Len and Charles
Winnipeg, MAN + Madison, WI
Often described as a "new throwback", Bowen's music is halfway between the boombap sounds of the mid nineties East Coast hip hop boom – think Common and Nas - and the earnest, honest content of more contemporary artists on the hip hop charts today (YNB Cordae, H.E.R, Drake). Through his music, you can feel the contemplative, negotiation he's having with the listener, defining his place in the landscape as the narrator of his own epic, all the while determined to remain sincere.
For those counting, Bowen is approaching 25 years in the craft. Under his list of accomplishments sits a few Muchmusic, Rap City top tens, a Western Canadian Music Award nomination and a number one slot on the campus radio charts. That's also two records as a member of the legendary hip hop outfit Shadez Ov Black – often referred to as The Shadez – and two solo projects, Long Story Short and Going Away Party.
Released in 2016, his most recent project, Going Away Party is what Bowen describes as a "closing of a chapter and moving on to bigger and better things". The record itself is a retrospective – from detailing the journey of a single mother raising two children, a letter to lost love or a lighthearted ado to the craft he loves, the project is a ballad to a life enveloped in hip hop.
Charles Payne is a certified teacher, and a self-taught spoken word artist from Madison, Wisconsin. His work explores personal narrative and social commentary. He is the firstborn of a strict father and naïve mother. As a child, he loved hearing the sound of Paul Harvey's voice, whose innate ability to describe every intricate detail truly inspired Charles to tell stories himself. And yes, he can't wait to give you the rest of the story.
