Trunk Bound Regime

Trunk Bound Regime is a Hip Hop collective broadcasting from Dayton, Ohio. It consists of 5 different artists who have combined their talents to unify a divided Hip Hop community. The pieces of the puzzle started forming in the 90’s, a period of time Trunk Bound Regime considers Hip Hop’s heyday. Emcees Just Be and Mike Cooley attended rival high schools, and individually began honing their lyrical craft. The 2 were inspired by a wide array of artists such as Rakim, E-40, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Dungeon Family, and Wu Tang Clan. Around the same time, on opposite sides of the country, Trunk Bound deejays Spare Change and The Illness were studying the art of turntablism. Their influences included The X-Ecutioners, Q-Bert, Funkmaster Flex, and DJ Revolution. The first lady of Trunk Bound, Ashley Watson, was discovering her amazing vocal abilities. Studying legendary singers like Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, and Mariah Carey, Ashley would develop into both a powerful vocalist and songwriter.
The Regime’s nucleus formed in 2008, due to a chance meeting at Centre City Studios, where Mike Cooley and Just Be realized they had been on very similar musical journeys. The two began laying the groundwork for Trunk Bound Regime, but felt their was still a missing piece.
While working on Trunk Bound’s first mixtape, “The Bible: Gem City Version,” they realized that the piece missing from the puzzle was the backbone of Hip Hop, a deejay. Just Be then contacted Scribble Jam/Guitar Center battle champion DJ Spare Change about production on the mixtape. Not only did this lead to Spare hosting the mixtape, but it spawned the single “No Second Guessin’.” The song proved to be a hit with fans, and was hand selected by the Grammy-winning rock group Weezer for inclusion on the Guitar Center compilation “Fresh Cuts Vol. 4.” Ultimately, DJ Spare Change would prove to be the missing link the crew was looking for.
As the 3 began work on their sophomore release, a more soul/r&b influenced project, Centre City Studios once again became the setting for Trunk Bound Regime’s growth. R&B singer Ashley Watson took the group by surprise while singing the hook for a song to be later released on “The R&B Tape.” Her hard work and amazing talent seemed a perfect fit, and would allow Trunk Bound to further explore their musical influences.
While doing shows to promote both “The Bible: Gem City Version” and the upcoming “R&B Tape, the Regime took notice of another deejay, The Illness. Long-time collaborator with DJ Spare Change, The Illness frequented Trunk Bound shows, often assisting the group in any way he could. Cooley and Be took notice of his dedication and his incredible abilities as a turntablist. In turn, they invited him to become a part of Trunk Bound Regime.
Now, with a vastly talented and hard-working collective in place, Trunk Bound Regime looks to reach the masses. Armed with rhymes addressing both issues in their community and in the world, combined with an aggressive high-energy live performance, Trunk Bound Regime prepares to spark both musical and social change.