s former labelmate Roc-A-Fella, Philly legend Beanie Sigel, who left the “This Time” project.
Beans, discussed in vintage cult “The Boondocks,” gave up streetwear for this photo shoot, dressed in a dress with a felt hat.
Del Tufo, who co-founded Moonloop Photography, opened Beans and took a photo of him holding a synthetic rose in his mouth like a bullfighter. This symbol gave the impression on Beanie’s album canopy, covering a road scene at sunset.
The co-host of the sports communication show “It Is What It Is” is also the same rapper Dipset who talked about Delaware in his 2004 song “Bubble Music. “Cam’ron had this to say about First State on the record:
“I have apparatus My earring is beautiful, the price: Three townhouses in Delaware. “
It can’t be said that her aunt married one of the greatest rappers of all time. Originally from Dover, Jakeem Smith is so close to the legend of the R.
Smith, who now lives in Atlanta, and Evans are connected to VH1’s “R” screen.
Smith, who runs public relations company Jay Productions, was a non-public assistant to Blackstone singer Nicci Gilbert when she starred in “R. “
Ye (formerly Kanye West) is the son of Ray West, who attended the University of Delaware. The “Life of the Party” rapper inherited some of his outspoken personality from his father. One moment that might have foreshadowed this was when Ray West was featured on the cover of The Review, UD’s student newspaper, in April 1970.
The article, titled “Blacks Liberate Lounge; Trabant Tried For Racism,” focused on how the elder West and 24 others occupied a student hall and conducted a mock trial, sentencing the former president of the UD E. A. to death. Trabant for ‘racism’, lying, hypocrisy and backstabbing. “
In the song “Beez in the Trap” through Nicki Minaj in 2012, he highlights a lot of cities where he gets money. Delaware, one of those who puts where “beez”:
“Ohio, Pittsburgh, St. Louis on the bridge It’s Delaware, Connecticut, it’s New Jersey that’s bricked It’s Queens, Brooklyn, and yes, they’re unleashing the Bronx, Harlem and Staten Island. “
Once again, the First Estate appears in the song. This time it comes from A Tribe Called Quest on the 1993 song “Award Tour”, which is probably a pun on “a world tour”. Similar to “Beez in the Trap”, the so-called Delaware is discussed along with other cities:
“We’re hiking with Muhammad, my guy goes with the microphone in his hand Houston, Delaware, DC, Dallas. “
DJ Klive (Keith Williams) is 14 years old, but he has already directed at the same level as heavyweights like Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion and Migos.
The young Wilmington turntable shared the bill with those artists, including DaBaby, Saweetie and Jeezy, all at Power 99’s Powerhouse hip-hop festival at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center in 2019.
This summer, DJ Klive is making plans for a mini tour with rapper Dylan “Young Dylan” Gilmer, star of Nickelodeon’s “Tyler Parry’s Young Dylan. “
Ye is arguably the most prominent rapper to have directed in Delaware. In 2004, he conducted at UD’s Bob Carpenter Center and in Kahunaville, Wilmington.
Jay-Z’s lifelong engineer, Young Guru (Gimel Keaton), is a Wilmington local who has worked with Jiggaman since the late ’90s. Young Guru has worked on at least 10 of Jay-Z’s albums, and added “The Black Album”. In the intro to the song “What More Can I Say”, Jay-Z addressed the engineer by name:
“Turn up the music / Lower me Guru, let’s move on again. “
One of the most respected DJs in the world lives in Bear. DJ Jazzy Jeff has been rampaging over turntables since the 1980s, and he’s still in the trenches. His rise to fame began with Will Smith in his duo called DJ Jazzy Jeff.
In honor of hip-hop’s anniversary, DJ Jazzy Jeff will hold a “Mixtape Live” concert at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on June 17. The occasion features 50 rap acts from the 70s and 90s such as Kurtis Blow, Large Professor and Onix.
In 2021, DJ Jazzy Jeff invited 15-year-old DJ prodigy Sophia Rocks (Sophia Clayton) and her circle of family to his Bear home, where she showcased her talent, so impressive the Grammy-winning turntable that it filled her with bubbles. .
A sophomore at Caesar Rodney High, DJ Sophia has curated celebrity events for artists such as Chris Brown, Meek Mill, Dwayne Wade, Lil Kim, as well as other major purposes such as New York Fashion Week.
The Dover resident has directed 10 times as a guest DJ for the New York Knicks at Madison Square, adding six this NBA season. This spring, DJ Sophia Rocks worked on Game 2, Round 2 at MSG when the Knicks played the Miami Heat.
One of the craziest moments in Firefly history happened on the set of rapper Waka Flocka Flame in 2017. A sign language interpreter went viral for gesticulating intensely with her hands for fans, as Flocka rocked the scene. years for captivating crowds at other rap performances that come with Wu-Tang Clan and Snoop Dogg.
Whether you’re mixing a Wu-Tang Clan song with The O’Jays or Lil Wayne with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Mr. Wired Up (Joe Zahn) has a habit of inventing unconventional mixes on TikTok, for his millions of fans. DJ’s content includes hip-hop remixes, adding a hit he released this spring with The Notorious B. I. G. rap on a Sublime track. His mixes are so contagious that ESPN has shared his content and Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. follows him on Instagram.
Two Glasgow High graduates founded one of the oldest platforms dedicated to covering hip-hop culture on the internet, giving birth to AllHipHop. com in 1998. “Grouchy” CEOs Greg Watkins and Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur are the AHH site, which has four million visitors a month. AHH has been identified through many artists, adding Jay-Z.
The site was also named Best Online Hip Hop Site/App at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2009. “We’ve been nominated almost every year [since],” Watkins said.
When Jam Master Jay of Run DMC shot himself in the head in New York in 2002, his death temporarily became a bloodless affair. New York District charges two men in 2020 for the death of Jam Master Jay, nearly 20 years later.
On May 30, Jay Bryant, the third user charged with homicide in the case, joins Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington.
Earlier this year, AllHipHop reported that the trial began belatedly after the death of one of the witnesses.
If you Google “Brizz Rawsteen,” search for his rap fights on YouTube, which get millions of views. The Wilmington war rapper is a fan favorite who has rocked the scenes of the industry’s biggest war league: Ultimate Rap League (URL). Brizz has faced some of the most beloved such as Tay Roc, Charlie Clips, Yung Ill and Arsonal.
One of Brizz’s most memorable moments came a few years ago in his war with Arsonal when he spat out a line about the little wonder, followed by a nostalgic reference to a popular video game series:
“My genuine call Brandon, I’m the genuine, damn, you’re not cut like me, yes, I’m from Delaware, yes, you know it well. And I have [companions] from Riverside to Belvedere, they will leave you buried there. “And I [People] am Snakes in the game, so we’re moving with Metal Gear. “
The first singer of R
Wilmington emcee Rakeem Miles is a Firefly alumnus who may be the only Delaware rapper to have directed on the Adult Swim television network. .
The Small Wonder found himself in the drug reference when Pusha T posted “Numbers on the Boards” in 2013:
“Mixing and displaying money, Biggs Burke on excursion Twenty-five bricks, moving paintings as a chore. Hitting Delaware twice, it took 25 more. “
Prominent Wilmington publicist Patientce Foster had “WAP” rapper Cardi B as her client. The Concord High graduate is also the artistic director of the music video for “WAP. “Foster has a clothing line called SuiteXVI. Before the pandemic, she ran Wilmington Living Room.
Wilmington’s own Sukihana generated a stir on the screen “Love”
Superhero actress Dominique Thorne divides her time between Wakanda and her home in tiny Delaware.
The “Black Panther” franchise is not a rap movie, but it has had an impact on hip-hop culture and vice versa. Black culture.
The first film in the series began with Kendrick Lamar and Top Dog Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith generating and arranging the film’s soundtrack.
Fresh off his role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Thorne is about to bring his character Riri Williams back to star in Disney’s “Ironheart” TV screen this fall.
Alfredo “Freedom Young” Austin loves to sing trendy hip-hop songs with a doo-wop twist. His more than 500,000 fans on TikTok agree. The Blue Hen and Newark venue has sung many songs through artists such as DaBathrough, Eminem, and Pop. He even did a doo-wop version of Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP. “Freedom Young is a masterful singer who joined the a cappella band on the Straight No Chaser national tour in late 2022.
Former Firefly 2018 Amillion The Poet (Amillion Mayfield) brought his own bottled water, 1NA Alkaline Water, last year. The gentle Dover emcee, who tours internationally, is also an alumnus of CR High and Delaware State University. of his source of income from hip-hop, which he has been doing for years. The head of hip-hop announced his “1NA Radio Show” on iHeart Radio, and announced his label 1NA Records, signing Wilmington artist Kason Miller. 1NA” is a pun on “1 in a million”.
Wilmington local Anthony “Dupree” Walker is used to rubbing shoulders with high-profile people, having worked on the truth show scenes, especially “Love. “
During the pandemic, Walker worked as a manufacturer for season 10 of “Love. “
The Atlanta transplant is a singer. Walker, who performed on the same poster as rapper T-Pain, is a member of the R organization.
When Firefly hosted its fourth festival in 2015, it invited Dover rap trio Cypher Clique to Delaware’s first rap organization in The Woodlands.
Cypher Clique features Mike “Mic Anthony” Thomas and brothers Daryl “D-Major” James and Jamal “Relay” James. Over the years, the trio has opened up for many rappers such as A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller, Wale, Meek Mill, Acción Bronson and many others.
What other library can you think of that brings together figures from hip-hop culture to meet the network at a loose event?The Wilmington Public Library is to blame for this. In recent years, they have brought famous speakers such as Grandmaster Flash of Rock.
Basketball and hip-hop have been connected in detail since the beginning. And Wilmington DJ Hugh, who grew up as a breakdancer, continues that special appointment as a DJ at the Philadelphia 76ers’ stadium. DJ Hugh (Andrew Hugh) is guilty of the music. and sound effects at Sixers games at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers hype is a veteran hip-hop chef who used to bump into The Fugees on the school bus in seventh grade. through the Wu-Tang clan.
Wilmington artist Alim Smith creates a specific art style that resembles a set by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. This brand of Afro-surrealism earned him a promotional art-creating assignment for the fourth and final season of FX’s comedy-drama “Atlanta,” an exhibition created through Donald Glover.
Glover is a fan of Smith’s style, and the promotional art he created for “Atlanta” has made an impression everywhere, adding print ads, virtual previews on streaming services, billboards and taxis in major cities across the country in 2022. This Delaware connection has another layer, as Donald Glover directed in Firefly under his rap alias, Childish Gambino, in 2014.
Hip-hop enthusiasts visiting Wilmington’s Go Vegan Philly restaurant will notice that some of the menu items are named after rappers, such as vegan fish cakes with cornbread (The Fresh Prince), quinoa stir-fry (Jazzy Jeff), and crispy oyster mushrooms served on long rolls (Eve). The eating place, which serves some of Delaware’s most productive cheese steaks, has also been subsidized through Roc Nation maker Jahlil Beats, which has worked with stars like Drake, Prince and Future. Sean Thomas and Charmaine Quarles opened the Wilmington Dining Place in 2020, after Thomas moved from his former location in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, which was named Best New Vegan Restaurant at the Philadelphia Vegan Awards in 2019.
Wilmington lyricist Richard Raw, leader of the Word Warrior Band, opened for rap legends like Talib Kweli and KRS-One. This year, Black History Month, Raw conducted interviews with rap icon Slick Rick and activist Julius Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey. . In 2021, the Delaware Division of the Arts awarded Richard Raw an individual artist research fellowship. As a network activist on and off stage, Raw is program director and facilitator of the Culture Restoration Project, a Wilmington-based nonprofit that has evolved youth enrichment systems based on coordinated arts and cultural programs and events in the city.
These days, Travis Scott is a headliner who is romantically connected to Kylie Jenner. But before his career exploded, he opened for Machine Gun Kelly at the Foxtail Festival in Wilmington in 2013. Ironically, the two artists alternated roles when playing Firefly. Travis titled Firefly in 2019, followed by MGK, who played the smaller Wonder Stage in 2021.
A month before the 2020 presidential election, popular URL war rappers Charlie Clips and DNA made the impression in a Biden-sponsored approval video for the long-term president. then engaged in a combat rap about why Donald Trump didn’t deserve her vote. It was pretty random.
Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal contributed to this story (rcormier@delawareonline. com).
If there’s a hip-hop fact or artist we missed, or if you have an appealing idea for a short story, email lifestyle journalist Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett. com. Consider subscribing to their weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline. com/newsletters.
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