INeverRapped2BCool

INeverRapped2BCool. A movement (and independent record label) that came to life in 2011 by Godfrey Henry, or better known as, Da God 6EE; a passionate, hungry emerging rap artist that devotes his music to the social consciousness of Hip Hop. I had the esteem pleasure to interview Godfrey learning about the man behind his music and his relationship to the art form.

Godfrey hails from the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York, in which he was raised in a Haitian single-parent household. He has been making and recording music since he was about 16, but it wasn’t until he began his college career at Syracuse University where he recognized his potential and the advantage of the collegiate market. Through the campus' Verbal Blend Open Mics, he met a young man by the name of Jason Adams. Since their meeting they worked together, establishing the duo Genesys. In the summer of 2009, together they created “What U Wanna Do” and by Fall 2009 they released their Lyrical Exercise Mixtape. Afterwards, they created a music video (produced by Tari Wariebi) for their single “Whateva U Want”. By 2011, they released their final work together, Genesys Live.com. With students enjoying his music, performances and interviews with campus publications, Godfrey yearned for more and was ready to take his music to higher heights. Spring 2010 was his last semester at Syracuse University and he started a new journey at Baruch College under the Business Management program.

While speaking with Godfrey, you could hear his gumption and drive. I became enthralled with Godfrey’s up-and-coming music journey, but he wowed me even more as he began to discuss the very thing that bought us together: Hip Hop. When he was asked about the state of Hip Hop and its future state in five years, he came with a response you don’t hear often. “To me Hip Hop never really changed. The commercialism makes it look more different but it’s the same culture it was when it first started”. He further delved into the difference between evolving and changing, and how he thought a person could evolve, but not necessarily change. This was his way of touching on the global, multi-dimensional aspect of the culture, in which it evolved into something greater, and larger, but its roots is still very present.

With our interview we engaged in our thoughts about music, his beginnings, his name origin and where he planned to go. Da God 6EE came from a mixture of what his primary school teacher, Ms. Owens, and childhood friend, Mark called him. Mrs. Owens would call him “Da God”, short for Godfrey and for his originality in the poetry that he wrote. While his childhood friend gave him the name “Gee” spelled uniquely with a 6. A name that embodies his life journey and where he continues to go…

He is working on his first solo body of work, My Perspective Is Rare, where it is entirely his vision – a 21-year old young man articulating himself about coming from the bottom and not conforming. With this piece of work, Godfrey “Da God 6EE” Henry is ready to deliver a message; a message where he tells many that he never rapped to be cool. 

For more about this growing, dynamic artist, check out his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter: @DaGod6EE.