Down Low

Down Low is the name of more than one artist: 1) German hip-hop 2) NY hardcore punk, aka Downlow NYHC and Downlow N.Y.H.C. 1) DOWN LOW were founded in December 1995 in the K-Town studios in Kaiserslautern. It is the biggest US community outside the USA (50% 0f the population are American and it's a great place for Rap and Hip-Hop producers because many US G's start a music career after leaving the army). The members of this group are Joe Thompson and Mike Dalien. Joe is a US American born in 1972. He took part in operation Desert Storm in the Gulf whilst in the army. He then left the forces and began rapping with friends like Rod D (Fun Factory). Mikem that has a father in the military, has devoted his life to music. He met Joe and formed Down Low. The boys write good melodies and commercial raps. Their first single "Vision Of Life" was a big hit - Top 20 in Germany, Top 10 in France plus chart entries in Austria and Switzerland. This sound revolutionized almost four months in the Charts the industry. Afterwards artist followed such as C-Block, NANA, A.K.-S.W.I.F.T, R´n´G, etc.. European Hip Hop was on the move - as music direction and culture. In addition, DOWN LOW proved that they are not only a "one hit wonder"". They were represented as only act in this music style since 1 1/2 years with each single in the Charts. Inspired by the O.J. Simpson story, the duo then wrote and recorded "Murder" - which also charted in the above territories. This was followed by the debut album "VISIONS", released in November 96 - which entered the German album chart. Their next single "Lovething" was considered by ZYX UK to be the track to introduce Down Low onto home territory. The rapper Joe Thompson and the singer Mike Dalien are characterised however also by their impressively represented Live appearances. Down Low got the "Best Performance" award for the radio NRJ in 1997. This was a firs big award for a European HipHop/Rap group. The Live Performance of the interaction with the public, the souligen voice of German American Mike Dalien and the printoutful raps lives and the Action of Rapper Joe. In the end of May 2001, the new single "Wouldn't it be good" was released, which features the great singer La Mazz from Rappers Against Racism. Then the guys took a long break, to release one of the best songs on this album, "La Serenissima" in late 2002. February 2003 was a important moth for Down Low. First of all they released a fantastic DVD called "Visions - The Singles 1997-2003". Shortly after that, the fans of Down Low all over the world got the sad news that Mike Dalien had left Down Low for a solo career. When Mike left, Joe invited the Rappers Against Racism singer La Mazz to be the new voice of Down Low. Some month later, the new single "Living In The Ghetto" was released in late october of 2003. This wasthe first single with Mike being gone, and La Mazz singing instead. After that, Down Low had some troubles with their record company. The fifth planned album "Adrenaline" was canceled, and Joe and Rick are now working on new stuff. The new single "Everyday (MMMM)" was released in September 2005, and for the summer of 2006, the single "Start The Riot " came out and rocked the clubs! In late october 2006, the fans got finally what they have been waiting for 5 long years. The 5th album "Return Of The Trendsetter" was released. It contained the good ols Down Low style, mixed together with modern sound. in 2007, the brand new song "Africa" was released. A very respected song among the fans. After that, some record deal problems followed, but Down Low are now back on track now, in the end of 2008. Joe Thompson is also recording a solo album called "Pathfinder", so don't miss that in his own page here on the site! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.