New York City is and will always be electric. There truly is no other city like it in the world. It has been a hip-hop haven since forever and there are always new and classic sounds coming from all parts of the city. Among the newest and most promising is an artist on the Upper West Side that goes by the name Dustrial Dre.
Growing up in New York Dre has always been around music, and was inspired by many of the most famous NYC rappers we think of like Biggie and Jay Z, but it wasn’t until he broke his arm in a skateboarding incident his senior year of highschool that led him to take music more seriously. Being stuck inside, he started expirimenting with different sounds and eventually released his first project Mind The Gap. The 6 songs were really a coming of age album that was meant to convey a perspective through the eyes of a kid growing up in New York City. It touches on all the things that youth in the city are exposed to and the endless amount of different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Dre is a flat out lyricist and perhaps his biggest strength is in his witty wordplay and stories that he tells in his music. Each song has to be listened to carefully or else you run the risk of missing a reference that completes the song.
While Dustrial Dre may be a New York rapper on paper, he credits artists such as Big L, Earl Sweatshirt and A Tribe Called Quest for influencing him to make the type of music he has. He utilitzes these minimalistic beats that really give him the freedom to tell his story in whatever way he wants. He isn’t boxed in by the production and allows it to compliment his words, not the other way around. There’s a certain level of intimacy to his music and you can connect with him on a deeper level. In fact, a lot of his songs feel as if he’s sitting in a chair across from you having a conversation.
If you haven’t heard his music next I suggest going to the Mind The Gap EP to get a feel of what Dre brings to the table. A couple songs that stand out on the project are “Missing Link” and “Daring to Abide”