Artist description Fun loving everyday life hip-hop.

Music Style Freestylin' hip-hop, fun loving lyrics and head noddin' beats

Musical Influences Video games, hip-hop, r&b, sitcom music

Similar Artists Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, De La Soul, Old School Fresh Prince

Artist History Hookdignious is a hip-hop artist focused on his heavy rhythmic pattern of vocals over the accompanying music. His lyrics tend to be subservient to the groove of the beat, and blends right in to make the two become one. Always tending to move you with his words while you ride the music, Hookdignious is known for making head-noddin’ tracks. Hookdignious, "Hook" for short, was born William Lord Garrison Bearyman on November 11, 1976. The name "Hook" was given to him by his cousin because of shape of the back of his head. Keeping the name as a full-time alias, Hook added the –dignious to give it a little bit more glamour. Hookdignious started writing rhymes back in 1991 after being influenced by a local rap group (The Dayton Family) that released an independent tape of their music in his birthplace of Flint, MI. Other influences include DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Slum Village and A Tribe Called Quest. Being a heavy fan of rap music, he decided to give it a try as a hobby. Creating a significant amount of underground basement studio tracks, people began to say Hook was good at rhyming. He began taking skills he learned from his band class and piano lessons, and began to craft music of his own. Hookdignious likes to keep his songs universally enjoyable. He has that smoothed out kind of sound. His most favorite kind of tracks are up-tempo dancing kinds of grooves found in songs like his representative Michigan anthem, "Got That Sound". Other songs like his classic jazzy feel in "This Is How We Drop It" are always up his sleeve when preparing for shows and concerts. He believes that we can all get along when it comes to the enjoyment of good hip-hop. Hookdignious along with some of his other music acquaintances decided back in 1999 they would form their own music company to focus on putting out their own material and offering services to the public for things music and multi-media related. The name of the company was Phalanx International, and since its inception, it has released three albums consecutively in 2000, 2001, and 2002 under the group The Phalanx (www.phalanx-int.com). During his time as President of Phalanx International, Hookdignious learned a plethora of knowledge about the music business and the ins and outs of studio recording and began running his own recording studio, SilverHook Studios (www.silverhookstudios.com). From producing head-noddin hip-hop for his own tracks and other MCs, to producing soulful and jazzy R&B tracks for some other artists, SilverHook Studios is the premiere place for Hookdignious to lay his tracks. Hookdignious has also gotten in video production and editing with the release of his first video "Let Me See ‘Em" which was a song included on 2001’s Phalanx: PromoMix II. Many people say that Hook is a producer and not just a beat-maker. The big difference is the music formulation apparent in the typical Hookdignious beat. Tracks full of harmonies, chord progressions, and conspicuous melodies are the norm. Songs like "Throw Ya Shields" and "City I Claim" show evident examples of this. Hook has featured tracks on a couple of local releases, including The Phalanx: PromoMix II and The Phalanx: Corporate Raid. PromoMix II was released in the metro Detroit and Flint, MI areas. Corporate Raid is being sold nationwide online at stores such as CDBaby.com as well as being available for sale on the Phalanx website (www.phalanx-int.com). "I consider myself a homegrown MC," says Hookdignious. "I like to ride the groove of a beat to make myself more of a compliment to the song, and less of a detriment to the listener". A true believer in authenticity, he enjoys music made fresh more than using samples or remakes. You can always expect to hear good music from this MC.

Group Members Hookdignious

Instruments Pro-audio studio equipment

Albums Octopia

Press Reviews Flint Journal - December 2000 Metro Times - February 2002 Real Detroit - March 2002 Rapreviews.com - March 2002 Jam Rag - April 2002

Additional Info Album dropping Winter 2003

Location Pontiac, MI - USA

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