#aotw – This Melanin

As promised T. Ripley is our Artist of the Week. T. Ripley (Antoine Rookard) also Known as “Ripley”, or “T. Rip” is a 24 year old musical artist. Born in Washington, D.C. Til this day he is still influenced by D.C. legends such as Chuck Brown, and the hometown sound known as “Go-Go”. T. Ripley has been around music since elementary, he was a member of his schools marching, and ensemble band until his freshman year in high school, and it shows with his engineer and production work that he does for other artist and himself. While T. Ripley isn’t known as a Producer, he’s known for his skills in the booth. He is under the umbrella media agency “Hippie Outlaw Vision”, a collective of musical artist across the U.S. Look out for the future of music, its shifting towards the DMV and “Ripley” is prepared to be a active face for Maryland D.C. and Virginia music. T. Ripley says:

“People know me because I’m a bit of a socialite and from music that I’m featured on with other artist, and that’s what you have to be if you want to make it in this business, but I stay out the drama and stick to myself and my team(H.O.V). It’s only a few people out here that really want to shine with you, I believe we are those few.”

Earlier this week we featured Ripley’s latest release “Glow”. Check that out here. Below is the official music video for his previous release “NWO”:

I handpicked my favorite song from T. Ripley’s soundcloud. A track called “The Fall”. The kid reminds me of Kid Cudi with his musical approach but he has a unique swag and voice. He fits into the new indie sound movement; lyrical and “wavy”. His image is artsy and elusive. His style is hip-hop and soul. Check out “The Fall”:

We’ll be promoting T. Ripley all week kings and queens. Be sure to follow us via facebook, instagram, and twitter. Peace.

Keep up with T. Ripley:

Twitter, MTV, & Soundcloud

Yayyy! Its This Melanin’s first Artist of The Week and we are starting it off proper with femcee Lady Breezy.

Lady Breezy is a young hip hop artist from Louisville, Ky. She is solely interested in using music as a platform to express herself and uplift other people. She began rapping when she was 9 years old writing her own 8 bar verses and performing in front of her family and friends during holidays. Her first stage name was Bigg Brittany and she recorded several songs on her own under that moniker. In 2006, when she was 16, she got together with a local producer and two high school friends and the group Three Of a Kind was born. They recorded several songs including the local hit “Three Steps” before disbanding in the end of 2007. She decided to stay solo and began recording songs on her laptop. She released her first solo project, “A Girl And A Mic” in 2010:

In October of 2014 she released her second solo project “Walk With Me”:

With her new project, she is now focused on bringing uplifting and inspirational music to people around the world.

This is why I felt Lady Breezy was #AOTW material. She is making very RAW … very REAL music. Stuff that young people with this melanin need to hear.

We’ll be promoting and celebrating Lady Breezy and her music all week! Be sure to follow US on instagram @thismelanin twitter @thismelaninblog and facebook @thismelanin

Keep Up Lady Breezy: