Jewish Rapper Kosha Dillz Dominated SXSW with his Successful OY VEY! Showcase
Admired as the hardest working MC in the industry, recent successes allow hip-hopper to embrace eccentricities
WATCH KOSHA DILLZ IN WHATS GOING ON UPSTAIRS? HERE
“Kosha Dillz has been a staple of every mega-sized music festival for about a decade now. With a fan base and profile growing seemingly every year, Kosha’s putting in more work than ever, giving you a chance to catch his feel-good energy.” (Village Voice)
New Jerseys most popular Jewish hip-hopper, the quirky Kosha Dillz, made his triumpant return to SXSW, this time opening for NAS and performing at his own Oy Vey! Official SXSW Showcase at Javelina Bar on Wednesday, March 18. Dillz, known for rhyming in Hebrew, English, and Spanish, was the first performer to ever rap in Hebrew at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. The Israeli-American will join this summers 2015 Vans Warped Tour alongside Riff Raff and Mod Sun and has performed with several big-name artists, including Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg and A$ap Rocky.
Kosha Dillz discovered the underground NYC hip-hop scene in 2005, fully intent on smashing it to bits and pieces. While driving up to “the city, as most Jersey kids called it, Dillz would blast tapes of everything from Company Flow to the Wu-Tang Clan. His early successes included releasing his own vinyl under the imprint Matzah 4 Yo Mouf Records.
Dillz originally went by Kosher Dill, saying, “I was Jewish and I wanted something cool.” He changed his name to KD Flow when he was in the battle scene because he was ashamed of my MC name’s Jewish association. After substance abuse issues and multiple stints in jail, he fully embraced his Jewish identity and dubbed himself Kosha Dillz. By 2009, Dillz was on tour with the world-renowned Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu performing for 1000+ capacity venues. Dillz has since enjoyed enlivening the lives of young communities across the country, and began OY VEY! as a way to bridge together his indie and hip-hop community and his Jewish community, all in one show. Dillz explains:
“There will not be a show in the world that has a French Canadian Jew on an accordion like SoCalled and SkyRoads from Israel opening up for Gangsta Boo of Three 6 Mafia and Murs who is on Strange Music. It might not be a sold-out show, but we are bringing cultures together with diverse music and I am proud of it.
In 2012, Dillz secured the biggest deal of his life, landing his song “Cellular Phone” on the #1 rated Superbowl commercial by USA Today, Bud Light’s “Here Weego.” The commercial played multiple times a day for the next six months, allowing Dillz to discover critical acclaim as one of the most popular placements ever by an unsigned independent artist.
Dillz soon landed several videos on MTV, and became touring and recording with Rza of Wu Tang Clan for support of his Man with the Iron Fists film in 2012. The Tri-State hero recently performed at the third annual Grapple in the Garden, a collegiate wrestling tournament that took place at Madison Square Garden. The event was chronicled via Dillzs critically acclaimed video logs.
All of Dillzs efforts eventually earned him the opportunity to record Awkward In a Good Way, the rappers first release through his new deal with Murs’ Label 316. The album, which premiered on BIllboard, was also the second production by Belief, aka Jesse Shatkin, who recently earned three Grammy nominations for his production of Sia’s Chandelier. In celebration of Murs’ curation of his acclaimed Paid Dues’ Festival, Dillz began to curate his own brand of a music fest with Oy Vey! The ultimate goal? To make you say OY VEY!
For more info on Kosha Dillz, visit his social media: OFFICIAL SITE | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE
