Kenan Bell provides URB with an exclusive download from his latest project, “Good News: The Mixtape.” Bell will be releasing one track every week over 8 weeks, starting Mar 10th, of artists ranging from Gang Gang Dance and Pink Floyd to Jose Gonzalez to Neil Diamond. The project is the result of a Smiths remix that Bell did that eventually made its way through the interwebs and into Morrissey’s lap. Describing his philosophy on covering such diverse artists, Bell says “I wanted to rap over The Smiths because people said it couldn’t be done…Rap is a fatherless music. So, there are no guidelines or blueprints to follow. ‘Hip-hop’ is a term developed by Bambaataa, who sampled Kraftwerk, a German techno outfit. So who’s to say what is and isn’t hip-hop? Chic was sampled in ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ Nile Rogers went on to produce Madonna.”
A teacher at a Montessori school in Los Angeles by day and rapper by night, Bell is taking his music to the next level—about to embark on a small US west coast/ east coast tour with Illinois, set to play a few shows at SXSW, and an upcoming show at The Echo in LA Mar 26th. With his debut single “Fruit and Vegetables” out on iTunes this Tuesday, Bell offers us the inside look into his cover of Peter Bjorn & John’s “The Chills,” available to stream and download below.
Loading ...
Leave A Comment!