Emcee D’Allie is something of an anomaly in the often individualistic world of hip hop. He has fashioned a career based on a steady stream of compelling collaborations with producers, other artists and fans.
David Allie Strauss, otherwise known as D’Allie, grew up in a household where music was a family affair. He inherited a love for many types of music from his guitar-playing, Jewish father, Gary Strauss—who is featured extensively on his son’s albums—and his mother, Komeh Allie Strauss, who is from Sierra Leone.
“When I was maybe 6 or 7, my dad was playing at bars late night, and then waking up early to go teach,” D’Allie, now 28, remembers. “Occasionally he would bring me out for the first set, around 10 or so.”
Papa Strauss built a small, short-scale guitar for little David, but the instrument fell by the wayside when some older cousins introduced the youngster to “Yo! MTV Raps.” D’Allie began writing rhymes at age 7.
Fast forward about two decades, his hip hop duo Progress Report released the full-length album, “Eddie Logix and D’Allie Are Progress Report,” last month.
