Beedie | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brian Benjamin Green |
| Born | (1988-01-19)January 19, 1988 (age 37) New York City, U.S. |
| Origin | Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation | Rapper |
| Years active | 2007 – present |
| Labels | Independent[1] |
| Website | www.beedieland.com |
Brian Benjamin Green (born January 19, 1988), better known by hisstage nameBeedie, is an Americanrapper based out ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born inNew York City to a family of working entertainers, he began his music career in 2007 with fellow Pittsburgh emceeMac Miller as the duoThe Ill Spoken.
Beedie was born in New York City and lived in Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma, before moving to Pittsburgh in 2001 with his mother, Marina Posvar, and younger brother.[2] Posvar graduated from Pittsburgh'sCarnegie Mellon University and was a professional actress in theater, film, and TV. His father was a sports announcer and producer. His maternal grandparents are the lateWesley Posvar, who was theChancellor of theUniversity of Pittsburgh from 1967 to 1991, and his wife, the lateMildred Miller, an opera singer who performed at theMetropolitan Opera from the 1950s to 1970s and then founded theOpera Theater of Pittsburgh.[3]
Beedie started writing rhymes starting at age 12. He attendedTaylor Allderdice High School, but dropped out after his parents kicked him out of the house. He took classes atCommunity College of Allegheny County to earn hisGED.[3]
In 2007, when Beedie was 19, he and 15-year-oldMac Miller (then known as EZ Mac), founded the rap duo The Ill Spoken.[3] After performing at shows around Pittsburgh and releasingHow High: The Mixtape with Miller on October 27, 2008,[4] the two emcees began focusing on solo careers.[3] Beedie has citedJ. Dilla andKanye West as musical influences, and describes his sound as "classic hip-hop with a new-school twist".[2]
On June 30, 2011, Beedie released his first album unofficially, titledThe Beat Bully LP.[5] The album was well received by music critics.[6] According to Beedie, this album shows a lot of growth as an artist, and he considers it his official debut.[7] Varsity Squad is a group/crew consisting of emcees Beedie and Jon Quest, who announced the forming of the group while performing alongsideMethod Man &Redman in Pittsburgh in August 2010.[8] The two emcees released a collaborative album titledNew School Boom Bap on February 7, 2012. Their work garnered the attention of many influential underground acts such asOne Be Lo ofBinary Star, who tapped Varsity Squad for a feature on his 2011Laborhood Part 2 mixtape in the song "U Minor, We Major",[9] as well as producerBuckwild ofDITC.[10][11]
After releasing a stream of viral music videos onYouTube,[12][13] Beedie released his next solo effort titledAbove The Weather on August 13, 2012.[3][14] The project featured production from the likes ofStatik Selektah,[15][16]Buckwild ofDITC[10][11] and more. The release garnered the attention of many publications including thePittsburgh Post-Gazette[17] andPittsburgh City Paper, who featured Beedie for a cover story on September 26, 2012.[3] Soon after, Beedie and Mac Miller reunited to release another track as The Ill Spoken on October 23, 2012.[18] On January 5, 2013, producer Git released a single titled "Magic Spaceship" featuringSean Price, Beedie and fellow Pittsburgh rapper B. White[19]
Beedie appeared onSirius Radio'sShade 45 station with Statik Selektah on May 30, 2013, where he announced his next release would be titledCounter Culture.[20] After many delays, the album was finally released digitally on December 22, 2015,[21] followed shortly after with a mixtape titledB-$ide$ Vol. 1: Lo$t Dream$ released on Beedie's 28th birthday, January 19, 2016.[22] As suggested by the title, the mixtape featured lost and scrapped songs during the long recording process betweenAbove The Weather andCounter Culture.[22] Around this time Beedie formed a friendship with fellow Pittsburgh artistWiz Khalifa,[23] who brought out Beedie to perform on various tour dates[24] and eventually featuring on the song "Make A Wish" onCounter Culture.[25]
Solo Mixtapes
With Jon Quest as Varsity Squad
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