Jaeger Photography
In a genre largely consisting of solo acts competing for the spotlight, Madison hip-hop group 3rd Dimension defines itself by its strong relationships and collaborations.
Armani “Probz” Davis, James “Spaz” Golden and Lateef “Reeks” Cameron are childhood friends who started dabbling in music and rapping while students at James C. Wright Middle School in the mid-2000s. By high school the three were already paying for studio sessions. They officially formed under the 3rd Dimension name in 2010, adding Jacques “Half Breed” Wesley when he moved from Milwaukee to attend UW-Madison. Nick “Burn” Sampson joined as a producer after hearing their 2012 mixtape, Enough Isn’t Enough. The group will be at the High Noon Saloon on July 1.
3rd Dimension looks back on Sampson’s addition and their subsequent project, University Ave., as a creative milestone and turning point. The project eschewed samples and pre-made beats in favor of “all original work, all original hooks, everything from scratch.”
That sound, often deliberately sparse but dense in lyrical material, allows each member’s style to stand out without disrupting the flow of a song. This approach is reflected equally in brazen, crowd-rousing new songs like “Trippin Off” and “Oh Yea” — featured during a June 11 performance at the Memorial Union Terrace — and downtempo, introspective love songs like those found on Just Lust, an EP released on Valentine’s Day.
“Because we’ve been working together for so long, one person’s strengths have now become another person’s strengths because we’ve built off of each other,” says Sampson.
Their latest full-length work, Things Have Changed, released last November by Brooklyn-based streetwear company and record label Mishka NYC, was recorded at Wesley and Cameron’s home in Madison, but the group ventured to Chicago studio Music Garage for mixing sessions with recording artist Mick Jenkins and rapper-producer Supa Bwe. Lead single “Chosen” has 26,000 plays on Soundcloud, and the group has capitalized on a growing fan base since the project’s release by performing multiple shows in Chicago and Milwaukee.
“We get to sharpen up and make our chemistry stronger onstage,” Davis says of the recent live gigs, which included a trip last month to the final round of the Summerfest Showdown.
Madison has remained a source of influence and inspiration for 3rd Dimension, though some members have felt the urge to leave the area for greener pastures. They say they’ve been discouraged by what seems to be a reluctance among club owners to book local hip-hop acts.
But Wesley says they want to continue working here to help create “a better situation” for these artists. “There is a lot of fan potential out there in this city,” he says. And in the wake of successful recent tour stops by marquee rappers like Future and Fetty Wap, Golden says the group hopes opportunities will trickle down to local hip-hop acts.
For now, they’ve focused their attention on producing as much material as possible (a new project is due later this summer) and remain optimistic that years of persistence will pay off.
“We understand that music is very saturated, and there’s a lot of people who have this dream,” Davis says. “But we believe in ourselves, and we know we’re on the right path.”
