KHB members give fans an unfiltered view of their music by Geraud Blanks
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Since its debut in 2005, there have been as many as 10 members of Milwaukee hip-hop crew KHB. Currently consisting of emcees Dana Coppa, Shemp, DNA, turntabilist DJ OneL and producers White Russian and Reason, the collective fashioned itself as a Midwest version of another large crew out of Staten Island.
“The group kind of formed as a halfway house for wayward MCs and producers who didn’t have a home,” says DNA. “We wanted to form this free-floating collective a la Wu-Tang and just blow people’s minds with a variety of styles and voices.”
Six years and five albums later, KHB has become much more than a home for itinerant rappers. The six-man crew has toured the country, opening for Cypress Hill and Wu-Tang Clan, and after the success of its last project, the 2010 EP “Remember the Name,” the group can now boast album sales in locales as far away as Germany and Japan.
“‘Remember the Name’ helped us get out, even overseas,” says Dana Coppa.
The group has just released a new project “War Room,” available as a free download on its website, kinghellbastard.com.
Despite its bellicose title, the 15-track album is the group’s most introspective work to date.
“We wanted to give people an in-depth look into how we feel and where the music came from,” says Coppa. “Letting people glimpse into how we think, to give them an unfiltered view.”
With a video for single “Who Gon Care” currently in production and an album release party on Jan. 28, KHB is in the beginning stages of promoting their new project to a local and hopefully national audience.
“We’ve got shows lined up from Minneapolis to Baltimore,” says Coppa. “Spot dates in places where we have a good following and can push our music to them.”
Check em out performing 2 tracks off ‘The War Room’
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