The Rob Dz Experience

- This seven-piece outfit creates anything but the passé vision of hip-hop. It is mature, intelligent, confessional, groovy, jazzy.

- His lyrics slant to the comical, they come back to the insightful, ride right around to the inspirational. He can sound as smooth as D’Angelo, as carefree as Kanye. And the band rounding out his live Experience offers some of this city’s best hip-hop sounds.

- Witnessing the Rob Dz Experience live comes with the b-boy and Flowers, in addition to dynamic drummer Joey B. Banks, back-up singers Marcus Fleming and Toya Robinson, bassist Bruce Alford and guitarist Bobby Bryan. This seven-piece outfit creates anything but the passé vision of hip-hop. It is mature, intelligent, confessional, groovy, jazzy.

- Like the attitudes toward both the genre and the culture in the city, the Rob Dz Experience’s recent release Soul Anthems has been a long time coming. For more than three years, Dz worked with producer and Experience keyboarder Rick Flowers to put together a nearly flawless expression of true soul.

- Over a mellow, improvisational sounding bass line, Dz invites the listener to “Sit back, relax / listen, analyze / dig the experience / because the experience is my life.” From that very moment in the intro, it is impossible not to appreciate his experience.



- Badger Herald (Christine Holm)

- The group has spent the last year winning over the local music scene with their spirited live shows - and, in particular, Dz's commanding stage presence.

- Although in person Dz is something of a gentle giant - laid-back, soft-spoken and perhaps even a little shy - come showtime he dominates the mic with unexpected forcefulness. His flow is far gruffer and hard-hitting than the neo-soul hip-hop movement is accustomed to, more Scarface and B.I.G. than Common or Kweli. - Core Weekly (Evan Rytlewski)

- The hip-hop album mixes jazz, disco and funk, but there is one word that ties it all together.

- The resulting album -- which also includes a virtual who's who of the Madison nightclub scene -- has high production value and slick beats that don't sacrifice the live feel of a band, something that Dz thinks has been missing from sample-happy forms of hip-hop. - Wisconsin State Journal (John Wiedenhoeft)

- Madison rapper Rob Dz casts a wide net on Soul Anthems. The list of musicians who participated on the sessions reads like a who’s who of local music current and past.

- Dz's core backing band includes some of the strongest jazz blues and funk players in town.

- Setting himself far apart from the gangstas and hyper-clever wordsmiths who dominate hip-hop today, Dz takes an easygoing, almost conversational approach to rapping. It’s a refreshingly individual style that works well on everything...

- Dz is a great option for hip-hop fans who want a little positivity with their beats and have tired of the same old same old. - Isthmus - (Tom Laskin)

The Rob Dz Experience tries to improve music's image.....

Already in hip-hop starved Madison, the response has been very strong..... - Isthmus