Harley Boys

The most zeitgeist-y Charleston hip-hop song of 2019 is probably "Sakura" by the Harley Boys, a duo from the unlikely suburban enclave of Summerville.
The track lulls along on a summery, almost lazy post-trap beat that bubbles and percolates with filtered, sing-song vocal melodies that split the difference between contemporary Atlanta hip-hop titans like Migos and Future with the warm, organic sounds of late '90s R&B. It's a fascinating blend of the contemporary and timeless, particularly for an up-and-coming rap act with an eye towards bigger things.
It all makes sense the more you learn about the Harley Boys. The duo consists of brothers Trayvon and Phillip Harley, who began making tunes more than a decade back as young teens, just goofing around with a laptop and microphone.
"It was always just a hobby — we were always writing music or messing around with the computer to make beats," says Phillip. "It wasn't something we were really pursuing [seriously]."
Because of that, they found themselves making music in a kind of vacuum, inspired just as much by acts like The Fugees and Lauryn Hill as the rap music they were taking in on the radio in the mid-2000s. Fast-forward to today, and you have a sound that seems as aware of Drake as K-Ci and JoJo.
The duo has a couple of mixtapes, assorted singles, and EPs dotting their SoundCloud page. They started taking their music more seriously about four years ago as they began making records in North Carolina with producers like Chophouze (2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj) and in Atlanta with frequent collaborator TY. They even moved to Atlanta for a time in order to further their prospects and become more entrenched in the hip-hop community there.
"Here [in Charleston], you're not going to run into too many people who can get you in the music industry," points out Trayvon, who notes how much physical proximity can matter in making these kinds of important connections. "In Atlanta, you're one person away from a big feature or major booking. Our music is good, but it doesn't matter if nobody hears it."
That attitude has started paying dividends. The duo has become a consistent touring act over the last few years and, with the help of some professional management, have found themselves on a variety of festival lineups such as Charlotte's Breakaway Music Festival and Prime Music Festival in Lansing, Mich. In the process, fans of top-tier hip-hop acts like Migos, Juice WRLD, Lil Pump, Rich Da Kid, and Waka Flocka Flame, have been exposed to their music.
"Playing the Charlotte Breakaway Festival to 15,000 people, that was a big moment for us," Philip recalls. "Our family and TY's family were all there. But it's fun every time we get 200 new followers, or people ask us to take pictures after a show."
The Harley Boys are currently looking ahead not only to their annual "Harley Party" show at the Music Farm on Aug. 30, but also to the release of their new EP, Wave One, a record which moves a bit away from the carefree fun of "Sakura" and towards the work the brothers have put in over the past few years.
"It's a real catch-up on everything we've learned over the past few years — in life, in music, in business," Phillip offers. "It's the first wave of things we've learned. It might be a series."
Musically, their M.O. remains, even as their Atlanta and N.C.-based producers will continue to shape and define their sound a bit.
"We go by whatever we're feeling that day," Trayvon shrugs. "A lot of it is influenced by traveling to different places, seeing new areas and hearing their musical influences. It's still a blend of old-school and new-school." -

Love 4 Hip-Hop is the latest addition to the Charleston rap atmosphere (rapmosphere?), providing another platform to promote some of the up-and-comers and less-exposed hip-hop artists in the Lowcountry. "It really was just a vision of putting all the artists together that's actually from Charleston on the same stage," says organizer Ronald Cromwell. "I feel like we need a little bit more unity for everyone to make it big."

And Love 4 Hip-Hop will bring a little taste of all Charleston hip-hop flavors under one roof. More popular artists such as Cultura and Filthy 2 mastermind Matt Monday, country-rap artist Salis, Lowcountry rap heroes Marly Mar and Primetime, and Mt. Pleasant IMOW rapper Walter Brown will stand next to some up and coming talent like Greenland Gunna.

"It's a lot of artists out here. I feel it can be many more [shows]. We have talent that's just kind of hidden and they don't have a platform to really perform and get their talents out there. That's all we're trying to do is help," Cromwell explains.

Some on-the-rise artists, like Backboy Sav, the Harley Boys, and B. Kiddo will be a steady middle ground between the Charleston famous and Lowcountry underground.

"I guess you can say 'raw hip-hop,'" Cromwell says about the various styles of rap represented. "People talking about where they're from, Charleston, South Carolina. Matt teaches a lot, so I want to say that's pretty much it. It's from the bottom to the top. They kind of rap about everything, just telling their story of living in Charleston, South Carolina, so you'll hear a lot of that."

"Charleston is home," says Tray Harley, one half of the Harley Boys. "In our whole area [Summerville], we worked so hard and everybody's doing what they need to do, so it was only right for us to be included."

Harley adds that it feels "legendary" to be on the same bill as some of their childhood idols. "We grew up listening to Marly Mar. We still run Marly Mar's music — Primetime and Digga — we grew up listening to that," he says.

Harley hopes that Love 4 Hip-Hop will bring more light to the Lowcountry rap scene. "There's a hip-hop scene, but it's not on the forefront as it should be, as big as the hip-hop culture is," he comments. "I feel like that's the biggest thing — the unity and the expansion of the music."

Cromwell pieced the event together with his old friends, Jerrold Phenix and Matt Grant, for the purpose of bringing more publicity to the local rap scene. "I'm going to have videographers, photographers out there capturing everything," Cromwell says. "I just really want everyone to kind of reach the next level, and then they can say that's where they started at."

Landing a spot at the Music Farm didn't hurt, either. "I don't know how many concerts I've been to there, just in the crowd, checking things out, so it does feel good to actually be the one hosting an event," he adds.

With memories of Cultura still fresh in our minds, another concert showcasing all of the talent in the increasingly popular hip-hop scene is in the cards. And with Cromwell already talking about doing a couple Love 4 Hip-Hop shows every year, the scene shouldn't be starved for those types of shows any time soon.

"I really tried to tell all the artists — because there are a lot of artists that called after and said, 'Hey, man, why didn't you call me' — and I'm just like, 'There's going to be another try, so you'll probably be on the front next time,'" he says. -