B. Dolan | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | B. Dolan, Evel Knievel, Bombzo Way, Bombzo the Clown |
Born | Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | March 8, 1981
Genres | Hip hop, alternative hip hop, political hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 1999–present |
Labels | Strange Famous |
Member of | Epic Beard Men |
Website | iambdolan.com |
Bernard Dolan (born March 8, 1981) is an American rapper, spoken word artist, activist, screenwriter, and composer based in Providence, Rhode Island. [1]
B. Dolan's first performances took place at New York City's Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he gained respect as part of HBO's Def Poetry in 2002 and won numerous slam titles. [2] He has since distanced himself from and criticized slam poetry. In 2011, he told the Boston Phoenix :
Doing spoken word was the first time I ever tried to present my writing on a stage, and that's what it was good for. It taught me some basic stage tricks that I still use — like how to change my voice and talk to a crowd. But once you've picked up those chops, you need to get the hell out before you become some asshole who wins the poetry slam for the 10th year in a row. [2]
After performing at a Def Jam industry party at the Rush Arts Gallery, B. Dolan realized he wouldn't be able to work within the major label structure. Within months, he dropped out of welder's college, bought a drum machine, and began recording the first album The Failure. [2] During this time, he slept on "park benches and subway trains" while working as a doorman at a building in close proximity to the Twin Towers. It was at this time that the September 11 attacks happened, leaving B. Dolan in a "paranoid mental state", which caused him to move back to Rhode Island. [1]
Once back in Rhode Island, B. Dolan tapped into the local arts community, volunteered for at-risk youth programs, created the consumer activist website Knowmore.org, teamed up with Sage Francis, signed to Strange Famous Records, and began to tour internationally since 2005.
B. Dolan has also remained prolific as a rapper, releasing albums on Strange Famous Records since 2008 and most notably creating the "Bombzo Way" and "Evel Knievel" characters, which make surprise guest appearances at his concerts. [1] [2] In 2010, he released his second album Fallen House, Sunken City , the entirety of which is produced by Alias of Anticon. [3]
In 2011, B. Dolan created the package show The Church of Love & Ruin, which combined activism and art by bringing openly LGBT and Queer performers into the arena of hip hop, in an attempt to address homophobia in rap. [2] [4]
On July 10, 2015, B. Dolan released his third studio album, entitled Kill the Wolf [5] , on Speech Development and Strange Famous Records. [6] This was followed with a world tour, [7] visiting the US, UK and Europe. [8]
As an activist, B. Dolan is known primarily as a co-founder of Knowmore.org, a wiki devoted to connecting consumers with social responsibility information about corporations. [9] He is also an author of several articles within the website. He is especially known for an article on American Apparel's CEO Dov Charney. [9] [10] In 2008, due to a lack of workers and funds, Dolan decided to take the site down. Recently in 2016, he has started a funding page to redesign the site and get it up and running again. [11]
B. Dolan co-wrote, appeared briefly in, and composed music for the 2015 independent horror film Almost Mercy, directed and co-written by Tom DeNucci. He subsequently co-wrote and composed the score for the 2019 crime-thriller Vault, also directed and co-written by DeNucci.
Studio albums
EPs
Mixtapes
Film scores
Remix albums
Live albums
Guest appearances
Paul William "Sage" Francis is an American independent underground rapper from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of Strange Famous Records.
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Strange Famous Records is an indie hip hop record label based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by Sage Francis. Artists on its roster include B. Dolan, Cecil Otter, Prolyphic, and Sleep, among others.
Brendon Patrick Whitney, better known by his stage name Alias, was a producer and rapper from Hollis, Maine. He was a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon.
dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip were a hip-hop duo, combining electronic beats with sung, spoken, and rapped lyrics. The pair are Daniel Stephens, and David Peter Meads (b.1981). The name "Scroobius Pip" is an intentional misspelling of the Edward Lear poem, The Scroobious Pip.
David Peter Meads, known professionally as Scroobius Pip, is an English actor and podcaster as well as a former spoken word poet and hip hop recording artist from Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. He first gained prominence as one half of hip hop duo Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip sparked by their debut single "Thou Shalt Always Kill".
Sage Francis discography.
Li(f)e is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Sage Francis. It was released on Anti- on May 11, 2010. It peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart. The cover art was created by Shepard Fairey. "Slow Man" and "The Best of Times" were released as the singles from the album.
Undertow Brass Band is a brass band with approximately 18 active members from Providence, Rhode Island, United States. They perform using exclusively brass instruments, saxophones, and drums in a variety of world styles, such as Indian Bollywood music, Balkan brass, klezmer, as well as American styles such as hip hop, rock, and New Orleans second line music.
Metermaids is an American underground hip hop duo based in Brooklyn, New York. It consists of rappers Sentence and Swell.
Fallen House, Sunken City is the second studio album by B. Dolan. It was released on Strange Famous Records on March 2, 2010. Entirely produced by Alias, it features guest appearances from P.O.S and Cadence Weapon.
Christopher Tafoya, better known by his stage name Sleep or Sleep of Oldominion, is an American hip hop artist from Farmington, New Mexico, who is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He is a founding member of the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion and hip hop duo The Chicharones alongside Josh Martinez. He is signed to Strange Famous Records.
Nick Budd, better known by his stage name Buddy Peace, is an English hip hop producer and DJ from London. He has been the resident DJ for Lex Records and Strange Famous Records.
Toki Wright is an American rapper and music educator from Minneapolis. His debut solo studio album, A Different Mirror, was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2009.
Alfred Schoeninger, better known by his stage name Mopes, and formerly Prolyphic, is an American hip hop musician from Rhode Island. He is one half of the duo Stick Figures along with Robust and is currently signed to Strange Famous Records.
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Kedrick Mack, better known by his stage name Dope Knife, is an American hip hop rapper and record producer from Savannah, Georgia. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective Dope Sandwich and group Happy Thoughts.
Epic Beard Men is an American hip hop duo from Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of Sage Francis and B. Dolan.
Vault is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Tom DeNucci, written by Tom DeNucci and B. Dolan, and starring Theo Rossi, Clive Standen, Samira Wiley, and Chazz Palminteri. It was released on June 7, 2019. It is based on the Bonded Vault heist in 1975 in Rhode Island.