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Plays well with others
Breakdown
Text: TBT1
www.criticalbreakdown.com
By Jay Cridlin and Julie Garisto
jcridlin@tampabay.com and jgaristo@tampabay.com
Sparks definitely fly whenever Breakdown, a.k.a. Ryan McGown,
takes the mike.
That could be because he works as an electrician by
day. Or it could be because the fluid and cleverly
crafted lyrics behind his funky, rhythmic flow deal
with everything from the war in Iraq to the poignant
and redemptive story about the day his mother died.
"A lot of what I say is very honest, and I'm not afraid
to show weakness," he says. "A lot of people respect
and relate to it because I'm not putting on some kind of image,
like I'm super macho and I have all these women. I'm not trying
to overcompensate for anything. I'm just me."
Breakdown's soulful beats have made him a natural to open up
at all kinds of shows, from hip-hop, he was recently tabbed
to open for De La Soul, to indie rock to metal. This genre
flexibility has earned him some unexpected fans. The smooth
mixes he drops rhymes on can be credited to Ranmecca, the guy
Breakdown calls his right-hand at live gigs.
"A lot of times, I get booked on a bill with a heavy metal
band or a lighter rock band or an obscure band whose sound
is very far removed from hip-hop, and I end up playing in front
of people who are more into indie rock," he says. "A
lot of people aren't aware that the type of hip-hop I make
even exists."
At the moment, he's working on two follow-ups to last
year's LP Social Studies: a straight hip-hop album,
and a concept album he says will revolve around women. "Not
like in a negative sense, or like every song's going
to be a love song or anything like that. But everything
will relate to women."
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