Critical Praise for DaVinci:
"[DaVinci's] wider goals as an artist, his views on the world outside the music, seem like the kind of thing that fans of rap from all corners might find appealing." - Pitchfork
"Hard-nosed, raw, and without compromise...one of the best rap records of the year thus far." - Jeff Weiss
"The epitome of what it means to be a 'street' rapper, DaVinci offers stark and realistic commentary on his surroundings and the people in it." - Maurice Garland, Ozone Magazine
Selected as a member of 106 KMEL's (the biggest Bay Area hip-hop station) Freshmen Class of 2010.
The EP:
DaVinci is excited to release his new EP, Feast Or Famine. Starting today, the eight-track EP is being offered for free download via DaVinci's hometown label, SWTBRDS.
The Day The Turf Stood Still, DaVinci's debut LP released last year, offered listeners a look into the often-conflicted ponderings of a young black man as he watches his neighborhood turned upside down due to gentrification and urban renewal. And with Feast Or Famine, DaVinci once again puts focus on the realities that surround his day-to-day. "I grew up in the heart of San Francisco," remarks the Fillmore District native. "It's eat or starve; it's really an urban jungle. You never know what's around that next corner or behind those bushes."
But Feast Or Famine isn't just TDTTSS 2.0, quite the contrary. The EP is DaVinci showing off a level of diversity that was too often overlooked on his previous work. "The Day The Turf Stood Still was dark, it was me feeling like the last of the Mohicans," explains DaVinci. "With this one, it's hella layers – varied tempos, a more diverse range of topics."
Also setting the EP apart from TDTTSS is the range of artists featured. "I don't really reach out to too many people," notes DaVinci, adding that he prefers to work "only with people that I know and that I feel will add to the project." But while collaboration may not be the norm for DaVinci, Feast Or Famine shows a keen ear for choosing complimentary talent, as he calls on the likes of Roach Gigz, Nio Tha Gift, Young Gully, C-Plus, Rae Rosero, and rising Oakland rapper Ginger, with each bringing something unique to the project.
The EP isn't all features, though, and the EP's two solo tracks, lead single "D.R.E.A.M." and album closer "Nothing Like Home," also serve as two of the EP's strongest – and two of DaVinci's favorites. "With 'Nothing Like Home,' anyone who's really from San Francisco will love that one," says DaVinci. "I'm talking about real San Francisco moments; neighborhoods and projects in the city that ain't even standing no more."
Download the Feast Or Famine EP here:
http://www.swtbrds.com/davinci
http://swtbrds.bandcamp.com/album/feast-or-famine
Watch the Feast Or Famine video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8t2-Q_muJg
http://vimeo.com/27616565
For more information on DaVinci please contact Michelle or Dan at Audible Treats.
The
Background:
San Francisco's Fillmore District, better known to residents as 'The Moe', has bred more rappers per capita than any other district in the city, and is on par with Bay Area hip-hop hotbeds Vallejo and Oakland. DaVinci, is the latest rapper to emerge from the historic district and has done so in high fashion. Since dropping his debut album, The Day The Turf Stood Still, last year, DaVinci's rise has been a meteoric one. The album earned DaVinci a coveted spot on 106.1 KMEL's inaugural Bay Area's Freshman 10 of 2010, and a guest appearance on DJ Muggs' Shade45 radio show "Soul Assassins Radio: The West Wing," along with a litany of stellar coverage from the likes of Pitchfork, The FADER, HipHopDX.com, PrefixMag.com, Ozone Magazine, Wax Poetics, XLR8R Magazine, SF Weekly, East Bay Express, The New York Times' Bay Citizen, and more. DaVinci's follow-up EP, Feast Or Famine, released August 24, 2011, further shows the evolution of DaVinci's sound, and serves as a precursor to DaVinci's forthcoming sophomore LP, The Moena Lisa, which will be released later this year.
SWTBRDS
Background:
SWTBRDS (pronounced Sweetbreads) is a Bay Area-based record label that exemplifies the raw, rare and boutique qualities of its namesake. Founded in 2009, it houses rapper, DaVinci, renaissance DJ, Prince Aries, DJ + rapper duo StreetMedia, as well as the dynamic production team, Drums & Ammo, featuring the collective musical work of producers Ammbush, REL, Al Jieh and 6Fingers. Their first release was the self-titled StreetMedia LP, followed by Adrian Champion Presents: Stars & Stripes - The White Stripes Reimagined in Winter & Spring of 2009. Their most recent release was The Day The Turf Stood Still by DaVinci, his debut album, which received critical acclaim from publications such as Pitchfork.com, Wax Poetics, SF Weekly, XLR8R, Ozone Magazine, URB.com, and more. With a diverse release schedule on the horizon, SWTBRDS kicks 2011 off with Prince Aries' Clean Ass Whip mixtape, an ode to West Coast Hip-Hop's cruising aesthetic, dropping in May 2011. Soon to follow are DaVinci’s Feast or Famine EP and The MOEna Lisa LP, Drums & Ammo, Vol. 1, the self-titled first installment of a new instrumental series, REL's sophomore solo instrumental album, The Orchestration 2, Ammbush's solo artist EP, and StreetMedia's sophomore album.
Stay up-to-date at http://www.swtbrds.com/, http://twitter.com/swtbrds, and http://www.facebook.com/SWTBRDS.
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