Perhaps it was the euphoria of the first time he heard a rhyme collide with a beat. It may have been the gruesome civil war that touched his young life, and that war’s impact his family. Likely, it was the fusion of the two experiences that inspired a young Kedrick Mack to develop and refine his sound into what is now the intense, distinctive sound of emcee/producer Dope KNife. The Liberian-American lyricist was the son of a diplomat, he grew up in West Africa before moving to the US and settling in the south. As one of the founding members of the Dope Sandwich hip-hop collective, he gained a reputation as an impressive freestyle rapper and live performer while in the group. As a solo artist, he honed his unique style of “Progressive Boom Bap”