Generally in these articles I get pretty wordy. Whether I’m tearing into a poor sophomore effort, raving about that one song that I can’t get enough of, or going off on some story that usually ends in self-deprecation, I have the capacity to be long winded. Lucky for you readers, this week I don’t have that ability. While this week’s AOTW tours consistently and appears on many records, successful commercial releases are something he does not have, despite obvious talent and skill. Ergo, most media outlets aren’t reporting on the man. There isn’t a whole lot of publicized bio-material for me to delve into and spout back here. Despite this, I want to spread the word on this guy because I hold him in exceptionally high regard. This week’s Artist Of The Week: F. Stokes.
Everybody has a friend who turns them onto music. I like to be that guy for other people, but even I have a guy that I go to when I’m in short supply. Ryan is usually my guy. When I met Ryan I didn’t think his musical taste extended much beyond punk and mathematical hardcore. After I gave him a few Mos Def and Royce Da 5’9 records I found that his taste his palette went much further than I had assumed. A few summers back, we were cruising out to a barbeque in Malibu Canyons and he threw on F. Stokes.
Sometimes things just come together. With the sun shining, and a day of drinking, swimming, and burgers ahead of us, Ryan 
popped in one of the best hip-hop mixtapes I’d heard in years. Our situation with the day was already great, but the music made life that much better. It was loud, aggressive, and not like anything that was being played on the mainstream LA hip hop stations. In the world of food, they discuss the sensation of “umami”. An all-encompassing flavor that coats the tongue that creates the craving for more. For me, F.Stokes was umami for my ears. All I wanted was more.
This intro and following track were the first I’d heard from F. Stokes. Both are off of his mixtape F.I.L.M. Ever since that first listen, I haven’t been able to get enough.
F. Stokes (Rodney Lucas) is a performer from Chicago who moved to New York City eleven years ago to try and make his dream of being a performer come true. His songs tell the tales of all the lives that he has lead up until this point. He’s sold drugs, bused tables, slept on park benches, and hustled every which way in order to get his music to all those who would listen. His interviews are few and far between. He has spent much of his tour time outside of the states, and in my opinion, to this day he remains a bit of an enigma.
This interview with Brooklyn Radio allows him to give his story better than I can. Especially since most of the media on him is a bit spotty. Hear it from the man himself.
I spent the past few years attempting to track down any and all F.Stokes’ EPs and Mixtape appearances. The most recent titled Love, Always (also titled Death of A Handsome Bride on iTunes) takes listeners street level with Stokes. His words paint a picture of his struggle. These words of poverty and depression mashed with the upbeat, head bopping beats, create an uplifting experience. His track Blessing’s with Doomtree’s Lazerbeak is a great example of how the somber poignant lyrics blend perfectly with a banger of a beat. For me it harks back to the East coast gangster style of the 90’s. Biggie would have been proud
He has a handful of other mixtapes, all available through his blog.
F.I.L.M. can be found here
http://fstokesmusic.blogspot.
Baked Goods can be found here
http://www.mediafire.com/?
All that seems to be holding him back is the fact that he doesn’t have a full-length album out as of yet. In February of this year F.Stokes’ set up a Kickstarter to fix that. He surpassed his goal of $10,000 to put together Fearless Beauty his first LP. We as a collective hip-hop audience should look forward to this record. It is going to be something special. Check out his Kickstarter video, it’s really an uplifting short story of his life.
http://www.kickstarter.com/
That’s all I got for you this week kids. I know weird right? Usually these run about 2,800 words but I find myself fascinated by this dude and don’t want to taint it with stories of my own personal bullshit. Tip of the cap to Ryan for turning me onto this guy’s sound.
I’ll leave you with Small Town Simple, a song about the beauty of small town life; a reminder to us all that the U.S. isn’t just NYC and LA. There is shit in between. Sometimes I need that reminder.
Get out and check this guy. Why not? I gave you the means to get the tunes. Follow him, tweet at him, get him to your town.
Big hugs,
Kelly
 LINKS
http://fstokesmusic.blogspot.