Kourvioisier
Durham, NC | Established. Jan 01, 2010
Music
Press
Two tales intertwine here: The first strand is that of Durham's veteran DJ crew, "The World Famous Butta Team"—the most important hip-hop posse in the history of the Triangle, but one that remains largely unsung. The second is a big, doe-eyed 19-year-old from Durham, Kourvioisier Richmond, who recently fell under the tutelage of one of those DJs, Skaz Digga, who doubles as Big Daddy Kane's official DJ.
In these parts, many of the reputable hip-hop artists (and I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, since getting called out hurts) have been long stroking their own feathers. They seem to have forgotten that there may come a day when some no-name kid might emerge and force them to rethink their flimsy raps and empty microphone overloads. Some emcees are content to caress tracks, while others beat beats into triage, without hesitation.
Kourvioisier, as it turns out, is in the latter talent pool, and he might just be that kid, too. On The Return of the Golden Era, his Skaz Digga-hosted debut mixtape, we're introduced to a beastly young talent who, if you believe in reincarnation, must have been on this Earth before, marching early rap ciphers into battle. Otherwise, how could a voice so fresh render tunes like "East Coast Jackin'," "I Love the '80s," and "West Coast Jack Move"? On those stylistic workouts, Kourvioisier ambushes the songs by swiping beats from classic tracks, skipping between several of them on any given number and mimicking the original artists with a flair that's all his own. During a short segment of "West Coast Jack Move," for instance, he lifts the beat from Above The Law's 1994 "Black Superman," then shucks and chides: "Black Clark Kent without an S on my chest/ replaced with a K/ An animal koala wit' braids/ in honor of me/ These adolescents need to behave." Only a few years past adolescence himself, he sounds like a studied hip-hop student who could be better than his teachers. Even at his tender age, he is an astute observer of a disheveled and often uninspiring environment, delving into topics concerning his relation to the rest of the world—likely an effective vestige from his days as a serious spoken-word poet. On "Still I Rise," he borrows first the title from Maya Angelou and then the track, "Grown Simba," from J. Cole. He explains the turmoil: "Down and out so you figured I won't get back straight/ I reappeared in the flesh/ I ain't get that break/ I want a slice, but I ain't get that cake/ Could have waited, I ain't get that day/ So to him I pray..."
Kourvioisier is a verbose sort, and The Return of the Golden Era might be a bit much for some. But these aren't the second-rate freestyles of a B-list rapper. Rather, Kourvioisier bedevils beats supplied by Skaz's production team, Panama Red, in a way that few other Triangle emcees ever have, ripping apart both the beats and the tired gallery of emcees who aren't quite up for head-to-head battle with this sort of wolfing. Throughout the mixtape, Skaz and Kourvioisier gather friends and fellow Triangle upstarts Thee Tom Hardy and Ricky Ruckus. Kourvioisier consistently gets the best of them: "Do not recommend simple syllables/ sample subliminals/ nerve struck/ terrible the intention," he lets loose in one instance. "KRS the teacher/ I'm the sub/ Now you got detention/ double loser who recycled in defeat/ The stripes get beat off of Tigers who wanna cheat."
"Tell me, who let these wack boys in the market/ without being incredible artists?" Kourvioisier asks. It's a question no one has found the answer to, but one it seems that the young gladiator might put to rest himself. Certainly, some listeners will want him to relax, to not be so "rappity-rappity-rap." Let him go, though: It sounds like he might become an indestructible whirlpool of mega-energy, obliterating all of the undesirable rap matter we've all become so adjusted to here. - Eric Tullis
Discography
The Return Of The Golden Era - 2010
The Fear Of Progress EP - 2012
Cable In The Classroom - 2013
Drive On - 2016
Photos
Bio
A student of the game on the brink of teaching the world...
Kourvioisier began his rapping career at the age of
eleven wherein 2005 he was a member of a group named First in Flight,
later Flight Gang which dropped their first mixtape as he was exiting
eighth grade. They went on to make two more mixtapes in 2008 but the
group disbanded due to disagreement between the four members.
A young Kourvioisier could be found going to daycare with a boombox and
headphones, this trend continued through middle school where a camcorder
was added where he would rap amongst his peers. Ninth grade found the
emcee still modest but after being put on the spot in tenth grade, he
came out of his shell and became known as a young force to be reckoned
with and started emceeing where ever he could showcase his talent.
Some talents are said to be beyond their years, oft referred as having
an old soul. These are young people who seem to have been on the planet
before because their knowledge and/or abilities excel far beyond those
of their contemporaries. Kourvioisier is one of those types of
souls. He is a student of the game in that his knowledge of the golden
era is extensive for an individual who had yet to crawl, let alone walk
the earth when the golden era occurred. He channels the word play
synonymous with that era over twenty first century production.
The rapper attests that his father fading away from his life as he got
older as the reason he harbored so much internal anger and music became
the vehicle in which he would channel that aggression. When one listens
to his music it is easy to discern in portions of his delivery that the
artist is siphoning his inspiration from a deep, emotional pain, and
yet, maybe due to his youth you hear the hope that springs eternal from a
young mind that refuses to lose. He credits his mother and his
grand-mother for being his saving grace in that they encourage him to
push forward regardless of what his current situation may be.
In 2008, while recording the final project for Flight Gang he met DJ
Skaz Digga, a recording engineer, producer and dj for Big Daddy Kane and
one of the founding members of The World Famous Butta Team dj crew out
of Durham N.C. After the break-up of Flight Gang, Kourvioisier found
himself hanging around Skaz’s Flavor Fruit Studios due to his love of
music and his desire to continue even though his crew had disbanded.
Skaz was recording a local artist and Kourvioisier asked if he could
feature on the track and the artist agreed. The next day he came back
with a verse written to the concept and he was able to hold his own with
a rapper far enough ahead of him in the game he impressed the veteran
Skaz so much so that he made him one of his artist.
July, 2009 a concept was developed and the project was entitled “Return
of the Golden Era (featuring the Golden Child Kourvioisier).” This
would be the first time the rapper dropped his initials and used his
government name as his emcee moniker. Even though it was a mixtape, he
treated the project like an album in hopes that his extra effort would
make his mixtape stand out from the norm. The project wrapped in
December for a February release It was hailed by critics from Indy Week
and NuFacesNC as well as rap veterans such as Big Daddy Kane, Lord
Finesse, DJ Nas Nes’ Rap Attack and a co-sign from one of NC’s most
accomplished producers, 9th Wonder.
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