Rockwell Knuckles is a hip hop/

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artist from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He has performed at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

and has been nominated for several

Riverfront Times The ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT'') is a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri, that consists of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo galler ...

Music Awards. Rockwell currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Early life and career

Corey Barnett was born on the north-side of St. Louis, Missouri. He went to high school at

Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Background Cardinal Ritter Prep opened on September 6, 1979. It is named fo ...

. It was there, where Barnett earned his stage name. After being bullied at a bus stop, he punched the guy in the mouth. After a friend commented that he had 'rocky knuckles,' he started to go by that name. But then a lot of rappers in St. Louis started having names that end in y. So he thought: "What do I do? I rock. I rock well: Rockwell Knuckles." After high school, Rockwell Knuckles enrolled at Harris-Stowe State University, but soon dropped out and joined a group of seven St. Louis rappers who called themselves Pangea. By 2003, the group had split and Rockwell moved to Los Angeles to record a project with a production team called the Art Thugs. In July 2004, his house caught fire and he lost all of his possessions, prompting him to start over on his own and launch his solo career.

Solo career

Rockwell Knuckles produced a 29-track mixtape called ''The New Standard'' and released it in late 2005. This mixtape led to opening gigs for artists such as GZA, RJD2 and Brother Ali. In 2007, he worked on writing songs for his first album: ''Northside Phenomenon'', which was released in November 2007. In February 2008, he took part in the Koch Madness competition, losing in the semi-finals to the eventual winner, Nite Owl. In 2010, Rockwell Knuckles released ''Choose Your Own Adventure'', a project that he performed on stages alongside Lupe Fiasco, Pac Div, BIG K.R.I.T.,J. Cole, GZA, Yelawolf, and more. First up will be Rockwell's highly anticipated full-length album: ''You're Fucking Out, I'm Fucking In''. On August 30, 2010, a reviewer on Uproxx.com wrote, "Every SXSW creates new stars. It’s undeniable. Everyone that attends leaves the event excited about the performance of a relative unknown, claiming that said artist is going to be the next big music star. Last year was my first SXSW and the artist I pinpointed for greatness was

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, ...

This year I pegged two acts for stardom:

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixta ...

and Rockwell Knuckles." On April 13, 2010, his song "Government Name" was featured on Good Music All Day. In the 2011 ski/ride movie
One For The Road
' by

Teton Gravity Research Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is an extreme sports media company based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The company was founded in 1996 by brothers Steve and Todd Jones, as well as friends Dirk Collins, Rick Armstrong, and Corey Gavitt. The group launched ...

, Rockwell Knuckle's song "Play Catch" was featured on the soundtrack. The soundtrack won Best Soundtrack at the International Freeski Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knuckles, Rockwell African-American male rappers American male rappers Living people Rappers from St. Louis Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians