Denitia official site | Denitia on Twitter | Denitia on Facebook | Denitia on Instagram | Denitia on YouTube | Denitia on Spotify

What’s left when you strip everything ceremonial away? It’s a terrifying question for most artists as interlocking layers of disguises and aliases and personalities can sometimes be the only barrier between you and the weight of the world’s expectations. The prospect of facing those anxieties while laid bare can spur many to wear those masks forever, but there are some artists who see distillation as the only way forward. Denitia Odigie knows that path as well as anyone. She was stricken with such severe stage fright as a young performer that she asked people to turn around or close their eyes before she could begin. But that’s all changed, and she’s ready to face her audience eye to eye.

Denitia’s Ceilings is a portrait of an artist awakened. After moving to the Rockaways, an isolated, beach-side Queens community, Odigie found herself turning inward for inspiration. She set out to shed the protective layers her career had imposed and rediscover what songs and sounds came naturally to her. She also wanted this story to have her name on it: no more aliases, no more hiding.

Denitia discovered a fellow traveler in Daniel Schlett, the owner of the Williamsburg recording studio, Strange Weather. The pair dug through stacks of Denitia’s demos, selecting the choice cuts that would eventually yield the Ceilings EP. The symbiosis between the pair can be felt through each song as Denitia’s sweeping compositions breathe and tighten at just the right moments. It starts with the anger and frustration on “Bound to Happen,” where Denitia first faces the illusions surrounding her and shatters them to pieces. The song begins spare as a dirge, but then fills with bright, vibrant synths as Denitia begins taking a sledgehammer to the ersatz world around her. That clear-eyed perspective is then cemented on “Waiting” and “Ceilings,” twin tracks that are meditations on the world’s self-imposed separations and segregations, and serve as pleas to break down those barriers we unwittingly construct. The EP closes with “Planes,” described by Denitia as a song about the “constant longing for more, of wanderlust and desire.” The track’s spine is in its vibrant piano and drum composition that lets Denitia’s voice soar and search, a sign that Ceilings is only the beginning.

Khary on Twitter | Khary on Instagram | Khary on Soundcloud

Khary is a rapper from Providence, RI. Priding himself on having an energetic live show, he has performed both domestically and internationally while opening up for the likes of Tory Lanez, Kyle, Michael Christmas, Kid Ink, Talib Kweli, Royce Da 5’9”, Jermaine Fowler, Alex Wiley, and Jordan Bratton. His music has been featured on high caliber outlets including Pigeons & Planes, The FADER, Mass Appeal, Soulection, Sway’s Universe, BBC Radio 1XTRA, XXL, Earmilk, Hot97, Stereogum, All Def Digital, 2DopeBoyz, HipHopDX, and many more.

In May of 2016, Khary released his debut solo project, “Intern Aquarium.” that was met with high praise, lead to a campaign with Sprite, a headlining slot at the Austrian festival “Rap Against”, and two independently funded tours.

On July 28th 2017, Khary released a collaborative EP with Columbus producer Lege Kale titled, “Tidal Graves”. Simultaneously Khary is working on his next solo project which is also due at the end of year.

In the fall of 2016, Khary launched a company called Kousteau, based around the idea of having an outlet for creative ventures outside of his music. The first project was a merch line based around the release of his “Intern Aquarium.” project. Within the short span of six months, Kousteau has already managed to bring in over 500 orders of merch from t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, the signature “INTERN” hoodie and a collaboration with clothing brand EPTM USA.

L’Rain official site | L’Rain on Facebook | L’Rain on Instagram

L’Rain is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer whose sound borrows equally from 90’s R&B, music concrete, and ambient soundscapes. Both flippantly celebratory and lusciously introspective, her music is a meditation on the following: “The new black music is this: find the self and kill it.”

“…one-woman studio band…that’s a sea of loops: guitar arpeggios, synthesizer burbles, endless layers of vocal harmony.”

JON PARELES, NEW YORK TIMES

“…filled with experiments in looping, field recording, layered vocals and guitar arpeggios that call to mind th best moments of Stereolab or Frank Ocean’s Endless.”

TINY MIX TAPES

“A swelling orchestra of lush soundscapes and hypnotizing, layered melodies…multi-instrumentalist L’Rain…is beyond lovely. Soft spoken , at times, but pulsating with warmth…a gripping roller coaster of unexpected sounds and emotions…”

AFROPUNK