Know One

Know One, also known as MC Know One, is a New Orleans based lyricist and graphic designer.
Early life
Born Roan Smith in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to an artist mother and musician father, Know One was raised in the arts. After attending college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, plus a brief stint at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania to study graphic design, he moved to New Orleans and started an indie Hip-Hop label with other like-minded artists called Media Darling Records.
Career
As a flagship artist of the Hip-Hop collective, Know One served as a member of the groups The Blank Space with producer DamNathan, 3 Lucky Stiffs with Rapper Bionik Brown & producer DJ Quickie Mart, and Space God which was the teaming of the groups The Blank Space & God Awful. The label was doing very well until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. Know One continues to keep the label name alive with his latest release Sound Track - The Ballad Of Know One & DamNathan.
Music
;The Blank Space (2002): The Blank Space is a very experimental project produced by Damnathan with Know One as the primary vocalist. Only 100 copies were made for the purpose of getting their foot in the door of the underground Hip-Hop scene in New Orleans.
;The Humid Sounds of Media Darling Records (2004): In 2004 Media Darling Records released an LP consisting of songs from all the artists on the label. Know One contributed to 7 tracks on the album which went on to win an Off Beat award for best Hip-Hop album of the year and was named Best Rap album in Louisiana by Where Y'at Magazine.
;3 Lucky Stiffs Mix Tape (2004): This mix tape was recorded the summer of 2004 in one day. The group had not finished their LP just yet and had nothing to promote for their upcoming summer tour, so they all met up at Quickie Marts recording studio, The Soulhole, & recorded their first and only mix tape.
;Know One's Home (2007): After Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, many of the members of Media Darling Records left the city for good. Know One took a job refurbishing damaged homes for displaced families and began penning his first solo album. This project would be called "Know One's Home". This 23 track LP would become what is now considered Know One's magnum opus. Dedicated to New Orleans and the years he's lived there, this album uses Hip-Hop, Jazz, Funk, R&B, & break beats to create a sound that is both groundbreaking & timeless. This album includes appearances from New Orleans heavy hitters like Galactic, Bionik Brown, Quickie Mart, Impulss, & more. The breakout single on the album was called "My Back In The Day Song", a track dedicated to his childhood in Meadville, PA. The single was later used by McDonald's in a commercial for its sweet iced tea.
;3 Lucky Stiffs - Live at the Soulhole (2010): This album is a collection of songs meant to be on the 3 Lucky stiffs LP. Recorded between 2004 and 2006 these songs were the result of three musicians (DJ Quickie Mart, Bionik Brown, & Know One) from vastly different backgrounds coming together in the city of New Orleans to form a super group of sorts. The group gained national notoriety after the recording of their very first song "Q&A". They then got to work on writing and recording a full LP. Before they could finish, Hurricane Katrina struck scattering the group to different cities. They picked up recording again but had to do it long distance. These sessions only yielded one song called "Back Again". Tragically, Bionik Brown died in 2008 as the result of a car accident with a drunk driver. His friends recorded a tribute song available only on this album. 3 Lucky Stiffs: Live at The Soulhole is dedicated to the memory of Nathan "Bionik Brown" Woods. We continue to make music in your name.
;My Back In The Day Song - Remix EP (2010): This was the first song written for his first solo album, "Know One's Home". Though it's the most recognized song from the album, it's not the only version of the song out there. Over the years the song has been re-recorded as a jazz/funk fusion tune, an extended a cappella version with Know One singing all the instruments, and a remix done for a McDonald's sweet tea commercial. Previously unreleased, all the songs are now available on "My Back In The Day Song - Remix EP". Featuring Kevin O'Day of Iris May Tango, Kelly Carlyle, Able Chris, & Eduardo Tozato.
;Sound Track - The Ballad Of Know One & DamNathan (2011): Know One & DamNathan have been making music together since their 2002 release 'The Blank Space'. Their latest release 'Sound Track- The Ballad Of Know One & DamNathan' is a genre-crossing meld of heavy break beats, machine gun raps, and melodic, quiet moments that not only tie it all together but also add strong dynamics to the tunes rarely found on modern popular music. The idea was to take the extremes of what the two artists do musically and intertwine them with hopes of creating something truly unique. This album had been pieced together over nearly five years with the first of the songs being recorded while Nathan was in Los Angeles studying film and Know One was in New Orleans working on his first solo project 'Know One's Home'. Once DamNathan moved back to New Orleans the project began to build steam with Able Chris, one time member of the group, contributing to three songs on the project. Other guests include singer songwriter Rita LaGrange, NOLA Hip-Hop staple Impulss, multi-instrumentalist Kelly Carlyle & percussionist Anthony Cuccia of The Other Planets, turntable master Quickie Mart, & guitar great Timothy K. Smith in his final performance ever recorded before his sudden passing in 2009. As the album began to take shape, unintentional themes of second chances, DeJa Vu, time, and circular thinking, began to emerge in the subject matter of the songs. Once this pattern was recognized, the boys capitalized on it making the album not only an epic audio experience, but a cerebral experience as well. To put the finishing touches on the album, the two turned to music virtuoso Jim Nordstrom of Waterhouse Recording to mix & master the project creating perhaps the most genre bending piece of music to emerge from New Orleans in quite some time.

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