By Danielle Williams
williams11@grinnell.edu
Arrias Walls and Dionte Rembert, both 24 year-olds from Texas, came together to form a rising rap sensation called A.Dd+.
“Dallas, Texas, is known for lots of things. Progressive, forward-thinking hip-hop has, until now, not been one of them,” A.Dd+’s biography reads.
The duo’s rhymes move from light-hearted topics to heavy subjects, of drug addiction and imprisonment. Their album When Pigs Fly has earned them praise from the media, which describe them as “the spawn of UGK and OutKast, combining street and cerebral.”
The name is what seems to intrigue people upon first learning about the pair. A.Dd+ is a pun on their first names—Arrias and Dionte—along with the behavioral problem, Attention Deficit Disorder, which could be definitive of their music as well.
“Some folks take our sense of expression the wrong way ’cause we dress a certain way, or ‘cause our artwork and videos have a certain aesthetic, or ‘cause we express our thoughts over all types of canvases,” Walls said.
Even lesser fans of rap may fall for their music. A.Dd+ crafts great, contemplative lyrics and unique beats.
“Once people give our music a full listen or see us perform, that perception usually changes,” Walls said, “We don’t make ‘fad’ music. We make music from the soul, and we kill sh*t.”
India Vannoy ’16 and Ben Gaither-Ganim ’16 listened to a few of their songs in preview, with positive responses.
“They’re coming here on Friday? I’m definitely going,” Vannoy said.
“I like it. It’s not my genre of music, but it seems different and is definitely appealing,” Gaither-Ganim said.
Opening up for A.Dd+ is Nicholas Ward ’14, who has been making music for four years. He describes his favorite kind of rap as introspective.
Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar serve as some of his inspiration for his music. In his career, Ward has opened up for Asher Roth, Big Sean and other iconic names in the industry.
“I’m just trying to have a good time, there’s not a lot of rap going on here,” Ward said. “It gets rough, but I just hope they like it.”
A.Dd+ and Nick Ward will be performing in Gardner on Friday, September 12 at 9:00 p.m.
