LPR + Dice Raw present

Jun

16

I Got Life, in residence celebrating Black Music Month I Got Life, in residence celebrating Black Music Month

with Gina Castanzo, Deva Mahal, Range Da Messenga, Denitia, Donn T, Tiani Victoria & hosted by Dice Raw

Thu June 16th, 2016

11:00PM

Minimum Age: 21+

Doors Open: 11:00PM

Show Time: 11:00PM

Event Ticket: $15

Day of Show: $20

event description event description

LPR + Dice Raw Present “I Got Life,” a Thursday night residency in celebration of Black Music Month.
 
Line-up:
Black Thought
Gina Castanzo
Deva Mahal
Range Da Messenger
Denitia Odigie
Donn T
Tiani Victoria
 
Hosted by: Dice Raw
DJ: Mark Kelley
House Band: Mozaic Flow
 
This is a general admission, standing event.

the artists the artists

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Black Thought

The Roots official site | Black Thought on Facebook | Black Thought on Twitter
 
After a successful series debut in April with a screening of The Last Dragon featuring a conversation with both Taimak and El DeBarge, Black Thought is back with the second installment: Juice. The event will feature director Ernest Dickerson, emcee Rakim, and actors Khalil Kain and Jermaine Hopkins.
 
Black Thought is the lead singer/MC for the hip-hop band The Roots, who also serve as the house band for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on NBC. Black Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, is a four-time Grammy award winner (most recently for executive producing the ‘Hamilton’ cast recording), widely lauded for his complex and politically aware lyrical content, his sharply honed live performances, and his poignant acting roles.

Gina Castanzo

Deva Mahal

Deva Mahal official site | Deva Mahal on Facebook | Deva Mahal on Twitter | Deva Mahal on Instagram

Deva Mahal was born with the blues in her blood. Becoming the genre-defying artist, powerhouse vocalist and astute songwriter that she is today could only be achieved through living a life rich with pain, joy, loss, love, heartache and experience. A soul as singular as Deva’s can only find voice through an equally unique sound, which she’s forged by growing her blues roots through the fertile soil of modern R&B, indie-pop, soul, rock and gospel.

Listeners will get their first taste of that distinctive approach in October 2017 with the release of Deva’s debut EP from Motéma Music. The full scope of her voice and vision will be revealed in 2018 on Run Deep, her aptly-named first album, produced by Scott Jacoby (Vampire Weekend, José James, Coldplay) with two tracks produced by Jarrett Wetherell. The title captures not only her estimable musical bloodline but the finely-hewn emotions that course through her songs. Deva plumbs her own emotional depths to explore issues of overcoming adversity, battling one’s own demons and dealing with the pains of love and loss, alongside wry observations on contemporary romance. She breathes vivid life into those songs with a knockout voice that combines pulse-pounding soul with a decidedly modern edge. Deva (presciently, or perhaps an example of self-fulfilling prophecy, her name is pronounced “Diva” but given a slight twist) is the daughter of blues icon Taj Mahal and

Inshirah Mahal, a dancer, artist and educator who Deva refers to as “my rock.” Their support and influence combined with Deva’s inborn passion and soaring talents make her a formidable and inspirational artist. Those remarkable facets come together strikingly on Run Deep, which is composed of ten new songs and a powerful cover of a King/Goffin hit from the 1970s. Deva’s songs are as infectious as they are stirringly personal, placing her powerfully moving voice in the service of raw, vulnerable explorations of resonant emotion.

The sultry grit of “Can’t Call It Love” kicks off the album, followed by the bold R&B stomp of “Snakes,” a warning sent to Deva’s younger self (and girls like her) to watch out for people with less than your best intentions in mind. The late-night groove of “Turnt Up”, (a duet with Allen Stone), sways under the trance of Deva’s whiskey-soaked seductiveness, and Stone’s equally sly counterpoint, while the elegiac spirituality of “Fire” traces a path through trial and demons. The album’s title track is a celebration of the power of music itself, featuring Deva’s sister Coco Peila; despite its title, “Dream” is a clear-eyed, wide-awake reflection on a love gone wrong.

An organ-driven rock beat propels “Optimist,” which could serve as Deva’s one-word mission statement. “It’s Down To You” shows off Deva’s soulful balladry, “Shards” her ability to reveal her very core in a stark, confessional anthem. “Wicked” is an electro-soul call to action in the vein of Stevie Wonder’s politically charged classics. The album comes full circle with a cover of the Carole King/Gerry Goffin song “Take a Giant Step” – originally recorded by The Monkees and famously covered by Taj Mahal in 1969, but rendered profoundly current and personal in Deva’s own rendition.

Her songs draw on a deep well of personal experience, serving as revelations, cautionary tales, and empowerment anthems. “When you are bullied and treated like you don’t belong, or faced with great adversity at a young age,” she says, “you learn ways to cope. Music gave me an outlet to express the pain of those experiences and the strength to challenge racial, physical and gender stereotypes.”

She is defiant in voice as well as in person, bravely putting herself forward as an exemplar of positive body image and overcoming the travails of bullying and discrimination. She’s also lent her support and talents to organizations like “Voices of a People’s History of the United States” which are working to cast the light of truth on racial inequality, gender stereotypes, and bias as well as issues surrounding poverty.

“It’s incredibly important to me to not succumb to pressure to conform to any standard of beauty or body type,” Deva asserts. “I believe that beauty has no size or skin color and I want to smash down those preconceptions.”

Raised in Kauai, Hawaii, Deva discovered her passion for music at a very young age. Despite her parental role models, her talent and drive arose naturally, long before she became aware that she was following in their footsteps. Even before her earliest memories, Deva’s family recall her seizing any opportunity to sing in front of a crowd, gradually improving and always feeding off the positive energy of an audience, however small. She had her first real gig at the age of 5 and made her professional debut at 12 – and has rarely stayed away from a stage for long since.

Initially aspiring to a career on Broadway, Deva moved to the mainland to study theater at Southern Oregon University, but those plans were derailed by the unexpected death of her sister. To regroup, she moved to the Bay Area with two of her other sisters, until the events of 9/11 prompted her to join her mother in New Zealand. While there she decided to study jazz and vocal performance and slowly began to make a name for herself on the Wellington music scene.

A successful tour of Europe with “hi-tek soul” band Fat Freddy’s Drop opened the wider world to Deva, and in 2007 she determined to try her luck in New York City, a long-abandoned dream finally coming to belated fruition. Once there she became a fixture at Brooklyn jam sessions, tirelessly set her experiences to music, and earned a significant buzz as half of the duo Fredericks Brown, with fellow New Zealand ex-pat Steph Brown.

The wider world started to realize Deva’s songwriting talents in 2008, when “Never Let You Go,” a co-write with her father, gained acclaim on the Grammy-nominated album Maestro. She’s also collaborated with a wide-ranging array of artists, including  members of TV on the Radio, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and Fat Freddy’s Drop. She’s performed at such renowned venues and festivals as Sonar, Womad,  Carnegie Hall, The Apollo the Atlanta Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and Montreux Jazz Festival

“Every experience in life leaves a mark,” Deva sums up. “Evidence of its existence. Some experiences leave scars, deep grooves inside your very soul that never truly leave you. That is where Run Deep comes from. I never want to wade in the shallow places in life because it’s easier, safer or more comfortable. My music speaks a lot about pain and heartache, but I dive into those feelings, submerge myself in them so I can work through them and get to the other side.”

Range Da Messenga

Introducing hip-hop Neo Soul Dynamic Duo Range da Messenga and Hezekiah. This summer, Range da Messenga teams up with “Philly’s premier underground beat-maker” (URB Magazine) HEZEKIAH for an exclusive 3 track digital-maxi single. Warming the world up for their upcoming EP “Battlecry”. In just two years, self proclaimed Hip Hop Hustla, Range da Messenga has positioned himself, through popular live music venues of Philadelphia, as the next soulful singer & songwriter to watch. From southwest Virginia, this “singer, emcee and dread-locked philosopher” (The Roanoke Times) has been singing, songwriting, arranging, recording, and performing for over half his life, but only since he moved to Philadelphia in 2010 did Range begin to grab the attention of America’s soulful elite. Sharing stages with the likes of Bilal, Raheem DeVaughn, Glenn Lewis, Marsha Ambrosius, Lupe Fiasco, Syleena Johnson, Kindred the Family Soul, The Wailers and many more, Range da Messenga is poised to be the next recognizable voice in the world of Hip Hop Soul. [Neo Soul Cafe]

Denitia

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.

Donn T

The electrifying soulful presence that is Donn T comes from such a rich lineage of musical heritage that makes itself very obvious when listening to her music. Musical ability like hers can’t be taught, brought or sold, it can only come from within fresh with it’s raw hypnotic nature that captures the listeners. The singer, songwriter, producer, musician, label owner and Philadelphia Native has just released her much anticipated album, Flight Of The Donn T, which comes along with a string up upcoming tour dates, festivals and appearances. Two songs from the project, “Waiting” and “Midnight” have appeared in recent films. “Waiting” appears in award winning director Ava Duvernay’s I Will Follow, while “Midnight” appeared in the Lifetime movie This Ring, which featured Jill Scott, Regina Hall and Eve. [Dubard, Parle Mag]
 
Donn-T official site
Donn-T on Facebook

Tiani Victoria

hosted by Dice Raw

Karl “Dice Raw” Jenkins is a mainstay of the Philadelphia Hip-Hop Scene, and most commonly associated over the years as a principal songwriter/collaborator /producer for The Roots.
 
At the young age of 15, the legendary Roots crew first took Dice Raw under their umbrella, when their production member, Kelo, first discovered him at a local talent show. Little did they know, Dice had already begun his music industry career at age 13, when he worked in California for New Edition offshoot, Bell Biv Devoe. Dice Raw’s debut with the band came on their classic, “The Lesson, Pt. 1”, and soon after, he made a name for himself with cameos on “Episodes” and “Adrenaline”, where his hard-hitting style complemented the heady rhymes of Roots leader, Black Thought. Dice Raw has made several guest appearances on several mixtapes. He made an appearance in fellow band member and beatboxer Scratch’s first solo album, Embodiment of Instrumentation.
 
In 2014, Dice Raw has taken on the cause of Black male incarceration in America with his magnum opus, “Jimmy’s Back” – [iTunes link]. The highly acclaimed concept album inspired by New York Times bestselling book “The New Jim Crow” is a lyrical odyssey through the plight of the prison system, told musically by Dice Raw and a cadre of excellent MC ex-felons. Most recently, the album debuted as the stage play “The Last Jimmy” at Philadelphia’s coveted Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. He also has plans to release a book in the near future, and was an instrumental contributor to The Roots’ 2014 album, “And Then You Shoot Your Cousin”, released in May 2014.
 
Dice Raw official site
Dice Raw on Facebook
Dice Raw on Twitter

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