SoJo Studio: Heron Gibran, Black Don

Heron Gibran is a bit of an enigma. A true renaissance man. It hardly seems fair to call him a rapper. The word isn’t large enough. Does not encapsulate him. If you talked to him for more than five minutes about hip-hip, the state of affairs in the music industry, politics, religion, whatever…you’d understand. Rapper does not do him justice.

While he considers himself a Washingtonian, Heron was actually born in the Bronx, New York. Around the same time he was born, a new street culture was emerging. As he grew, hip-hop grew. As hip-hop expanded, traveled, became more sophisticated, international…so did he. Lately, he has been working closely with long-time friend and colleague, Asheru (creator of the Boondocks theme song). Together they have performed all over the nation’s capital. Along with producer/emcee Aychell, they formed the hip-hop super-group, Black Lincolns, and released the breakthrough single “The Hustle”. Heron has also contributed music to the forthcoming Boondocks soundtrack.

Over the years he has released several solo projects, the most recent being The Amnezia Haze EP. This underground classic gem is an eclectic collection of tracks, some of which were recorded overseas in Amsterdam. It also features “By Any Means” and “Dance With Me”, both produced by DJ Khalil of California’s Self-Scientific, who has also produced for The Game and Jay-Z. So…between globe-trotting and helping to vitalize the DC hip hop scene and teaching graphic design to inner-city children with special needs, Heron Gibran simply defies categorization. He is anomaly in a musical landscape where simplicity rules. But he’s creating his own rules, and making coverts one handful at a time along the way.

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