Band: Lockdown
From: Toledo, Ohio
Their formation story:
(Marcus Hartford, vocals): "We all have been close friends for a long time since we were all in high school and grew up in the local Toledo hardcore scene alot of us have been in bands before this from the local scene. All of us grew up in the hoods of inner city of Toledo and seen alot of how living in a poverty stricken city can be we've seen the city rise and fall on many occasions but we all have so much love from where we are from.
"We became close friends after the years and always had the same music taste and style with things even how we dressed and our interests outside of music. Me (Marcus) John and Jake always wanted to be in a band together and been waiting for the right timing.I would say something like we honestly thought this band would never happen due to some circumstances with health issues. but that’s another story for another time.
"Lockdown and recruited John and Jake and all we needed was a bass player Bailey has been good friends with John and mutuals of ours forever. He volunteered to do bass and the idea was set in stone of exactly what we wanted to sound like and we were all on board and totally bought into the idea of Lockdown."
Their sound in their own words:
"'90s hip-hop-influenced New York or New Jersey style hardcore played and based in the Midwest (Ohio style), if that makes any sense. We have a lot of influences for this music and band.
"But to name some would be: Eazy E, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Geto Boys, Madball, Hatebreed, Trapped Under Ice, Suburban Scum, Detain, E.Town Concrete, Bulldoze, Rage Against the Machine. We love the '90s style. We call it heavy hardcore/street metal. It's grimey, raw, and real."
Latest release info:
"Welcome 2 tha Yard is a debut EP for this band. We decided to skip the 'demo' and just go straight into a 4-song storytelling EP that has a theme, lore, background story and themes to be told about where we grew up how we grew up and how the city life is in a violent and hard blue-collar type city like Toledo.
"The music speaks for itself. The lyrics tell true stories about our lifestyles, or maybe not just ours, but our good friends we have grown up with and family members seen get locked up and getting abused by the system and fighting to survive in the mud and dirt of the city.
"Listen to the EP front to back and you'll get where we're coming from and how real these words speak to each one of us for many different reasons. It's hard it's fast it's heavy and it's in your face aggressive. Bringing the violence back to hardcore and hip-hop '90s style."
Future plans:
"The EP just came out digitally. We drop tapes and CDs and some merch with our labels—Hardknock Records (US) and AAK Records (UK)—then play some shows anywhere, but ideally on the East Coast and the Midwest area and maybe do some weekend runs with some dope bands we like.
"We are currently writing a single right now to release as a single or on a split this summer with someone. Then eventually we'd love to write a LP but that might take some time we don't wanna get to ahead of our selfs [laughs]. We just wanna play cool shows at the end of the day and have people rock with our music."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"A lot of good bands coming out the Ohio and Michigan scenes right now! I play bass for a new straight edge band based from Michigan called xPERSISTx, our good buddies in Threat Level from Toledo, Detroit very own legends in two new bands we love and respect Vigilante, and Stop at Nothing.
"Another new straight edge band From Detroit is xFight For Your Lifex, a dope Grand Rapids, Michigan beatdown band Luck Runs Out, Violent Nature from Columbus Ohio are the homies as well! If we miss anyone or forgot anyone, we apologize! This is off top the head. Oh yeah, last but not least, the young bucks in Hardcount straight outta Michigan hardcore."
Lockdown on social media: Instagram
Tagged: lockdown
