Boy meets girl. Boy raps to girl. Girl cuts and scratches. And they perform happily ever after.
In today’s hip hop landscape, the classic configuration of Emcee and DJ, two turntables and a mic, is enough of a fairy tale on its own, and a male/female duo with the skills to make Cinderella stay out past midnight is even more mythical. Despite that improbability, M-TRI and DJ Leecy T are just that, and have managed to set the New York City hip hop kingdom abuzz with an energetic and precise style of hip hop that borrows from foundational aspects of Golden Era boom bap, but includes plenty of new school ingredients to sound fresh and distinct.
On his own, M-TRI (Emcee/Producer/DJ) was a capable hip hop architect, crafting acrobatic rhymes filled with clever subject matter, wordplay, punchlines and metaphors over a vicious flow, but as a solo artist, he felt there was an element missing. Around the same time, Felice was taking a break from modeling to follow her roots in music, specifically her love for hip hop. They met, and M-TRI took on a mentoring role, helping Leecy hone her craft. Before long, DJ Leecy T was born, guest deejaying at venues alongside M-TRI and holding down the turntables during his live stage shows.
During this time, Leecy won the award for Best New DJ at the 2009 Rapathon (Hip Hop Culture Center) and became a guest deejay on the Equilibrium Radio program, airing on 90.3 FM in NYC. A male emcee and a female deejay with an interactive live show were immediately embraced, and they continue to prove themselves no mere novelty, having performed with Talib Kweli, Large Professor and Neek the Exotic, Rah Digga, Eternia, Nitty Scott MC, J-Live, Masta Ace and Marco Polo, Homeboy Sandman, M.O.P., Sadat X, Dana Dane, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore, just to name a few.
A Jack and Jill of many trades, M-TRI & DJ Leecy T recently co-hosted their own radio show, Beats, Treats & Eats” on the 2012 Hip Hop Takeover on WBAI 99.5 FM in NYC. You can listen to DJ Leecy T spinning underground hip hop on New York radio stations WHCR 90.3FM and WBAI 99.5 FM, as well as in lounge and nightclub residencies throughout NYC.
M-TRI & DJ Leecy T are currently working on an album, set to be released in early 2013.