B. DOLAN

or over a decade, B. DOLAN has built a reputation for himself as one of the smartest, most energetic and surprising shows in Hip-Hop and Spoken Word. He keeps his loyal, homegrown fanbase coming back with a continually shapeshifting presentation, outsider perspective, and masterful execution. B. Dolan began performing in 1999 in the heart of the spoken word scene; New York City’s famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he developed his chops quickly. An 18 year old Dolan arrived for the first time as part of HBO’s Def Poetry Series in 2002, and the respect earned with numerous performance poetry championships in the two years that followed. 2003 also saw the first release of “The Failure,” [at the time] a two-disc, homegrown demo full of Dolan’s earliest work. After this self-release, Dolan disappeared from the poetry scene to pursue more overtly musical projects, as well as his own contribution to the struggle against social injustice. In the midst of inventing the ragged, breakdown aesthetic of his later work, Dolan also dug in his activist roots by creating and co-founding the Knowmore.org website with former slam teammate and friend Sage Francis. B. Dolan joined Francis on The Knowmore.org Tour in support of the project, which is when Francis expressed interest in releasing a revised version of “The Failure” on Strange Famous Records. 2008 brought about the official re-release of “The Failure” lp, which was trimmed down by a disc, and was critically acclaimed as a genre-defying, unheralded classic. It also earned a legion of die hard fans for Dolan’s spoken word pieces, who’ve stuck around since to watch this unique artist’s continual reinvention. In 2009 he released House of Bees vol. 1, a full length mixtape that served to build momentum toward his 2010 release. Then, in 2010, “Fallen House, Sunken City” hit. Dolan’s decidedly hip-hop sophomore lp was hailed by rap legends, critics and fans as a massive success. Alternative Press called the album “proof that underground hip hop still has bite,” and The Onion’s A.V. Club named it “One of the best albums of 2010.” “Earthmovers,” the album’s first video, also became an MTVu Freshman of the Week and was entered into rotation on MTV2. Since his signing to SFR, Dolan has toured exhaustively and internationally, most notably as part of the Paid Dues, SXSW 09, Soundset, and Rock the Bells festivals. In addition to his partner and frequent collaborator Sage Francis, Dolan has also toured with the likes of Buck 65, Alias, Sole, Solilaquests of Sound, Prolyphic, Dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip, Grand Buffet and others. In a University setting, Dolan has performed at Princeton, Montserrat, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, Providence College, University of Reno, Humboldt State University, University of San Diego, University of Delaware, Utah Valley University, West Valley College, Boise State University, University of Washington, and the University of New Mexico.