Photo courtesy of Marcus Kuhlmann

By William Bleicher, Connor Ryland, and Rory Plewman

Snoop Dogg, Tupac, the Notorious BIG, these are just some of the biggest rap names that we have encountered over the years. Recently, Menlo has produced some new rappers of their own: Dale Jode, Rodney Calico, and Quadeca. In an area where white-collar young adults wearing boat shoes are imbued in the very fabric of our community, these trendsetters are ushering in new era of Menlo Cult Rap.

Dale Jode:

Dale Jode began rapping in early 2014. His diverse, aggressive style immediately attracted his peers’ attention. “I have always been a patron of rap music, but when I heard Danny Brown rap, I was inspired and began making my own rap creations outside of school,” Jode said.

Last year, Jode entered the rap scene with his first single Harry Potter. The overwhelming positive feedback sparked an interest in Jode and compelled him to create more. “It has been very gratifying to see such a positive response to my music,” Jode said. “My music is one of the few things that I truly express myself in.”

While Jode is best known for his original adaptive style and unique sound, he is motivated by many rappers. “I take cues from some of the old school rappers from my day and age like Kurtis Blow, Rakim, and Slick Rick,” Jode said. “I also look to some of the modern rappers like Jadakiss, Pitbull, Gucci Mane, and E-40.” After Harry Potter, Jode began publishing his music on SoundCloud. Since Harry Potter, Jode has come out with the hits Moby Dick, Retribution, The Notebook, and recently Dr. D. Jode and Kuhlmann just finished a collaboration song and posted it under Rodney Calico’s Sound Cloud. The duo have plans to make more songs because of the massive support they have received.

Marcus Kuhlmann:

Rodney Calico, also known as senior Marcus Kuhlmann, burst out on to the rap scene near the end of 2015. Kuhlmann adapted a laid back style and focused himself on cultivating flow and emotion in his tracks. “As a man who is pretty cultured, I would say I like to dabble in all sorts of things in my free time, rhyming happens to be one of them. I have a very keen interest in multiple forms of music and rap was kind of for me,” Kuhlmann said.

He emerged on the SoundCloud rap scene with his single Uplift Freestyle. Kuhlmann has received large amounts of positive feedback from his classmates which provides inspiration for him to continue his work. “They are very supportive of me, my family at Menlo they f— with me,” Kuhlmann said. He describes himself as a versatile rapper who takes his inspiration from a variety of people, including Jode. “I’m a pretty versatile rapper. I’m down to do whatever… I definitely look to Lil B. Dale Jode was a pretty big inspiration too, you’ve got all of them. German Rap, all of it,” Kuhlmann said. “Dale Jode was probably that key turning point, I listened to the song Moby Dick , it really brought out an interest. Never before I had thought that I could rap.” Since his Uplift Freestyle Kuhlmann has released 12 new sounds highlighted by classics such as Patagucci, OG Plaxico Burress, and Konami Remix.

Ben Lasky:

Widely accredited as Menlo’s most popular rapper due to his large following on Spotify and Youtube, freshman Ben Lasky has accrued over 100,000 followers on YouTube and upwards of 20,000 plays on Spotify under the name Quadeca. With a high pitched nasally voice, Lasky’s style is punctuated by hard-hitting lyrics and plenty of grimy beats. Widely considered the Komodo Dragon of cult rap, due to ability to spit fire, Lasky splashed onto the scene six months ago. Since his inception, Lasky has been making waves within the rap community. “People have been telling me I’m good since I was 11, they are my motivators.”

Whilst it has been hard for Lasky to remain humble amongst the national stardom that he has gained over the past three years he has concentrated on his family and schoolwork. He looks forward to four more years at Menlo and continuing to flourish artistically.