Hezekiah - Music for the Grown

Hezekiah; a firm reminder that Hip-Hop still cradles a soul, A soul that many believe to have died. Like all listeners I've my own ideology of what Hip-Hop is & should be about. As far as production goes the name of this blog is a huge clue to what my perception of a flawless recording.

Oddisee, Kev Brown, Illmind, Hocus Pocus, Pete Rock, Jazzy Jeff, Dilla, Sabzi are amongst only a few that epitomise Jazzy Underground Soul & to be frank Hezekiah's work on his Releases are flawless which is rare t carry over more than 1 album. The Sound left my ears yearning for more......His more than welcomed follow up to his array of epics really couldn't have arrived quick enough.

Exit Wound Status (mixtape)

A debut release from the Philadelphia born Musician


Hurry Up & Wait (2005)

Like all 1st releases, a debut album is an insight to the artist, This album was a huge introduction. Again flawless production, lyrical content & a flow of the highest order.


Ruby Valentine (2006)

Hezekiah's 2006 release Ruby Valentine appears more relaxed than the other releases, Hip-Hop & Nu-Soul enjoy a rich vein of form.


I Predict a Riot (2007)

I Predict A Riot follows trend with his formula; slack drums accompanied with intricate patterns, relaxing riffs, quality samples & the difference between a quality artist & an average one, of course is originality & style.
The album is full of interesting sounds & sytnhs subtly introduced melodically throughout.

The Grimey Soul Touch

Like Pete Rock, Dilla & Kev Brown, Hezekiah cradles a consistent style in his Grimey Soulful production. The basslines on his tracks sound played & they may well be, I'm not sure whether he records live instruments or uses software, regardless His beats are of sheer quality.

Producer on the Mic

I'm yet to mention his ability on the mic, well to be honest it doesn't fail deliver. lyrical content, social relevance, government policies, Hip-Hop Politics, Love....he covers everything & is definately one of the best Producers to pick up the microphone.

His CV covers work with Bilal, Freeway, Chief Kamachi, Eleon (slum Village) & Bahamadia. A consistent feature throughout the Hezekiah journey is a gentleman with some serious soul to his voice namely Aaron Livingston.

Todays pack houses releases from both albums & a couple of singles

In his own words "I didn't give you an album I gave you my Soul" - Wild & Reckless (Track 2 / I Predict a Riot)

Enjoy or Endeavour

Hezekiah Collat

Official Press Bio

Around 1986, Hezekiah's cousin brought home a track machine and a drum machine and he was instantly hooked. Predating the live Hip-Hop trend by years, Hezekiah spent much of his early days in front of the two machines, rocking sellout shows in the living room with his Cousin on bass and his Uncle on Guitar.

Once out of High-school, Hezekiah linked up with arguably the only Hip-Hop crew to ever exist in Delaware and put together a mixtape called "Exit Wound Status" which sold an impressive 2,000 copies (of the hand-to-hand variety) on the streets and at shows. But it was getting down with the Legendary Roots Crew in '93 that spurred him to get down to business. Hezekiah then began to work his way up through the ranks of the Philly’s ever-strong and flourishing Hip-Hop scene with his on point wordplay, superior songwriting, and lovely production skills—working with the likes of Musiq Soulchild, Bilal, The Jazzyfatnastees and Bahamadia.

In 2005 Hezekiah's debut album Hurry Up & Wait (a title dedicated to the woes of the independent artist), was released to critical praises by Vibe, Trace, XLR8R, Allhiphop.com, Pitchforkmedia.com, okayplayer.com and also included on Itunes “Best Of 2005” list among many others) on New York's Soulspazm Records. Put together in full-on Hiphop hermit mode, as he produced the record locked up in his home studio and penned all of its lyrics lost amongst crowds in the chaos of Philly. What resulted was a collection of luxurious, smoked out Hiphop beats and minimal synth Funk produced by the man himself (with notable exceptions coming from Illmind); with Hezekiah flowing beautifully atop it every second of the way. And although the record is let Hezekiah shine, the guestlist he assembled was impressive; Bahamadia, Scratch (The Roots), Grand Agent and Chief Kamachi all made appearances. Hurry Up & Wait was an album intended for headphones, getting deep tissue massages and eating fruit smorgasbords at dusk.

In addition to the release of Hurry Up & Wait in 2005, Hezekiah keep himself busy working on albums for Philadelphia singer and sandwich-making mastermind Aaron Livingston and Musiq's backup twin singing sensations Aaries. In addition, he's the driving force behind the influential Beat Society and at the request of Dawn Thompson (sister of The Roots musical mastermind ?uestlove) was tapped to co-produce the music for a Showtime original series entitled Street Time.

In September 2007, Hezekiah returns with his sophomore LP, I Predict A Riot, which features guest appearances from Bilal, Freeway and Jaguar Wright.

Hezekiah on MySpace