Christylez Bacon
| Christylez Bacon | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Christon Bacon |
| Born | 5 March 1986 |
| Origin | Southeast, Washington, D.C. |
| Genres | Hip hop, classical, jazz, funk, world |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, songwriter, educator |
| Instruments | Vocals, human-beatbox, guitar, ukulele, percussion |
| Years active | 2004 - Present |
| Associated acts | Triflava, Banjo to Beatbox |
Christylez Bacon (pronounced: Chris-Styles) (born March 5, 1986) is a hip hop music artist, from Washington, DC. He is responsible for introducing his live eclectic blend of classical and jazz and hip-hop arrangements and lyricism to such reputable presenters as Strathmore Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[1]
Biography
Christylez Bacon (pronounced: chris-styles) is a Grammy nominated hip hop artist and multi-instrumentalist from Southeast, Washington, D.C. As a performer, Christylez multi-tasks between various instruments such as the West African djembe drum, acoustic guitar, and the human beat-box (oral percussion), all while continuing the oral tradition of storytelling through his lyrics.
With a mission towards cultural acceptance and unification through music, Christylez is constantly pushing the envelope – from performances at the National Cathedral, to selling out two consecutive concerts at the Mansion at Strathmore (Maryland), becoming the first Hip-Hop artist to be featured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, composing and orchestrating an entire concert for a 12-piece orchestra commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution, or recording a Grammy Nominated Folk/Hip-Hop children’s album. Whether his work is performed by an orchestra, quartet, or by himself, Christylez’ versatility, clever songwriting, and avant garde abilities will continue to paint his dynamic perspective of Hip-Hop music into to minds of many.[1]
Bacon classifies his largely diverse music as progressive hip hop. In a local interview, He states,
"It takes traditional hip-hop elements and fuses live instrumentation and genres from around the world. The inspiration came from knowing our simple connection in music. Every culture or group of people on this planet has music and the arts. I have always believed that ignorance causes hate, disrespect, and lack of communication among us all. The idea of the "remix" in hip-hop music made it evident that we can put any style into the mix, thus uniting lovers of hip-hop, salsa, classical, jazz, and bhangra in one space. The music is the lure and the lyric is the education that will destroy the many barriers that prevent us from recognizing our connections with each other."[2]
Collaborations
2008-2009
- Triflava, Progressive Hip-Hop Band
- Urban Artistry, Hip-Hop Dance Collective
- Lily Neill, Celtic Harpist
- Rock N' Roll String Quartet, Classical/Rock String Quartet
- Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, 2x GRAMMY Winning Bluegrass/Children's Music Duo[1]
Discography
Advanced Artistry (2008-2009)
In an interview, Christylez explains the concept of this debut recording,
I called the album Advanced Artistry because it takes on traditional hip-hop elements and expands everything about it, with the use of piano solos in between the chorus & verses, heavy extended chord progressions, altered song structuring, and all original composition without sampling records. Being a student at Duke Ellington School of the Arts...I always saw these connections between sonata-allegro form and hip-hop song structure, scat & rapping. But hip-hop artists weren't doing that. That takes a true ear, music theory, and natural flava...I created this album out of a dream and a longing to hear the combination of cultures, genres, and social classes. I call it progressive hip-hop. It takes traditional hip-hop elements and fuses live instrumentation and genres from around the world...From there, my executive producer/friend/mentor, Bomani Armah, helped me sort through the collection, discarding the fluff. I worked exclusively with pianist, Mychael "Myke P" Pollard, in flushing out some of the arrangements...it's a musical journal of a kid in high school transitioning towards a short-term of college and a space in the 'real world'[2]