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Bopa King Carré

Bopa King Carre is a deeply spiritual and intuitive creator with much more life experience than his age would imply. He is an extremely versatile and eclectic drummer, master percussionist, improviser, composer, arranger, actor, teacher and always a student. He is among the most explosive and energetic live performers anywhere. Bopa exhibits visionary musicality, deep listening, shocking improvisational talent, formidable technique, a strong sense of time, great stamina and immense stage presence. His constant exploration of the music and rhythms from his life-study, world travel, tremendous performance history, extensive dance club experience and endless inner space-born mystical channeling keep Bopa King Carre naturally sensitive to the dynamics and attitudes of almost any musical situation. His ability to anticipate other musician’s choices of notes, chords and rhythmic changes at any tempo, with no hints or cues, contribute to his mastery of accurately “playing the mix” with DJs. His uncanny ability to guess any DJ's next song selection is among the most obvious attributes setting Bopa King Carre apart from all other percussionists. Influenced by diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, Bopa grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan listening to the exotic sounds of early 1970’s A.M. Radio, Salsa Romantico, Brazilian, Calypso, Classical, Greek, “Fiddler on the Roof, ” Johnny Cash, Mambo, Mario Lanza, Miles Davis, Mohammad El Bakkar, Motown, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone and various other artists. 1976 - 1988 - Bopa King Carre played the trombone in the third grade. In the fifth grade Bopa picked up the guitar. When he first encountered percussion, in school, he was not so attracted to the study. He felt that, “the drums would be too easy to play.” Bopa decided not to pursue any more music in place of a brief fling with the Visual Arts, but during this time Bopa had a strong aversion to Disco. During the early Eighties, Bopa accompanied his many “rapping” classmates by pounding on tables with his fists, hands and with vocalized "beat-box" renditions. He also spat rhymes "battled" through Break Dance and frequently attended what, at that time, were very obscure underground Punk, Hardcore, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Power Metal and Thrash Metal concerts. 1983 - 1988 - By his sophomore year of high school, Bopa was obsessed with all Rock, Funk, Rap, Afro/Cuban, Post-Bop, Free, Fusion Jazz and Minimalism. He had been exposed to The Lower East Side Noise and San Francisco Art-Rock Scenes, as well as other Progressive-Experimental sounds first heard on W.K.C.R.

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