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S T O R Y PHOTOS COURTESY OF BEN DORMAN
From ‘Diamond City’ to Buffalo Marina del Rey’s Bijou gets personal on new EP
Marina del Rey resident Bijou (Ben Dorman) has made a name for himself in G-house, which fuses elements of house and rap. PAGE 12 THE ARGONAUT OCTOBER 7, 2021
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski arina del Rey G-house producer Bijou is one of the genre’s most prolific artists. While others were sulking or trying to fill their time during the quarantine, Bijou got down to business. He started an online music academy and brainstormed a clothing line called MTS, which introduced the first T-shirt last month. Following a year of studio grind, coupled with the release of his album “Diamond City,” the man otherwise known as Ben Dorman created the EP “Street Knowledge.” The collection combines a rhythmic bass with guests like Rick Hyde, Tony Watts, Youngworld, Chase Fetti and ElCamino. “The lead record and title track are about a year and a half old now,” Dorman said. “We had different release plans for it in the past that fell through. We thought we would just sit on this and wait until it falls into place naturally.” With “Code Blue,” “Rockstar” and “Curses” already streaming, the introspective project has already amassed hundreds of thousands of plays on Spotify. “Street Knowledge” is Bijou’s second EP of the year following “187 Proof.” The guests are primarily based in Buffalo. He focused on B-Lo in honor of his father, who grew up an hour outside of the city. “It’s another piece of me and an extension of me not only personally but musically,” Dorman said. “The album came together during COVID. I wasn’t traveling at the time, but I was going around the country meeting rappers, going in the studio, figuring out what works best conceptually for the track listing. If you break down ‘Street Knowledge’ and where it comes from, it’s about someone who has grown up and learned a lot of things that happened in the streets.” He’s not saying he grew up in the streets, but he has a “strong idea” about it and has experienced the activities in some sense. “I wanted to work with guys who also come from that type of thing and can understand it. In a lot of ways, I wanted to take it back to my roots. I’ve done the Phoenix thing with ‘Diamond City.’ That’s where I’m really from. ‘Street Knowledge’ is unequivocally every piece of
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