Music:
Member Since: 3/8/2006
Band Website: pinnakulent.com
Band Members:
Pinnakul
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Look out for the Mix CD coming soon!
In
every area of entertainment, Boston always gets overlooked. It seems
like the people in Beantown have to work harder just to get noticed and
that doesn’t apply to only athletes, but Hip-Hop artists as
well. “We’re the hottest in the Bean,”
Stick up says of his group Pinnakul. “And we’re the
most slept-on too.”
Stick up doesn’t plan to be ignored anymore though. He and
his rap partners, Smokes and TR, are about to open the
world’s eyes with their lyrical ability and prove why they
are the most talented emcees in Boston, Massachusetts.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Pinnakul though.
They’ve seen more dark clouds than sunlight, but then again,
these three rappers haven’t had the luxury of living the
“normal” life. Stick up lived with his mom and
extended family in a broken-down three bedroom apartment because money
was tight. Smokes grew up in the ghetto and was thrown into a rough
life on the streets. As for TR, his family migrated from the West
Indies (and later St. Thomas) all the way to Boston, Massachusetts
looking for more opportunities and seeking a better life. Though they
may be considered outsiders compared to the average person, Hip-Hop
united all three of these individuals and they’ve been
friends since they were kids. “We would freestyle in the
cypher and everybody was talented,” TR recalls.
“From there, we tried doing open mics, go to the studio and
move around the neighborhood. We all used to chill in the neighborhood
and it just started from there.”
In 1993, they formed Pinnakul with several other buddies, but
throughout the years, it has mainly been the trio of Stick up, Smokes
and TR. They were different from many other crews though. Instead of
trying to make bubble-gum songs that could make an artist the flavor of
the year, they decided to hone their skills in the street and gain
recognition among their peers. Although they were continuously
performing at small venues and recording songs in the studio, they
never officially unveiled an album in the 90’s. “We
didn’t release a lot of music because we weren’t
even into putting out CDs or anything like that. We had a lot of
material, but we would never put it out because we were still kinda
young,” TR explains. “Everyone was still doing
their own things individually and we come together to do songs, but I
guess we never really had the business sense back then. We just did the
music because we loved to do it.”
Although they have been faced with many personal problems relating to
incarceration and family ordeals, they got back on the same page in
2004 and began taking their passion for Hip-Hop to a higher level. They
recently launched their own imprint, Pinnakul Entertainment, and are on
the verge of making their mixtape debut with Obey Your Verse, a
spin-off from the popular Sprite slogan.
Don’t expect them to spit about electrolytes and sugar
though. The title is a direct reflection of their craft.
“Your verse means everything to you, not the image, the fancy
clothes or the jewelry. Your verse is your swagger and your verse
reflects on you and who you are,” Smokes explains.
“When people listen to that mixtape or verse, people will
feel like they’re walking in our shoes and will be able to
relate to what we’re saying.”
Obey Your Verse may appear as a mixtape, but Pinnakul treated it more
like an album. Most of the songs are original and each track has
its’ own flare. They pay tribute to their Hip-Hop roots on
“East Coasting” and on “A Way
Out,” they share their desire to put their life back
together.
Pinnakul also proves they can bring the party to the listener. On the
club banger “V.S.O.P.,” they energetically rhyme
about nightlife and the most popular alcoholic beverage amongst young
people in America. “Everyone drinks Hennessy and if you think
about it, no one has come out with a song about Hennessey, so I thought
it would be a good look for us to do,” Smokes says.
“It was something different and would create a good buzz too.
Like when you go into the club, everybody’s drinking
Hennessy. When a dude goes inside a liquor store, they buy Hennessy. So
it came together from there.”
Evidently, Pinnakul isn’t a group of rappers feeding you lies
about spending their money on diamonds or shooting gangsters up on the
corner. Instead, they Stick up to telling experiences from their life
and do it in an entertaining manner. “The main thing
you’re going to get is our originality,” Stick up
explains. “You’re gonna get our life in rap form as
best as possible as we’re going to give it to you. We
don’t have a distinctive sound because we’re all
different. We’re all from the same hood, but we
don’t sound the same. But still, you’re going to
get realness.”
If there were only more emcees who kept it real.
..
Sounds Like:
Nothing you've ever heard before. This is New England's finest collection of entertainers!
Record Label: Pinnakul Ent
Type of Label: Indie
