Entertainment

D'Lo

Described as a "jolt of creative and comedic energy", D'Lo is a Tamil Sri Lankan-American, political theatre artist/writer and music producer, currently causing the most trouble in Los Angeles.

D'Lo's work is a part of the vibrant tapestry that sheds light on many of the issues of our modern day society; brutality, justice, AIDS, sexuality, political and social unrest and division along ethnic and gender lines. D'Lo is a teaching artist and has performed and held workshops extensively throughout the US and Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka and India.

D'Lo's career work has included being part of several performance groups (Artwallah, Great Leap, Arpana Dance Company, Mujeres de Maiz); working closely with diverse youth as a teaching artist; writing as both a solo and collaborative performer and being published in various magazines and anthologies.

D'Lo began developing talents as a student of the piano at the age of three and since then, has been instructed in vina and percussion. Using Hip Hop as a guide, D'Lo formed the foundation for her creative activism. D'Lo has also collaborated with various dancers and dance companies, combining and drawing parallels between Bharatha Natyam and Hip Hop.

D'Lo holds a BA from UCLA in Ethnomusicology and is a graduate of New York's School of Audio Engineering (SAE).

In 2004, D'Lo had a sold-out NYC run of her first play "Ballin With My Bois" a queer hip hop theater piece. Recently, D'Lo received the National Performance Network Creation Fund and presented "Ramble-Ations: A One D'Lo Show" at the National Asian American Theatre Festival in NYC.

iLL-Literacy

In the age of empty words—where millions log in to comment on videos of iguanas skateboarding, where entire television series’ are based on who can blurt out the most grotesque diss on someone’s mother, where there exists such a thing as cell phones for babies, it seems everyone has something to say. But who’s really listening?

Enter iLL-Literacy—a collective of poets, emcees, and all-around fresh individuals—with a mission that seems simple enough: to have something to say, and for people not only listen, but want to listen. Call it spoken word, call it hip-hop theater, but never call it typical, the crew consists of Adriel Luis, Dahlak Brathwaite, Nico Cary and Ruby Veridiano-Ching—four artists who harbor impressive accolades in their own rights. Since the four officially debuted their tour as a collective at the American University of Paris in 2005, iLL-Literacy has swept the corners of the globe with a delicious blend of lyrical verse, innovative theatrics, and an addictive approach to audience interaction that has kept the crew traveling nonstop.

iLL-Literacy has covered much ground in a short time, rocking stages from off-Broadway New York to London’s Picadilly, to its home base in the California Bay Area. News of the amazing talent has drawn attention from HBO’s Def Poetry and MTV, as well as crowds who have witnessed the collective share the stage with the likes of Common, Mos Def, KRS-One, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

iLL-Literacy’s hot, and only getting hotter. ‘Nuff said.

Blue Scholars

In homage to hip-hop's empirical formula - one DJ & one MC, and duos such as Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Gangstarr and Blackalicious, the Blue Scholars embody the chemistry that made these groups so consistent not only on wax, but live on stage as well. What results is the blend of poetic, raw vocal delivery with melodic boom-bap and turntablism, painted with politics and preservation. Residing where the hustle and the struggle coincide, Blue Scholars craft the soundtrack for everyday folks with everyday problems seeking everyday release.

After dropping one full-length album (Blue Scholars LP, 2005) and an EP (The Long March, 2005) the Blue Scholars have emerged as the latest in a long line of torchbearers for Seattle and greater Pacific Northwest hip-hop scene. The duo formed in early 2002 after ciphers and sessions in a makeshift attic-bedroom-studio in Seattle's University District, where emcee Geologic and DJ/producer Sabzi came from vastly different musical approaches to collide. One a distinguished battle emcee and poet, the other a former punk/ska drummer and jazz-trained pianist, the duo's backgrounds laid the foundation for a versatile combination of beats and rhymes at once political and personal.

Since 2002, the duo has become renowned live show veterans, rocking nearly 200 shows with the likes of De La Soul, Immortal Technique, The Coup, Zion I, One Be Lo, Soul Position, Slick Rick and Spearhead. The mass appeal of their live show has brought them to many diverse venues - from labor organizing conferences and youth-run community center shows to playing the main stage at Sasquatch! (2006) and Bumbershoot (2006). In June 2006, Blue Scholars joined forces with Common Market (emcee RA Scion and DJ Sabzi) and emcee Gabriel Teodros (of Abyssinian Creole) to launch MASS LINE MEDIA, a new artist-run independent record label.