A.R.K. represents the combination of three veterans of the hiphop scene in the greater Washington DC area. Noyeek the Grizzly Bear (Grizz), as a member of his original group Gifted Ingenuity, was one of the first Virginia area hiphop artists to sign a major label recording deal, with Mercury Records. Theory, as a member of his original group Live Society, was one of the first DC hiphop artists to receive national media attention, when Live Society was selected for recognition in the Unsigned Hype column in The Source in the early '90s. This is when all three came together as part of the legendary DC underground collective Infinite Loop, founded by group member Dimensions (Dimes). Dimes was formerly in a group with Stic.Man (of iconic conscious rap group Dead Prez) when both men lived in Tallahassee, Florida. He also was a member of the duo Organic Symmetry in DC.
After years of blazing trails on the DC underground separately, the three members of A.R.K. (formerly The Package) decided to combine forces once again. Within a few months of the completion of their debut album, New Golden Era, they discovered that their lead single, "Making Waves" had made an incredible breakthrough, receiving regular spins at the late night mix show of Peter Rosenberg of Hot 97, who became an instant fan of the song.
​After solo releases from Dimensions, Noyeek and Theory, A.R.K. is back at it with “Trials, Tribulations, TRIUMPH” a dope new collection of songs that speaks to the soul and moves the body.
DMV hiphop trio The Package is now known as A.R.K. (Anthony, Richard, and Keeyon, the government names of group members: Dimensions [on rhymes], Theory [on beats] and Noyeek [on rhymes] ). After garnering thousands of views with (Hot 97's own) Peter Rosenbergdirected video for "Making Waves" (the lead single from their last album "New Golden Era"), followed by Theory successfully placing beats on projects for emcees such as Dungeon Family's own Backbone (ATL), the A.R.K. has returned with their sophomore album "Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph", released August 2015. "You were my lifeline/Never left/when I wasn't in my right mind" is the type of polysyllabic bar with emotional resonance and wordplay that exemplifies the level of lyricism present throughout this entire album. The production is equally potent throughout the record, including amazing chops of D'angelo's "How Does It Feel" ["Lady (remix)"] and The Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" ["Don't Start"], along with interpolations of Paul McCartney's "Great Day" ["Mosaic"] and a range of other beats crafted on Theory's vintage instrument collection. Besides the eleven A.R.K. only records representing the bulk of the project, the album features three collaborative cuts: "Frontlines" featuring Rhymesayers affiliate Quadir Lateef, Beat Konductaz' own Lord Betta,and Dimensions' teenaged son Infinite. In addition to two posse cuts with The A.R.K.'s old crew, veteran DC hiphop collective Infinite Loop, with Jarobi White of Tribe Called Quest [the aforementioned "Don't Start" and "Fall Back"]. The singles are Will , Nightime , Toys, Lady and Celebrate. All these singles show the difference in the sound while each remaining to be a favorite.
A Holiday House Party:
A Celebration like DC hasn't seen in years. Come out to the Science Club Holiday House Party takeover! Enjoy live performances from well known independent artists in the local DC area, along with DJs spinning on the 2nd floor. A night of nonstop fun and entertainment to bring in the Holiday season.
Truth Music Tour w/ No Malice
SXSW performance at Ibiza Nightclub
FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 @ THE PINCH
Bands Performing:
8pm Ecstatic Band featuring Mz. Bree (facebook.com/1mzbree)
9pm DMV910 The band (facebook.com/DMV910)
10pm The Evolution Orange Band (facebook.com/Evorangeband)
11pm Total Access Band (facebook.com/Total-Access-Band-969641989714432)
12am A.R.K. (www.arkmusicgroup.com)
THE PINCH, 3548 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010, 202.722.4440, www.thepinchdc.com, $10 admission; All Ages Admitted