DJ Premier, Alchemist, Kanye West, Pete Rock, and J-Rawls.
Sounds Like
Well production style reflects my influences. I can't really pinpoint what it sounds like take a listen ya self and you can post your comments and decide!
Hiphop/R&B producer Entity is Washington DC's representative for New England collective Poorly Drawn People, but his career began with a confrontation far up the coast, back in his hometown, in the city of Cranston, Rhode Island.
"I was high school kid bootlegging DMX CD's. He was hot at the time, and all I knew of hiphop at that time was what I heard on the radio or saw on MTV," Entity recalls. "Then my man Manzi from a cross-town school called me out for getting on that commercial sh*t."
Despite having no previous exposure to the vast underground, Entity quickly soaked up the new genre that his friend revealed to him: "Living Legends, 7L & Esoteric were the first cats I heard, and it went from there. From a more general standpoint, I had always been an avid music fan, especially jazz and the corny early-90s rap, and of course early West Coast like Death Row. My first hiphop album was probably Doggystyle by Snoop. That's what I grew up on."
As a high school student on course to become a computer major in college, Entity looked to familiar ground to beef up his knowledge of the underground. The Internet was a fertile place for independent hiphop in the late '90s, and Entity immersed himself in it all.
Entity began to venture out to local hiphop shows, as well as the Providence tour stops of more major indie rap acts. "I remember my first show was Sage Francis, Skitzofreniks, Esoteric, and DJ Big Stress at the University of Rhode Island I was blown away. I knew then that this was something I definitely wanted to do."
He became an avid listener of New England college radio, including Sage's infamous WRIU program. (Entity would later go on to host a show on the station with future Poorly Drawn People member Dox. Entity and WRIU's legendary Tone Capone currently form the DJ/producer team Sellout Selectahs).
Entity decided it was time to get off the bench and join the game. "I hooked up with Reason (who would later re-team with Entity in PDP) and Bles (now a part of Ducksoup Records, home to Prolyphic). They were rappers, so I told them I made beats. The problem was that I actually didn't."
Entity enlisted his friend Sab Ill Finga (later a DJ for OVM. and Deck Demons, now a member of the Trillion Cuts production crew) to help him live up to his claims. "Sab came through with some vinyl and some drumbreaks and we went to work." Sab and Entity joined forces and dropped a few mixtapes, one of which (Third Eye Concept presents Rhode Trip ) was distributed through now-defunct indie hiphop powerhouse Landspeed.
As time progressed, Entity began to network and build with more and more of the highest caliber local artists. Early associations with Lingo, Shawn Jackson, Crisis, Matty Mischief, and Frankie Riptide helped to establish Entity as a strong production presence in the Rhode Island hiphop scene. His remix of "Personal Ads" on Time Machine's 12" single, as well as work featuring Chino XL and Main Flow (MOOD), introduced him to the national stage as a beatsmith to be reckoned with.
In 2004, Entity rejoined his old partners Dox and Reason and teamed with emcees Symmetry and Storm Davis, producer/emcee The Mean, and DJs Dusty Frazier (ex-Funkbunker Fleet) and Fantis to form Poorly Drawn People, his current crew. He contributed to Symmetry's acclaimed debut CD, Cat Drop Complex, and acted as executive producer for Storm Davis' Kegstand Poetry for the Recovering Alcoholic album.
January of 2006 saw the long-delayed release of Entity's first full-length solo production album, Past Due . Appearances from Need Not Worry (Formulatin Fathers), Emilio Lopez (DoeRaker$), Lootchiano & Melea, Alius of OVM, and his PDP partners highlight the CD.
The future is bright for the heatmaker: projects ahead include a new group venture with Lootchiano and soul singer Anthony Green; his aptly-titled follow-up album Second Wind; a mixtape project with DJ Remedy; future projects with the Rum Runners; upcoming projects Storm Davis; as well as many assorted singles on various upcoming projects. Entity will continue to bring his signature brand of hiphop to Washington, Providence, and every other city ready for a whole new brand of ill.
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