It was by chance I discovered Pell. It was just over a year that Dom Kennedy had released his second studio album Get Home Safely, and I was starving for the next release. So, a “Dom Kennedy” google search would surely satisfy my hunger, or at least I thought it would. However, what I found was not Dom Kennedy news, but rather a interview with Pell talking about Dom Kennedy (Great SEO usage for the website as well).
At the time of the interview, one of Pell’s 10 favorite songs was Dom Kennedy “When I Come Around.”
“Dom Kennedy’s cadence isn’t methodical, it’s passionate and his own,” Pell said. “As he wraps you into the rhythm of his rhymes, you can’t help but notice how cool and convincing he is with his words.”
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was reading an article on one of favorite artists in 2017. At the moment, all I knew about Pell was he was from New Orleans, Louisiana, he sounded nothing like the traditional New Orleans rapper, and he was touring to promote his debut album Floating While Dreaming, released in May of 2014. But, I had new music to listen to, and the discovery of Pell was on.
The project earned praise as one of the top independent releases of the year. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Pell moved to Jackson Mississippi. He attended Mississippi State University before pursuing music full-time where he met his manager Jacob Reed.
The first track “Dollar Store” on the album immediately caught my attention. Reflecting on his old job and time at college, Pell takes listeners back to the year 2012 with his lyrics.
“Back in 2012, thought professors couldn’t use me,” Pell raps. “So I thank god for this loose leaf, I’ll be writing ‘til I’m woozy. I’m gone, to the moon, and I’ll be back soon.”
It was with lyrics like that Pell was able to promote his debut album supporting Yonas in the spring of 2014 on his “The Up All Night Tour”. In fact, Pell was able to promote his album, and introduce himself to a new audience, supporting the following subsequent artists: G-Eazy, Kidness, and Kehlani. Additionally, Pell performed at SXSW three consecutive years from 2014-2016, and has played at a slew of other festivals.
As an independent artist, supporting the aforementioned artists was pivotal for Pell’s fan base establishment. Interestingly enough, G-Eazy remixed the second track “Eleven:11” coincidentally on Floating While Dreaming. The track was released in May of 2015, approximately a year after the album’s release.
After opening for Kehlani in the summer of 2015, Pell self released his follow up to his debut album as well in the form of EP LIMBO, released in November of 2015. Finally, Pell was headlining his own tour in Spring of 2016 promoting the EP. And, in February of 2016 Pell was in Philadelphia at The Barbary when I conducted my first interview for the purpose of an article, reporting for my old college’s newspaper The Montgazette.
Around this time, The Fader dubbed Pell, 25, as the creator of a new “dream rap” genre. In a city that’s home to Master P and Lil Wayne, that was an amazing accomplishment.
Pell, born Jared Pellerin, was nothing but nice, as he welcomed me into his tour van before the interview. Yeah, Pell was a rapper, but it was in that moment I realized rappers are people, too. I noticed Pell still had his Twitter notifications on as he took out his phone during the course of interaction. So, believe it or not, artists may or may not reply, but more likely than not saw what you posted about them.
In 2017, Pell has just under 16 thousand Twitter followers, and a follow up to LIMBO has not been released. At the Barbary, Pell said he was producing more, and working on his sound, so fans shouldn’t expect anything in the immediate future.Additionally, Pell has just over 622 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, approximately 37 thousand SoundCloud followers, and just under 12 thousand YouTube subscribers.
Since releasing LIMBO, Pell has a gang of singles, most recently “Jam”. He also appeared on two tracks on Skizzy Mars most recent release Alone Together. Also, he has cool merchandise you can purchase here. Oh, and Pell’s brother Micah Pellerin, 28, played defensive back in the NFL, most recently in 2014.