10 New Artists at Trillectro That You Should Know

By now, you shouldn’t be a stranger to the word “Trillectro.” Thanks to the DCtoBC team, the worlds of hip-hop and electronic music will collide at D.C.’s first annual festival of the sort, and with just two days remaining before the event, it's nearly sold out.

The bill features artists you’ve heard of like ScHoolboy Q, Casey Veggies and Flosstradamus, so here’s the chance to learn about some lesser known artists, prior to the show. Walking blindly into a new experience can be tons of fun, but we think it will be that much cooler if you know a little something about a few of these acts.

So to get hip to the 10 Artists at Trillectro You Should Know, click through for info on their background and suggestions for music to check out before you hit the fest.

Written by Kevin Kunitake (@kevinismighty), Matthew Trammell (@trmmll), and Julian Kimble (@JRK316).

Twitter: @_ASAAD
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Essential Listening: New Black History Month

Maybe you’ve heard of Asaad. The North Philly rapper pissed a lot of people off with the cover for his single “Boss Status,” which featured a gun-toting 2Pac sodomizing Biggie in some seedy motel room. Fuckin’ around with hip-hop martyrs is risky business, and some dismissed it as a cry for attention, while others called it flat out blasphemous. Asaad says the statement he was trying to make soared over the heads of critics, so if that was your introduction to him, allow us to reintroduce you to Mr. White Lighter.

What’s crazy about “Boss Status” is that the cover art completely distracted everyone from the plodding head-banger. Prior to the controversy, Asaad dropped two projects—Dirty Middle Class and New Black History Month—that were very well-received. The latter included tracks like “Batman” and “New Black History” that really show off the full range of his abilities as an MC.

With a buzz that extends beyond Philly, the wildly ambitious rapper will his bring taunting voice and arrogant flow to the Trillectro stage on Saturday so more music heads can experience what Asaad and his “superiority complex” are all about.

Twitter: @body__language
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Essential Listening: Social Studies EP

The Brooklyn-based quartet is one of the smoothest groups at Trillectro. The blend of electronic soul and R&B is strawberry lemonade at a summertime pool party. The group knows how throw a good low-key time, jumping all sides of the spectrum from light indie pop to heavy bass, all while heading down the less-traveled soulful road. While they may not be as club-heavy as other acts on the bill, be certain they can groove. They may even bring tambourines.

Twitter: @BBRENMAR
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Essential Listening: June ’12 Fact Magazine Mix

The Chicago-based producer carries his hometown on his back bringing the city’s hip-hop, R&B, juke and house scenes with him every set he plays. He doesn’t really stick within genres—more within sounds and vibes.The Red Bull Music Academy 2011 participant doesn’t seem to even stick in one place either. After Trillectro, Brenmar is jet setting off to South Korea and Puerto Rico, a quick show in New York and then a European tour. The man brings Chicago parties worldwide and it is a beautiful thing.

Twitter: @FlatbushZombies
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Essential Listening: D.R.U.G.S

Before rap, the Zombies were most known for serving up the most gruesome of content on their infamous tumblr page—if you’ve ever seen a .gif of a baby exploding or a severe animal deformity, it can probably be traced back to Juice and Darko. They exploded onto the music scene early this year with their viral “Thug Waffles,” a spastic ode to weed and breakfast foods that blended East coast lyricism with subtle Southern drawl and hints of West Indian chatting. Rounded out by producer/rapper Erick Arc Elliott, the trio has been rising fast, and with the release of their mixtape D.R.U.G.S and a feature on the A$AP Mob single “Bath Salts,” things don’t appear to be slowing down soon.

Twitter: @giannilee
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Essential Listening: TrillWave Tres

It would be criminal to not include Lee in an event dedicated to trill and electronic music—because this is exactly what he is all about. Lee and PandaReemy have been just released the final piece of their TRILLogy, Trillwave Tres featuring the Tumblr superstar Danii Phae as the cover model with the melting pink face. The concept behind the TRILLogy was to put the underground scene on the map and they’re doing just that, putting true and real people into true and real situations. In an event dedicated to exactly that - the man will be in his element.

Twitter: @GrandeMarshall
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Essential Listening: We’re still waiting on 800, so visit his Soundcloud page

Remember this guy? He was added to the Trillectro bill after people campaigned for him, and once you experience his live show, you’ll see why folks are impatiently waiting for 800 to drop. Wise beyond his years, GrandeMarshall is difficult to categorize. In an era (and medium) where everyone wants to label everything, it’s damn near impossible to group this dude in with anyone and it’s perfect.

Still in his teens, GrandeMarshall rhymes for kids sitting in their college classrooms drawing masterpieces while their professor rambles on about nothing, for the loud-ass kids on the train that you can’t help but laugh hysterically at and for the dudes puttin’ work in on the corners. He’s in his own world, and totally cool with you not understanding that. You gotta love that youthful indifference.

Able to switch up his flow and energy depending on the track, he can take you to church like he does on “Dearly Beloved” or punch you in the mouth with the riot-inducing “GODBPM.” In the same vein, you can get hype to the hilarious “E&J” or zone out to the trippy “Robert Earl.” Oh, and his Twitter account is hilarious, so hit that up to get a preview of what Saturday will offer.

Twitter: @KhadafiDub
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Essential Listening: The Glitch

Here’s one of the many dope aspects of Trillectro: even the hosts are tight. Everyone knows (or at least they should) about the legendary Doug E. Fresh, but most have probably never heard of Khadafi Dub. That’s a damn shame, because they should.

Khadafi Dub first surfaced a decade ago as Konfidential, a brilliant storyteller with insightful lyrics reminiscent of a young Nas. His debut album, A New Beginning, spawned the single “How We Roll,” and the video made its way to BET’s 106th & Park. He returned after a brief hiatus, musically reborn as Khadafi Dub. Blending his hip-hop pedigree with dub and electronic sounds, Khadafi Dub has become one of the most sought after MC’s and hosts in the EDM world.

Earlier this year, Khadafi Dub was honored as the Best Dubstep MC/Host at the 2012 Dubstep Music Awards. Last week, he dropped The Glitch, a musical assault on the boundary between hip-hop and electronic music. Co-hosting Trillectro is just another part of his mission to break down musical barriers. Get familiar.

Twitter: @NouveauRicheDC
Hometown: Washington, DC
Essential Listening: Monthly Parties

The three-person outfit is known throughout DC for consistently throwing one of the best dance parties in the city. Nouveau Riche is the combined efforts of three of the city’s finest, Gavin Holland, Nacey and Steve Starks. While individually, they all wear their accolades and styles, Holland co-owns the new Mysteries of the Mind record label, Nacey’s low-key Future “Same Damn Time” Remix is what Trillectro is all about and Starks’ latest Burma EP puts the local electronic moombahton scene on a whole new level. The trio can throw quite a good party. Following Trillectro, they're hosting the after party at the venue with the best sound system in the city—U Street Music Hall.

Twitter: @tabiBonney
Hometown: Washington, DC by way of Togo, West Africa
Essential Listening: The Summer Years

Hailing from the District's Northwest, Tabi Bonney is one of several hometown heroes gracing the Trillectro stage. After breaking out in '06 with his DC anthem “The Pocket,” Tabi’s kickback style and sharp humor have established him as a staple in the city’s ever–growing independent scene, culminating in a deal with DD172 to release his flagship project The Summer Years. He combines Lupe’s consciousness with Wiz Khalifa’s hazy flow, and is known to have the baddest jawns co-starring in his self-directed videos.

Twitter: @tittsworth
Hometown: Washington, DC
Essential Listening: 12 Steps

Producer/DJ Tittsworth is credited with launching the moombahton subgenre in early 2010, combining spicy reggaeton beats with the driving synths of EDM/dubstep to essentially create dancehall for white people. But his style can’t be pinned that easily, as the DC native has been producing and remixing for artists as diverse as Q-Tip, Pitbull, and Theophilus London. After joining forces with The Rub’s DJ Ayers to launch T&A Records (get it?), Tittsworth opened U Street Music Hall in DC and remains a dance music staple in the District.