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December 1st, 2008
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Block party on the Vltava

Hip-hop impresario Ni headlines a night of urban music and film

By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
August 13th, 2008 issue

DJ Witch Presents Nironic


When: Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7:30
Where: Střelecký ostrov
Tickets: 140 Kč, available through Ticketstream and at the venue
Music will be followed by a 10 p.m. screening of Dave Chappelle's Block Party. For more information, see www.strelak.cz
“When it comes to manipulating music, patterns, rhythms or melody, it just clicks for me,” says producer/songwriter and hip-hop artist Ni (aka Eric Cherryhill). Prague may seem an odd place for a multitalented artist raised in the South Bronx to jump ship from an early and promising music industry career stateside. Yet, since settling here in 2004, Ni has found a different kind of momentum with his now-defunct visionary hip-hop/jazz/rock band Cherry Hill, his work with local underground hip-hop faves the Regime and his ongoing efforts with award-winning producer DJ Witch.
Ni and Witch will be anchoring a hip-hop party on Střelecký ostrov this week, spinning infectious American beats before a screening of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. Filmed in Brooklyn, the 2005 movie includes scenes shot at Ni’s previous haunt, S.I.R. studios, and features music by Mos Def, Talib Kweli, the Fugees and other members of the hip-hop community whose style syncs perfectly with his musical directions.
Ni was immersed in the music business from an early age. He started on guitar when he was 14, switched to drums, and by 18 was an engineer at S.I.R. Studios. “I ran across lots of people there, like Dennis Chambers [George Duke and P-Funk Allstars], John Blackwell, who works with Prince — there were so many people around,” he recalls. “Omar Hakim, who has worked with Miles Davis and Sting, was friends with my father. So all these people were feeding me information left and right. And within a year I was getting offers, including from Christina Aguilera’s music director, who had seen me play live at the Bitter End. It was kind of mind-blowing. But I got a better offer from Living Colour as a road tech.”
It was while touring with Living Colour that Ni fell instantly in love with Prague and declared it to be his new home. He still works out with his drum kit in a Žižkov practice space, and says he may return to jazz drumming later in life. For now, he has picked up the producer’s console and a rapper’s mic for situations he describes as “underground basements where it’s just turntables, mics and a load of people just rockin’ out.”
Which is not to say he’s lost any global ambition. This was well-illustrated on Slovakia’s popular Markíza Super Sylvester New Year’s program. As 2008 approached, Ni combined forces with regional soul diva Dara Rollins, taking their hip-hop call and response to the realm of prime-time entertainment. And Cherry Hill’s 2005 CD For the Love of the Art (on Czech BBarák label) and his collaboration DJ Witch Presents Nironic — The Chronicles of a Nomad (2007, PA trick Records) were both major label contenders.
But working with international giants like Sony and EMI in Central Europe is not always an advantage, according to Ni. “I remember talking with Slovak rappers Rytmus and Ego from Kontrafact, who were releasing on Sony, and they had almost no distribution in the Czech Republic,” he says. “In Slovakia, you can get their CD at Tesco, but because of the distribution networks, it’s not available in the Czech Republic. The same thing is with my record with Witch. In Slovakia, they were calling us and asking us to send records because they couldn’t get them there.”
Making a career move as improvisational as his free-style delivery, Ni has decided to speed things up by working simultaneously with European artists both west and east of the Czech borders. “I’ve changed positions from just a guy who gives beats and raps to now being a studio engineer, producer and songwriter,” he says. “I’m writing for [singer and actress] Olga Lounová. I recorded the California hip-hop act Cali-Agents. I’m back working with the Regime, and we just added a new member, C-Monts. I’m working on a record right now in France with DJ/Producer Astronote, set for a second-quarter 2009 release. And I’m working with a mix tape series for release in Germany.”
Since their 2006 affiliation with Czech-based Skoop Entertainment, Ni and Witch have cooperated on shows that have included visiting artists like Wu-Tang Clan, Method Man and Little Brother. They’ve also been working a second double CD, April 7th, slated for release this fall.
But you don’t have to wait that long to hear him. He has a weekly radio show every Tuesday night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Prague’s Radio Spin, followed by live DJ work from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the M1 club. And this week’s party with Witch should be a perfect accompaniment to another hot, steamy August in Prague.
Darrell Jónsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at tempo@praguepost.com


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