Fox Den Presents: Tropidelic w/ Artikal Sound System, Grieves, Ipcus Pinecone

“Every single second is a blessing if you count them all,” sings frontman Matthew Roads. You can hear the sincerity in his voice; the joie de vivre that oozes from everything Tropidelic does is apparent. When they take a stage, their synergy flows member to member—horns blow, knees kicked high and grins are passed from one man to the next. Almost immediately it spreads to the crowd, lifting hands in the air as their feet begin to move and the pulse collectively becomes that of one.

The six-piece band from Cleveland, Ohio may be far from any tropical islands but that doesn't stop them from dishing out an interesting mix of reggae, hip - hop and high energy funk for audiences across the country. Tropidelic has a deep and widespread appreciation for music that can be heard in each note. Some of the members are hip-hop heads, while others are into metal, funk or reggae. But each of these genres lends something to their collective sound. “We pride ourselves in being original in our musicality and personality as a band,” says Roads, “but also in not taking ourselves so seriously that it ruins the fun.”

For their 2017 release, “Heavy is The Head”, Tropidelic carefully vetted what songs made it to the record, and featured songwriting efforts from members James and Darrick. Sound engineer Cary Crichlow, who has worked on the last four releases from the band, returned to get the job done. “Our socio-political views vary as much as our musical tastes and always seep into the music” says Roads. “There’s certainly a lot that needs said, but on this record we tried to be well-rounded and touch on a broad scope of emotions.” The release debuted at #1 on the iTunes reggae charts on November 10, 2017.


These seasoned road dogs can be found spreading their soulful sound across the country in both intimate venues and music festivals, having shared the stage with and supported such acts as 311, Slightly Stoopid, The Dirty Heads, Pepper and The Wailers. Previously, Tropidelic has been featured at Electric Forest, Werk Out Festival, an appearance at Warped Tour, and SXSW. In 2018, the band is focused on headlining tours as well as performing at Reggae Rise Up, Cali Roots and much more. Stay tuned for more from Cleveland's home-grown, Tropidelic.

Based out of South Florida the multicultural group unites American, Jamaican & Hispanic Reggae culture. Performing nationally and internationally collaborations with some of the most influential musicians and artist in the Reggae scene include: Redlyte, The Abbysinians, Apple Gabriel of Israel Vibration, and a descendant of Bob Marley himself Biggz General. The band has had the honor of sharing the stage with Pepper, Dirty Heads, The Wailers, Steel Pulse, Yellowman, Less Than Jake, The Aggrolites, and Jesse Royal.

Their three most recent albums have reached the #2 position on the Billboard Reggae Charts. For their latest EP "Smoke & Mirrors" the group joined forces with singer/deejay Monsoon from Northern Clarendon Jamaica. The veteran singer-songwriter's vocal ability has been compared to Reggae veterans Capleton, Luciano, and Tony Rebel.

Benjamin Laub, better known by his stage name Grieves, is an American hip hop artist based in Seattle, Washington. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he lived in Colorado, San Diego, and New York City. He is signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Grieves released his first album, Irreversible, independently in 2007. In 2008, Grieves teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and producer Budo, with whom he would release his next two albums: 88 Keys & Counting in 2010, and Together/Apart in 2011. Together/Apart debuted at #112 in the Top 200 Album Sales, marking his first appearance in the Top 200. Grieves, along with Budo, performed at South by Southwest 2011 and also at Warped Tour 2011. His music has also been featured in Real Detroit Weekly, Seattle Weekly, and The Washington Post. His fourth album, Winter & the Wolves, was released on March 25, 2014. It peaked at number 57 on the Billboard 200. Followed by his fifth studio album Running Wild (2017), released August 25, 2017 and the EP:The Collections of Mr. Nice Guy (2019), released July 10th, 2019.