Kinetics (rapper)

Kinetics is a rapper based in New York City who has been releasing hip-hop projects since 2008. He has collaborated with R.A. the Rugged Man, Skyzoo, Remedy from Wu-Tang Killa Bees, Termanology, Accent, the Unknown Prophets and others, but is best known for his work with friend and longtime collaborator, NYC producer One Love. In 2009, Kinetics & One Love started releasing experimental hip-hop projects and writing and producing for other artists.

Early life

Jeremy "Kinetics" Dussolliet was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Hudson Valley. He started writing poetry and rapping in high school but didn't release any original music until he met Tim "One Love" Sommers – a drummer, producer and DJ. The two started working on songs together in 2007, with One Love handling the production and Kinetics providing rap vocals. In 2008, Kinetics released a free seven-track EP online, which helped the rapper first develop a small buzz in the New York area. One Love produced two songs off the project and played keys on a third. The fan-favorite of the The Kinetics EP, "High Noon," addressed a real incident in which Kinetics was sliced in the face by an opponent’s box-cutter during a rap battle in a club parking lot.

After the release of The Kinetics EP, Kinetics & One Love decided to form a group and start an artist project together. The first Kinetics & One Love album, Fading Back To Normal, was released in 2009. That album contained the Kinetics & One Love original, “Airplanes,”^[1][2] which was later bought by Atlantic Records and re-released commercially as the second single of rapper B.o.B's debut album.

In the summer of 2012, Kinetics released his first mixtape entitled With A Little Help From My Friends,^[3] featuring guest appearances from R.A. the Rugged Man, Remedy, Nitty Scott, Dylan Owen, the Unknown Prophets and Lower East Side-based rapper and poet Accent. On August 28, 2012, Kinetics & One Love released their second album entitled You Are Not Alone,^[4][5] with guest appearances from Termanology, Wynter Gordon, Nitty Scott and Accent.

Since 2013, Kinetics has been featured on tracks by Neon Hitch, King Deco and Accent as well as the chorus of “No Reservation” by BK Brasco, Timbaland and Pusha T. In 2014 he took a hiatus from releasing projects, however, to focus on songwriting for other artists. He is currently managed by Nullah Sarker of Hourglass Entertainment and Lava Music Publishing.

Musical Style and Lyrical Content

Kinetics has described his musical style as east coast cypher rap fused with a pop songwriting approach to choruses, production and overall presentation – especially in his collaborations with One Love. Characteristic elements of his rapping include strings of multisyllabic rhymes, alliteration, double-entendres and extended metaphors. He also likes song-long story tracks, often ending with twists or grand revelations. The song “Michelle,” for example, is a coming of age story about an immigrant girl living in the Bronx in the 1970s - doubling as a metaphor for and personification of the genre of hip-hop, in the spirit of rapper Common’s "I Used to Love H.E.R." He has also noted film director Christopher Nolan as a major influence on his storytelling style (specifically the aspects of time distortion in narratives and twist endings), and sometimes calls himself "hip-hop's Chris Nolan."

Kinetics & One Love often focus on mankind's future decisions its ability to react to technology and overpopulation. Technology and computers have become such prevalent themes in their music that Kinetics & One Love have adopted alter egos as alien computer programs and often refer to themselves as robots and cyborgs in their songs. Kinetics has frequently referenced the scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla.

Songwriting Credits

Together with his producer and writing partner One Love, Kinetics has cowritten for a variety of artists including B.o.B, Pitbull, Eminem and Melanie Martinez, making his commercial debut in 2010 by penning the chorus to B.o.B's Grammy nominated, platinum selling single "Airplanes" featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.^[6][7]

Discography

• The Kinetics EP (2008)
• Fading Back To Normal (2009) (collaborative project with producer One Love)
• With A Little Help From My Friends (2012)
• You Are Not Alone (2012) (collaborative project with producer One Love)

References

External links

• Official website of Kinetics & One Love