Count Bass D

Count Bass D is a rapper, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in the country music capital of Nashville, unique in that he eschews sampling techniques in favor of recording his own keyboard/bass/drum grooves completely live in the studio. He grew up as Dwight Farrell in the Bronx, London, and Canton, OH, and learned to play drums at age four through his father, a West Indian minister who encouraged him to perform music at his church. The Count quickly learned piano and organ, and added bass to his repertoire later on. Meanwhile, he fell in love with hip-hop and honed his rapping skills while hanging out with friends. After attending a music school in Pennsylvania and pursuing an interest in R&B and jazz, he enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University in Nashville for the sole purpose of using the school's equipment to finish a demo tape. While there, he also hosted his own rap video show on the campus television station. His demo tape wound up getting him a record deal, and his debut album, Pre-Life Crisis, which used solely live instrumentation, most of which was played by the rapper, was released early in 1995. In 2002 the acclaimed Dwight Spitz was issued, followed by a limited pressing of BEGBORROWSTEEL three years later. In 2006 Count Bass D came out with Act Your Waist Size on Fat Beats.

from Wikipedia:

Dwight Conroy Farrell (born August 25, 1973), better known by the stage name Count Bass D, is an American rapper, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Nashville, Tennessee. His production style is characterised by layers of short MPC samples and film snippets complemented with live instrumentation, and eccentric lyrics laid atop.

Early Life and career

Count Bass D was born on August 25, 1973, and was raised in the Bronx and Canton Ohio. At the age of four his father, a West Indian minister, encouraged him to play music at his church. Count thereafter learned to play the piano, organ, and bass. He then started gaining interest in Hip Hop, becoming better at rhyming while rapping with friends.

In his late teens, Count Bass D enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University in Nashville, to take advantage of the school's instruments to finish his demo tape. He then broadcasted his first Hip-Hop video on campus. His demo led him to getting a record deal with Chaos Recordings where he released his first studio album, Pre-Life Crisis in early 1995. The album was considered too progressive, and the label found it difficult to market the album. Count was then dropped from the label.

In 1997 Count released his first EP, Art For Stale on independent record label Spongebath Records, the album was later released in 2005, in Japan on Octave Records.

Ongoing career

In 2002, Count decided to make a more Hip Hop themed album, so he bought an Akai S-3000 sampler, and an MPC-2000 drum machine and quickly learned to create new sounds. With these tools he released his second, and most critically acclaimed studio album, Dwight Spitz. It features appearances from other well known indie MCs, such as MF DOOM, and Edan. In 2004, Count produced a track and guest appeared on MF DOOM's MM..FOOD.

In 2005, Count released his second EP, Begborrowsteel on Jazzy Sport Records, Act Your Waist Size. his third studio album, on Fat Beats Records in 2006. In 2008, Count released a sequel album on 1320 Records, to Pre-Life Crisis, called L7 (Mid-Life Crisis), he was 35 at the time of release.

2010-present

In 2010, Count teamed up with old friend, producer and rapper DJ Pocket, and made two collaborative albums in the same year. In the Loop, and Activity, both released on Domination records. In 2011, Count and rapper Insight, released a collaborative record called The Risktakers. On August 25, 2011, Count self-released his 5th studio album, #FULLCOUNT, on his own record label Dwight Farrell's Music.

The name of the album nods to the full self production of the album, rapping, with no guest features.