Timmhotep

Is 'I-69' the highway to heaven? Well, it's something like that. This Roman GianArthur song isn't about an interstate to eternity but it is about two-way streets. Confused? The song's topic is oral sex ostensibly, but it's really a metaphor for relationships and reciprocity 'cause Roman likes to get deep like that.

His name is Roman. Roman GianArthur to be exact, and the budding talent from Wondaland Arts Society is the truth. Need proof? Check out his performance of his original song 'Canopy' for The Boombox's Live Bytes performance series.

Don't think "conscious" rappers can turn up? Well, Talib Kweli's here to prove you wrong. 'Turnt Up' is a tribute to Eric B. & Rakim's money-making jam 'Paid in Full.' Despite its admittedly unfortunate title, 'Turnt Up' is a light-hearted song about getting fly, going out, and having fun. Later for all of the soapboxing and soap operas. Turn up!

When Run of Run-D.M.C. proclaimed himself the “King of Rock” back in the days, he made a bold statement. Now, decades later, rap has arguably usurped rock as the most popular sub-genre of pop music -- but that doesn’t mean that hip-hop heads don’t have anything common with their head-banging counterparts.

Few artists can say that they wrote a hit song and even fewer can say that they created a bona fide anthem. Talib Kweli’s got both of those bases covered with ‘Get By,’ a motivational soundtrack to the lives of strugglers and strivers the world over.

Talib Kweli isn’t just one of hip-hop’s premiere lyricists (just ask Jay Z), he might just be the hardest working MC in the game. Not only does he do nearly 300 shows a calendar year, he also lives up to his “MCEO” title by running his own independent label, Javotti Media, with a hands-on approach to every aspect of the business...

If Janelle Monae's Wondaland Arts Society is anything it's eclectic. Reppin' the Atlanta-based crew is Roman GianArthur, the latest featured performer in The Boombox's Live Bytes series.

Roman GianArthur wears his musical influences on his sleeve, unafraid to give props to the artists he loves. No wonder he's putting out 'OK Lady,' a project that features reimaginings of Radiohead and D'Angelo songs blended together to become something familiar but, at the same time, new.

You may not realize it, but if you're a Janelle Monae fan, you're probably a Roman GianArthur fan, too. You've gotten a taste of his work on Ms. Monae's 2010 album, 'The ArchAndroid,' in which he composed and arranged the album's 'Suite Overtures' and contributed to 'Ba Bop Bye Ya.'

Get familiar with the name Roman GianArthur, you're going to be seeing it a lot soon. A member of Janelle Monae's Wondaland Arts Society collective, GianArthur is a singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and producer. But with all of that musical talent he doesn't call himself as musician.