Raised in North Oakland, Genre has been around music for as long as he can remember. As a child, his father would play artists like Stevie Wonder in the house. By middle school, Genre began recording to cassette tapes. In high school a friend gave him a tape with nothing but jazzy boom-bap instrumentals, this became the music he started writing and shaping his style to.
The truly ridiculous flow of Genre is back on his new single, “Del Funk.” The Bay Area hip-hop artist is tight with his cadence, spitting with an infectious release, fueled by lyrical integrity and a radiating low-fi pulse. “Del Funk” once again highlights the sheer versatility and artistry of Genre.
“Growing up in Oakland, California during the hyphy movement was formative for me, to say the least. The unique sound, aggressive bass lines, and distinctively bay area lingo profoundly affected my music taste. But while I loved the sound, I found myself relating to the lyrics of a specific artist by the name of Del the Funky Homosapien from the Hieroglyphics crew. His storytelling and off-center way of viewing the world made me feel like I was in the room, on the couch with him and his crew, hearing the stories he told on wax unfold and come to life. I wanted to pay homage to both artistic influences for this song, merging a beat with strong 808s with a boom-bap lyrical storytelling approach with a mix of voice inflections and different cadences. This is one of the last four singles I’m releasing as part of my 13 track album entitled “Overcomer.”
