They say Hip Hop is something you live, not something you do. Rediculus, born Todd Dahn, is the perfect example of that saying. Born in the early ‘70s, he has lived with hip-hop in his blood his whole life. Through his talent he now brings it to life in his tracks, which are steadily building up steam and popularity and the rebirth of “real hip-hop”.
Music found Rediculus at an early age, growing up in a house in Buffalo, NY, where you were just as likely to hear The Statler Brothers as you were Nina Simone. In elementary school he played drums and clarinet, earning a chair in the New York All State Band playing clarinet. He watched Hip- Hop grow, finding inspiration in the works of DJ Premiere, DJ Muggs, Dr. Dre, Diamond D, and Pete Nice. At 19 at the insistence of his roommate who was tired of Rediculus breaking strings on his bass guitar showing him ideas he had, Rediculus purchased his first keyboard/sampler and drum machine to try his hand at making beats.
Rediculus spent the next 10 years in the recording studio teaching himself how to write, record/engineer and produce music, culminating in the release of his first studio album in 2000, Sessions Vol.1 – Friends and Family, which featured some of Chicago’s hottest underground talent at the time including Abstract Mindstate, Task Force, Cos G and WordPerfect.
In 2001, he produced Nizm’s debut album, Subtle Perspectives. He built his own recording studio, The Delivery Room and continued working on refining his sound, producing for Third Generation of Hip Hop, Clip, Big C and other neighborhood underground emcees.
In 2004, armed with a new group of emcees and a lot more experience, Rediculus entered the studio again and over the next 4 years recorded over 60 songs with Rich Malone, Prome, Big Al, Charlie Hustle, Airon, Chuck Chill and Stoob, ending up with his next project, the highly anticipated Masters of Conversation debut album First Words Spoken.
In 2010 Rediculus has worked with a variety of artists not only in Chicago but around the globe. He is currently recording with Kayser9soze on his next opus, working with Airon on an RnB/Hip Hop/Jazz fusion project, producing 5 songs and a remix for Capital R in London for his debut album., Other projects include Lewi Ldn’s new mixtape, Pair-a-Dyce’s new mixtape, writing for his next solo instrumental project, remixing tracks for various artists around the globe and also writing music for the next Masters of Conversation album.
2010 was Rediculus’s best year to date, ending with a distribution deal with Island/Def Jam to digitally distribute his music globally. The 3rd installment of the Masters of Conversation series, ReVerb, was released to critical acclaim with the mixtape version of the project hosted by the legendary Bronx NY DJ, DJ Ready Cee. It spawned his most popular single to date – the heart felt “Traditions” featuring up and coming Houston MC Pair-a-Dyce. Rediculus has gone on this year to craft beats for Capital R’s debut EP, Kayser9Soze’s upcoming opus, Click Animosity and Gage the Conqueror’s upcoming release and is knee deep in his own projects.
In 2011 he released the critically acclaimed ‘Walking Down Broken Paths’ instrumental album and many more.
Rediculus has just produced the Masters of Conversation ‘Punchlines & Parables’ album which features some of hip hop’s hottest MC’s such as Ruste Juxx, Craig G, Sha Stimuli, Emilio Rojas, Chubb Rock, Koncept and The Audible Doctor from Brown Bag All Stars, Big Dutty Deeze, Chaundon, Notoriety, Stumik Icewater, Sadat X, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Red Eye, Pair-a-Dyce, Nine and many more.
The album itself is both a return to the Golden Era sound but with a glimpse into the future of sound of hip hop showcasing his wide variety of musical influences. With a string of superb reviews and last week’s album launch party in New York under his belt, the album continues to go from strength to strength. Digitally distributed globally by Island/Def Jam, ‘Punchlines & Parables’ is out now on iTunes.
For further information drops or production contact:
tdahn@knowledgegivingbirth.com
www.knowledgegivingbirth.com
Your Say