EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new features this year: Voodoo Productions’ street theater will include roaming graffiti stilt walkers, contortionists and living master works of art. Salt Lake Acting Company will appear for the first time at the festival, offering a sample from its upcoming summer show, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. Urban Arts is offering its largest live graffiti mural installation, while a row of several other artists will be demonstrating their creative process in real time. For kids, as admission for those 12 and under will be free, there will be plenty of make-and-take art options in Frozen Spaces in the Art Yard. The City Library auditorium will be the home to the 22nd edition of the international Fear No Film program, with the strongest slate of narrative short films in the event’s history. Of course, dance, who wears the empress jewels in performing arts, will be represented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Echoing Spirit Dancers and, of course, the ever-popular 1520 Arts, at The Round. For tickets and more information, see the Utah Arts Festival website.
HOUSE OF LEWIS
House of Lewis is a Utah powerhouse of a hip-hop musical collective who also appeared on the television reality series America’s Got Talent. Rhyme Time (Scott Knopf) answered several questions for The Utah Review.
TUR: Would like a brief account of how your group started, was formed and decided to set out on its performing and writing music platforms.
After playing in bands around Provo for nearly a decade, Chance Lewis (Chance Clift) started making rap music in 2009. Over the years, he recruited Apt (Adam Hochhalter), DJ SkratchMo (Gabriel Ghent), DJ Chu (Chu Chuon), Donnie Bonelli and Rhyme Time (Scott Knopf) and formed a collective called House of Lewis. Performing at venues like Velour, Muse, Urban Lounge, and Kilby Court, we started to gain a buzz around Utah, which led to us getting booked on numerous festivals and opening for acts like Snoop Dogg, Common, and Run the Jewels. Sixteen years later, we’ve released over a dozen projects, numerous music videos, and boxes of merch that we frequently forget to bring to their shows.
TUR: What is your musical training and background coming in as a performer and as a group?
Among its six members, House of Lewis has a wide variety of musical backgrounds. Chance grew up in punk bands. Rhyme Time competed in rap battles before transitioning to music. Donnie formed a hip-hop group (and a t-shirt company) back in high school. Apt took inspiration from 80s new wave and midwest lyricism and became a rapper’s rapper. Chu and SkratchMo both put in countless years perfecting their skills as DJs–ingesting as much music as they could get their hands on while becoming Technics technicians.
TUR: Who do you consider as role models, inspirations and influences in your music and performing?
Jurassic 5.
TUR: If you were to encapsulate your musical style into a simple phrase or tag, what would it be?
Dad Bod Rap Gods.
TUR: What do you consider the most essential elements of writing or performing a song for your group that not only resonates with your group but also with the audiences who have been coming to your shows?
When we’re on stage, we’re there to entertain. If the crowd doesn’t have fun, then we’ve failed. Our albums have deeper content on them, but for the live shows, we keep the energy high. Catchy hooks, funky production, and banter that desperately wants to be witty.