About Kenneth Masters
Black Boy Awesome co-founder Kenneth Masters honed his craft in the trenches of Philadelphia’s independent music scene, performing alongside artists such as Jedi Mind Tricks, Reef The Lost Cost, Outer Space, Man Man, and Diplo. Braiding an every-man sensibility with wit and razor-sharp delivery, Kenneth Masters stood out from the legions of artists because he was and is the exact person that is being presented to you.
In 2000, Masters signed with the budding Arrakis Records to release his first EP, Will We Ever Be Famous?. The album received rave reviews from national magazines such as VICE and Elemental and climbed the college radio charts. In 2002 Masters lent his rhymes to The Spice, a compilation LP of Philly hip hop that developed a cult following and solidified Arrakis Record’s legacy as the label that put independent Philly hip hop on the map. Master’s second solo album, Independent As Fuck, struck a chord with fans. The record rose to number two on the college radio charts and articulated the ethos that would define Masters’ career as an artist: “So I walk with a strut and hunger pains in my gut/And keep my middle fingers up/I’m independent as fuck.”
Independent As Fuck launched the young-bull-era of Kenneth Masters. He became a fixture of the Philadelphia music scene, toured the States and Europe, and formed the band The London Victory Club, which made its national debut at SXSW. Masters released three albums under his own imprint, Counter/Culture Inc., as well as The Urban Legend Complex, produced by DJ Cramske and released by Hot Dog City. By 2008, Spin Magazine named him “the best MC in Philly” and Philadelphia Weekly deemed him "the ultimate torchbearer for Philly's old-school hip-hop guard."
Shortly thereafter, Masters traded the gritty, blue collar hustle of his native city for sun-soaked Los Angeles. He began experimenting with electro styles and joined Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hitRECord, contributing to its double-LP album, Move On The Sun, along with artists such as Cibo Matto, Wilco's Nels Cline, and Gordon-Levitt himself.
But Masters’ what-you-see-is-what-you-get nature clashed with the image-obsessed Los Angeles music industry. In 2012, he headed north to Portland for some peace of mind and a self-imposed exile during which he released the digital EP Escape From LA. He became increasingly interested in collaboration with other artists and went on to rebuild The London Victory Club with keyboardist/producer Adam Cass and drummer Chris Gutendorf, form the electro-hip-hop duo Big Shell with producer ollieRollie, and create the traditional hip hop act Ugly Tarantino with MC Gums and DJ Lady X.
In Portland, Masters recognized a correlation between the particularly disenfranchised black community, the lack of a cohesive hip hop scene, and the systematic exclusion of hip hop from local clubs. A few public officials and police were known to bully clubs that booked hip hop shows, claiming that they attract a “gang element.” The whitest city in America seemed intent on keeping its music venues just as white. Masters co-founded Black Boy Awesome with writer and BBA editor Eleanor Ajala to fight the white-washing of Portland music and expose the diversity of artists rocking the edges of Portland's music scene.
Today, BBA is more than a reaction, it is a record label. Now based in Oakland, California, BBA releases the music of Masters and collaborating artists curated from the creative genius of the underground.