BORN IN 2005 from turntables, a sampler, and a microphone, Philadelphia Slick has evolved into a ten-piece hip-hop ensemble. While lead emcee Noesis spins lyrical webs, producer and keyboard player Zach Reilly composes music that is somewhere in between DJ Shadow and Curtis Mayfield – a contemporary splice of funk and soul music from days past. Noesis and fellow emcee Mike Tjader deliver rhymes on everything from politics to food, live horns and strings further entrance the audience. Though Noesis has published four albums independently, Culture Industry marks Philly Slick’s debut.

The group has played at such venues in Philadelphia as The Filmore at the TLA, World Cafe Live, The Trocadero, The North Star, and The Five Spot. Philly Slick also crosses into New York often, and has been booked at colleges such as Temple, Arcadia, Rutgers, and Earlham. Some of the artists they have shared bills with are Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, The Juggaknots, Ohmega Watts, Reef the Lost Cauze, and The Last Emperor.