Hip-hop music wears many faces, but one Philadelphia-based act intends to offer the genre a facelift on the house. The Rowdee Black Giants rap collective has slowly begun to garner accolades through intensive grassroots performances in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.
According to Jermaine “The Mutation of Greatness” Young, a lead rapper in the group, the group doesn’t intend to stick to hip-hop’s typical script.
“We expand the boundaries of hip-hop. It is a culture that shouldn’t be scripted or made to be formulated,” Young said. “Artists must constantly push the envelope and not be afraid to force and promote change.”
The Average Man, Young’s co-lead rapper, and a 5-person full band comprise the remainder of the collective.
Listeners that want to know of the group can look at their logo to get all there is to know.
Young explains, “The RBG logo symbolizes what we are about. The Gamecock holding the ‘microphone-n-shovel’ device. It isn’t a claim to fame, but it’s what we’re all about. We intend to: Wake u up, dig what we saying…”
Most recently, the RBG’s have continued their trek northward and have recently broken into New York. They are scheduled to play at Lilly’s in New York on March 14 and return to Philly on April 11 at Pontiac.
Funk Wizard Snow, a DJ and legend to the Philly radio waves, recently reviewed a concert by the group and was pleased.
“If you can nod your head to a groove while emcees spit intelligent rhymes to it I call it hip-hop. When it’s done the way ‘millennium message is done, I call it good hip-hop,” Show said.
For more information on the RBG’s, check their website at http://rowdeeblackgiants.com.