News

Introducing Pete Philly

• 27th Apr 2012

Pete Philly is the freshness. ‘My church has no religion’ he says, ‘my search has no find…’ He’s the artist you’ve not encountered elsewhere. He’s rapper, singer, producer, actor, thinker.

The new album is called ‘One’. And he rocks his heart on his (album) sleeve. From the first deftly crafted lyric to soaring blues riffs there’s no doubt he tells the truth every word. And his truths are sharp enough that lines of his rhymes get stuck in your head on loop. Pete Philly is a cocktail. From Aruba to the Netherlands at age 6. From a Domenican Pops and a Dutch mother. From jazz to grunge, metal to funk and soul; Charlie Chaplin to Michael Jackson and from twosome to solo; Pete Philly is an artist of many facets, many influences, many styles and a dynamic mind that breathes new life into the hip hop he loves so well. He shot to worldwide acclaim with his ex-bandmate Perquisite for the albums Mindstate (2005 – considered by critics as one of the best albums ever to come out of the Netherlands) and sophomore album Mystery Repeats (2007 – which entered at the top of the Dutch charts).

Pete Philly and Perquisite opened for James Brown and Kanye West, recorded a track with Talib Kweli, toured 18 countries (Europe, US, UK, Japan, Caribbean and South Africa) performed at Hip Hop, Pop, Jazz, Reggae, Dance and Electronic Music Festivals and performed with everything from a 28 piece big band to a string quartet or just a DJ. But now, after considerable success and having scooped an Essent Award, a Zilveren Harp and nominations for a Dutch MOBO-award, three TMF awards, the MTV European Music Award and for the prestigious Edison-award, Pete Philly is ready to go it alone and let his fans know what he’s really about.

Setting the scene with an eclectic and soulful project called Open Loops which released fourteen tracks on his website for free, the next step is his official first solo album. And this is where the new story begins – ‘One’ is a complete journey for the listener – designed to be listened to in the old school way, from beginning to end. It’s an examination of the anatomy of love, loss, music, growing up and the times we live in. Incisive, insightful rap over atmospheric beats; raw, jazzy vocals; brooding soul and artfully layered harmonies combine to create an instant classic. In the first line of the first song he declares, “I give you my heart…” and that’s just what he does. Petephilly.com, ya’ll. Holla.

UK live dates:

10 May London – Jazz Café
11 May Brighton – The Great Escape – Komedia – 14.00-14.30
12 May Brighton – The Great Escape – Psychosocial Ground Floor – 20.45-21.15