By Justin Lee
Nupanella. The name rolls off your tongue all smooth like silk. The same could be said about the vocal delivery of Rockabye, the central force behind local hip-hop duo Nupanella. Rockabye Together with the rhythmic flow of fellow mc AAnalyst, quench the never-ending thirst of heads searching for true hip-hop.
Meanwhile, producers/sound scientists Prizo and Mista Fro lace Nupanella’s tracks with bass-bumpin’, body-rockin’, head bangin’ beats that add a whole new element to this Calgary-based duo. Nupanella take the best aspects of hip-hop, whether it be the bounce flavour of "Pack It Up" or the party feel of their latest single, "Nupanella Comin’."
This was clearly evident last Thursday when Rockabye and AAnalyst, alongside Rookie Sirus and DJ Spinacillan on the one’s and two’s, performed at the Northwest lounge of new MacHall. Unfortunately, the absence of hip-hop fans was painfully obvious and Nupanella’s half-hour set wasn’t given its much-deserved props. However, Rockabye still manage to stay in a positive frame-of-mind about the whole situation.
"We need the supporters and that’s why we come to events like this, no matter how small they are. You will meet 3 or 4 people," he explains.
While the local hip-hop scene is considered modest in comparison to the likes of Vancouver and Toronto, Nupanella seems confident they’ll be representin’ for Calgary or "Bronco City" as Nupanella calls it.
"Were here right now and were not leaving. It’s only going to get better from here," insists Rockabye.
Nupanella has opened for just about every hip-hop act that comes to town in the last year and a half, including Naughty By Nature, Rahzel, Choclair and the Pharcyde.
"CJSW gives us a lot of love and we respect that a lot–the Groove, Beatmatrix and the club, Capital–they play us all the time… it’s nothing but respect, so we can’t do anything else but move forward. We’ve got so much backing from our community," explains Rockabye.
Next month the guys will be shooting their first video for Much Music.
For more information on Bronco City’s illest, check out Nupanella at www.nupanella.homepage.com.