Eric Biddines Eric Lamar Biddines | |
|---|---|
 Biddines atSXSW in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ocala, Florida |
| Origin | Delray Beach, Florida |
| Genres | Rap,funk,R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer, lyricist, record producer |
| Instrument | D.A.W. |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | planetcoffeebean, Juggernaut Sound Productions,Empire Distribution |
| Website | EricBiddines.com |
Eric Biddines (bornOcala, Florida) is an Americanrapper, vocalist, andrecord producer based inPalm Beach, Florida. He has released several albums on his labelplanetcoffeebean, and in 2010 was nominated for Independent Artist of the Year at the Palm Beach Hip Hop Awards. His most recent album,The Local Cafe, was released in 2017,[1] with the music video for the track "Railroads Down/Unfished" released toMTV2 andMTV Jams in April 2014. He has released several other music videos as well.BET wrote that Biddines' music "demonstrates aDungeon Family-like propensity for interweaving harmonious refrains into complex flows to create a sound that sandwiches purehip hop with layerings offunk andR&B."[2]
Eric Biddines was born in the city ofOcala, Florida. At the age of six he moved toDelray Beach, Florida inPalm Beach County, where he was raised by his mother in a strict religiousJehovah's Witness household.[3] At a young age he and his three siblings listened to modern R&B and earlyMotown artists such asAl Green andLuther Vandross.[4] He also listened tohip hop at a young age. As a teenager he was inspired to change his lifestyle by lyrics in theOutKast albumATLiens, whereAndre 3000 raps "No drugs or alcohol so I can get the signal clear." Recollected Biddines, when he first heard the lyrics "I was 13 and I grew up in the projects, like government assistance. Being bad was the cool thing so when Andre said that at a time when the South was struggling to establish an identity, it just threw me off and inspired me so much that — not that I was supposed to at 13 — but I haven't gotten into any of those activities ever since."[2]
In 2009 Biddines released the music video for his track "Walkin'." He released his first solo mixtape,DaCoffeeShop, in 2010. The album was self-released on his own label planetcoffeebean.[5] About the creation of his label and narrative world of his lyrics, in 2013 Biddines stated that "Planet Coffee Bean is an escape. I like to believe when my followers see me or play my music, it gives them an out-of-body experience. Like, I'm branding landmarks and characters throughout my projects, and there's themes that help you bring the mental aspect into this physical world."[3] After the release ofDaCoffeeShop, in 2010 he was nominated independent Artist of the Year at the Palm Beach Hip Hop Awards.[3] That year he also released his full-length debut, titledFLA Alien: Planet Coffee Bean. Stated theNew Times, the album "formulated an alternative lifestyle, all revolving around a brewed cup of java."[3]
He released the mixtapeAye Story About Love in 2011, which theNew Times called "a neosoul, introspective effort that delved into all the trappings of romance."[3] On April 27, 2012 he released the EPThe Frozen Lake, on his own label planetcoffeebean.[3] He performs periodically in Florida, and in March 2013 he opened forSolillaquists of Sound at Speakeasy Lounge.[3]
His fifth album,Planetcoffeebean 2, was released independently in 2013.[2] He stated thatPlanet Coffee Bean 2 was likely his "most flexible and well-balanced album." He worked on the songs for two years, recording around fifty songs and focusing for months on the artwork.[3] The final cut included twelve tracks.[5]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Eric Biddines - "Walkin" Official Video (July 16, 2009) | |
| Eric Biddines RAILROADS DOWN/UNFINISHED "Official Music Video" (April 2014) |
Biddines has released several official music videos. In April 2014 his video "Message in a Bottle" premiered onComplex.com,[6] and his video for "Railroad Down/Unfinished", a track first included onPlanetcoffeebean 2, was exclusively released onHipHopDX on April 14, 2014.[7]MTV Jams put "Railroads Down/Unfinished" in heavy rotation in April,[5] and it also premiered onMTV2.[8]
Biddine's friend Ryan Synder,[9] who has worked on videos forMaybach Music Group and Dre Films, directed the film for "Railroad Down/Unfinished".[7] The music video takes the form of a narrative, with Biddines' character enslaved on a Southern plantation. A number of other characters take part, with Biddines doing his own stunts.[7] Biddines had come up with the setting for the video before finishing the song in 2013, stating "I wanted to make a beat that sounds like it was being created live. Like, whatever was going on in the surroundings also went on in the music. So you could kind of hear the steps and the crickets or whatever the case may be. I needed to pick a setting and place that [had] those same things."[7]
In 2014 after performing atSXSW he partnered with Richie Abbott ofStrange Music, working with his Juggernaut Sound imprint in association withEmpire Distribution to re-releaseplanetcoffeebean 2. The new "deluxe" edition features five new songs.[4] Together he and producerPaul White form the hip hop duo Golden Rules. They released their debutGolden Ticket in 2015.
Jake Rohn ofBET wrote in 2014 that Biddines' music "demonstrates aDungeon Family-like propensity for interweaving harmonious refrains into complex flows to create a sound that sandwiches purehip hop with layerings offunk and R&B".[2]HipHopDX writes that Biddines has a "deep Southern sound that's at times as soulful as it is fervent — and an introspective nature that allows him to expertly use a cup of coffee as a metaphor for the daily grind".[7]
AboutPlanetcoffeebean 2 Hilly Dilly positively compared him toAndre 3000 for his ability to both rap and sing well, while also complimenting his individual take onSouthern rap.[10] Biddines has stated that "I grew up on the Dungeon Family,Cee Lo,Goodie Mob,OutKast,Devin the Dude — a lot of Southern music, but something the artists I just mentioned have in common is they're different. I'm not gonna do what everybody around me is doing —so my direction was to be consciously different."[2] About his own genre, Biddines has stated that "I probably do like 25 percentR&B 'cause it's just so you get a little taste, and not so much that I'm overdoing it 'cause I'm still primarily in the rap category. If you sing too much it becomes boring, but if I give you like 75 percent rap and sing just as flawlessly then you look at it like, 'Whoa, he can spit but his melodic side sounds too good.'"[2]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Palm Beach Hip Hop Awards | Eric Biddines | Independent Artist of the Year[3] | Nominated |
| Year | Album title | Release details |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | DaCoffeeShop |
|
| 2010 | FLAlien:planetcoffeebean |
|
| 2011 | Southern Fla |
|
| 2013 | planetcoffeebean 2 |
|
| 2017 | The Local Cafe |
|
| 2018 | Toilet Tissue |
|
| Year | Album title | Release details |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ayestoryaboutlove |
|
| 2012 | The Frozen Lake |
|
| Year | Title | Album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Walkin'"[5] | Single only | Music video |
| 2011 | "M.L.W.J.C." | Single Only | planetcoffeebean; Apr 18, 2011 |
| 2012 | "Southern Fla" | Promo Single | planetcoffeebean; Jan 5, 2012 |
| 2012 | "Coffee Cup" | Single Only | planetcoffeebean; Aug 24, 2012 |
| 2012 | "Nameless" | Single Only | A3C/iH2D/iHipHop Distribution; Dec 18, 2012 |
| 2013 | "Railroads Down/Unfinished" | planetcoffeebean 2 | Juggernaut Sound; April 14 |
| Year | Single name | Primary artist(s) | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Push"(ft. Eric Biddines) | J.O.B 9-5 | Single only | YOUKNOWE.ENT; Apr 30, 2013 |
| 2015 | "Breaking Up"(ft. Deniece Williams & Eric Biddines) | Bobby Caldwell & Jack Splash | Cool Uncle | Fresh Young Minds; Nov 13, 2015 |
