B. Dolan
Somewhere at the darkest fringe of the griot tradition, exists the sociopath man-ogre known as B. Dolan, effortlessly shifting shape between an activist, clown, writer, and performance artist.
Since 2001, a series of gritty, spectacular performances have earned Dolan considerable notoriety; both for their controversial and challenging subject matter, and the brutal intensity with which they are delivered.
Dolan first cut his teeth at Brooklyn's Nuyorican Cafe, and gained attention as part of HBO's Def Poetry Jam in 2002. He captured the Providence poetry slam title in both 2002 and 2003, and served as a member and coach to several national Slam teams before breaking with poetry slam in late 2003.
In 2002, he founded a youth art-outreach program called "the Open Mics Project", and began counseling youth through rap and poetry in a variety of settings. In 2003, he took a job working with adjudicated youth at Tides Family Services, and helped the school develop a hip hop-based arts program for their at-risk students.
2003 found Dolan releasing a demo version of "The Failure" in a limited, hand-to-hand fashion. In the midst of developing the ragged, breakdown aesthetic seen in his most recent work, recording hundreds of demos and even fronting a band, Dolan also conceived of (and co-founded) the Knowmore.org website with fellow poet and friend Sage Francis in 2005.
Since then, Dolan has toured extensively in the US, as part of Sage Francis' Death Dance and Knowmore.org Tours, as well as Buck 65's International Situation Tour, captivating audiences from coast to coast and announcing himself as a formidable new presence in the worlds of lyricism, performance art, and political action.
In 2008, Dolan released the most comprehensive collection of his recordings, works, and performances to date. First the "Live Evel" vinyl EP, and finally "The Failure" LP, (feat Sage Francis, Alias, Sole, and more.) Additionally, he appeared on Prolyphic & Reanimator's debut album "The Ugly Truth."
These releases have been supported with further performances, in the US (most notably as part of Murs' Paid Dues Festival) and internationally (France's Tribu Festival, Villette Sonic, and more.)
From the cave to the stage, B. Dolan is bringing the circus to an incident near you. Step right up.
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