Last week Saturday [May 11th] I had the pleasure attended the birthday celebration for recording artist Willy Dope – one half of the duo rap group ‘Par-City’. The group has received industry accolades, and acquired MAJOR press in the past year by the “Source” magazine, “XXL” magazine, and more. Par-City has opened up for top acts such as “Slaughter House“, “Slick Rick“, and “Big Sean“.
The “Dope Brunch” was hosted by Toya Times and Hot 97’s Dominican Drew at Bleu Violin in Harlem, NY. Music was provided by Da Unions’s DJ O. Minaya and Hot 97’s DJ Martian.
Special guests included DJ Spynfo (Hot 97), The Hip Hop Socialite – Shamara McKoy (DrJays.com), Recording artist Skye, Recording artist Jalani, and Celebrity Stylist Kimberley Jarrett. Check out the photo gallery below and listen to our exclusive with Willy Dope:
Images via Chanel McFadzean, And ThatPLUM
[nggallery id=119]On His Decision To Enter The Game As A Rap Group Rather Than A Solo Artist:
“I mean really – It started as a hobby for us. Me, ‘Gift The Great’, and at the time ‘Anti’ [third member who is no longer with the group.] We’ve been best friends for years and we just started doing music – just to do music because we had the means to do it. . We weren’t trying to be rappers, we weren’t trying to get on; or get a deal and once we linked up with industry publicist, Chanel McFadzean and my manager and more and more people began were like “Yo Guys Are Really Good -You Guys Should Take It ” – then we started taking it seriously. “
On “Anti’s” Departure from the Group:
“Unfortunately” – well not unfortunately but Anti had other issues that he had to deal with so he had to leave the group- but its all love. He’s here today showing support, but he left – and me and Gift continued the Par-City thing that we was building on. “
On Par–City Musical Style & Upcoming Mixtape:
” Like any other Par-City project. You can expect “Growth”. We infuse alot of R&B elements into this next mixtape “Civilize Session Vol 2”. Not to much to where its a R&B/ Hip Hop album – but just alot more than what you would normally expect from us [Par City] . And I think it just shows a growth in our sound overall. ”
On What And Or Whom They Attribute Their Musical Style and Influence:
“That’s a hard question to answer because I hate to sound like I’m putting it in a box. But I don’t want to give a generic answer either. We make music that is true to us . You may classify that [our records] as – “oh that’s a club song” or “that’s a song for the ladies” but everything that we do and say on track is really true to us and true to Par-City… In a nutshell – you can expect that REALness from us. Were genuine guys!”
Artist He’s Like To Work With:
“I don’t want to give the typical answers like Jay-Z , Kanye. Like, of course I would want to work with them but in terms of artists coming up I’d like to work with ‘A$AP Rocky’, ‘Kendrick Lamar’, and ‘Big Sean,’ and yeah those are just a few.