Music wasn’t only thriving on campus. In fact, the music scene on campus directly feed off of the energy of the city. I come from the capital city of the smallest state: Providence, Rhode Island. Dubbed the creative capital of the country, it may be one of the smallest states but the talent thriving within those small state borders are impeccable. With my role on #BennettKnowsRadio, I became a staple in the Rhode Island music scene making it my responsibility to connect with any and everyone doing something creative. In 2015 The Beautiful Silence hosted their second Home Grown Concert Series which showcased and further connected creatives rooted in their communities throughout the New England region. This is where I met the Boston rapper Avenue who was performing alongside Cam Bells, Hil Holla and Cousin Stizz amongst others that night. Upon meeting we were quickly introduced to Avenue’s undeniable lyricism, the authenticity in his storytelling and his overall love for the craft of hip-hop through the debut project The Chandelier View.
Since then Avenue has released two very well-produced full length projects including Mass Ave & Lenox and Nightfall, both further cementing his role as a rapper and representative of Boston’s South End. During an interview with CWTFB Radio, Ave spoke of his experiences growing up in Lower Roxbury and how they inspire the story telling in his music, “[There were] hardships; both good and bad. I feel like growing up where I grew up, it gave me a fair balance of everything. Like a fair consciousness, as far as how I’m moving around and how to navigate. It also gave me something to look forward to. [Boston] means everything to me and there’s so much history. I don’t want that to be amassed and it’s the reason I put it in my music”. In 2021, Avenue started his appropriately titled BROWNSTONES series which further captured the stories of the often misrepresented and overlooked black Boston, it’s remarkable history and the culture currently thriving within those communities.
In 2022 the persistent rapper isn’t taking his foot off the metal. Feeding off a successful 2021 which found him working alongside Providence rapper Hil Holla and Cam Bells on Two Sides of the Same Coin, Avenue has already released the second part of the BROWNSTONES series and a brand new single called “We Up”. While the 3-track production on BROWNSTONES 2 continues to capture the stories of Lower South Boston with that classic hip-hop production and skilled storytelling we appreciate, the new single “We Up,” featuring FUNERAL Ant Bell is an obvious celebration of what’s to come. “Got into it with my inner thoughts, seen a vision / now we winning like we hitting all the slots,” Avenue spits over Grubby Pawz power production. With the entirety of 2022 ahead of us, Avenue has already accomplished so much and it’s just the beginning. On Memorial Day weekend, Avenue will be hitting the iconic Boston Calling stage where he’ll be bringing the mainstream a decade’s worth of classic hip-hop and authentic stories representing his community like no one else! Yes, we’re definitely up 2022!