Tropidelic

BIOGRAPHY

Tropidelic formed in 2008 in Kent, Ohio, before relocating to Cleveland, where they built a following by giving away more than 10,000 free copies of their self-produced debut EP, Rebirth of the Dope. The current lineup, Matthew Roads (vocals), James Begin (trombone/vocals), Bobby Chronic (guitar), Darrick Willis (drums), Pags (bass), Tim Younessi (sax) and Derek McBryde (trumpet), blends reggae rock, hip-hop, funk and punk, citing influences from Sublime and 311 to Bad Brains and Parliament-Funkadelic. Across seven studio albums the band has charted on Billboard's reggae listings, including Heavy Is the Head (2017, #3) and Here in the Heights (2019, #2), and won Reggae 360's inaugural Album of the Year award. They've played Electric Forest, California Roots and Warped Tour, and since 2017 have run their own Freakstomp Music Festival, later adding the two-night Everwild event in Newark, Ohio.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Tropidelic's genre-crossing sound, reggae rock spiked with funk, hip-hop and punk, has carried the band from self-distributed EPs to Billboard reggae chart placements and recognition as Cleveland's Best Band. A horn section and a wide influence pool, from Bad Brains to Parliament-Funkadelic, give their live shows a restless, genre-agnostic energy that has landed them slots at Electric Forest and California Roots, and pushed them to build their own festival ecosystem with Freakstomp and Everwild.

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• Sunburn (with Tropidelic)1 PLAY