Also be sure to pick up Hoop Dreams on iTunes or stream for free on Bandcamp and look for a Brookfield's headlining his first West Coast Tour this fall.
Brookfield Duece
"Brookfield
Duece arrived on the hip-hop scene in the early 2000's as Duece, a 20
year old rapper whose style provided a chilled, lyrical, storytelling
alternative to the rising street dance influenced sound controlling the
Bay Area. With soul samples, 808 drums, and funk strings under detailed
lyrical ability taught to him by his late cousin Eugene "Baby" Vasquez
from Rochester, NY, Duece brought a message in every song while having
both a West and East Coast feel. Being the best of both worlds in style
put Duece on the frontline in re-building an underground hip-hop
subculture for the Bay Area.
He was born Frank
Thomas Miller II, in Oakland, CA on June 19, 1982, the son of a Navy
Seaman and a Choir Singer. In 2003, Miller formed a label called Major
Entertainment with Christopher "C-Major" Morris and Dimitri "Ducktape"
Jenkins. With Duece on the label with 7 artists signed on also, Duece
found there was a greater need beyond rapping to develop all the up and
coming talent involved to continue to expand the labels efforts. So in
2005, Duece decided to hang up his mic and embrace the task over the
next 5 years and help artists such as Danny From Sobrante receive
regional acclaim.
In 2010, Duece was involved
in a drive-by shooting in front of his home where his car was hit with
over 15 bullets but he wasn't hit at all. Days later, Duece was
convinced God spared his life to show him that his calling was not to
develop others right now. It was to develop himself and tell the story
of his neighborhood, Brookfield Village, and the stories of the worlds
unspoken for. DFS then introduced him to producers Ryan "DJ Project"
Watts and Joel "The Profit" Weston with hip-hop collective Dominant
Genetikz. Watts and Weston's production style opened the Duece's mind,
helping him become a more conceptual auteur with social, economic, and
political subject matter.
In 2011, Duece began
recording again creating 5 albums in 3 years. 10 Speed with the title
track "10 Speed" getting the most attention with the help of cousin
Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers making a cameo in the music
video, Cutting Room Floor Vol. 3, 10 Speed Remixes, Stacks - $, and
Boondock Saints with South Carolina rapper Ceeza Luciano of rap
collective BHC. Duece, Watts, and Weston changed the name of the label
to Green Chair Music and Duece started a new collective of rap relatives
on GCM called Street Academy. Ending 2014, Duece released part 1 of a
2-part project. Part 1, "Training Camp", about the struggles that
artists have creating whats considered true hip-hop vs. commercial rap
and experimenting with those commercial sounds on Dec. 9th.
Part 2, "Hoop Dreams", about the highs and lows and overall journey
trying to reach your dreams in life, whatever those dreams are using
those sounds that were experimented in Training Camp, released July 28,
2015 worldwide digitally with the first single, Screw Up.
Continuing
to find ways to brand himself, Duece created what he calls "Calendar
Tapes". Dropping a tape in a month that big shows or events happen. The
tape, titled the month it would be released, would also be written and
recorded in that same month. The Calendar Tape series was started with
Duece's first installment, January, done while taking his first trip to
Portland, OR." ~ Arlene Naranjo, Street Academy
Follow Brookfield Duece:
Twitter: Brookfielddeuce
www.BrookfieldDuece.com