Khaleel Mandel says, “When it all comes down to it, music unfolds undiscovered messages. Discovering the unknown full time keeps me creative.” Khaleel Mandel, rapper/singer-songwriter/composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist was born in Boston Massachusetts. As a baby Khaleel would attend numerous of his professional bass player father Carl Carter’s performances. Now in Broadway’s latest Tony Winner Come From Away, Carl’s earlier work includes serving as Grammy Award Winning rap group Digable Planets’ bassist in 1994. The year Khaleel was born. At a soundcheck for the tour of classic album Blowout Comb Khaleel was in brief attendance in his carseat. From that point on Hip Hop culture was immovable from him.
Right before Khaleel’s first birthday he and his family moved back from Boston to Carl’s hometown Bridgeport CT. The purpose was to be around Mandel’s Great Grandparents who at the time owned the notorious barbershop Carter’s barbershop. Bridgeport would then become the place Khaleel grew up in. During his childhood, Khaleel and his mother Florisca Carter (now a director of operations for a charter school) were home alone a lot while Carl toured countries with various musical acts. Throughout the late 90s Khaleel would attend more of his father’s live performances. His parents would pay close attention to his reactions during these shows, then acting on their observance by gifting Khaleel his first drum-set at 4 years old.
In 2004 after Khaleel performed a rendition of “Rockin Robin” at Bridgeport’s Playhouse Theater. Out on a limb, his mother sent the dvd version of that performance to the casting agency for broadway musical The Lion King. Fast forward to 2005 Khaleel booked the role of Young Simba in the show’s West Coast Tour company. Khaleel won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical from San Diego’s annual National Youth Theater Awards. Making him the only actor who played Young Simba to win anything for the role. After leaving the show Khaleel went on to have numerous guest appearances for skits on Late Night With Conan o’Brien and a guest role on Season 8 of Law and Order SVU.
Khaleel would carry around a notebook and write rhyming couplets as a formula of using new words he learned in a sentence. He would rap them for fun sometimes but one particular event made Mandel realize he wanted the world to hear his voice. In 2005 after hearing Jay-Z’s “Change Clothes” for the first time, Khaleel was motivated to routinely research the science about techniques of constructing rap songs. While on tour with The Lion King Khaleel always found time to create his own music on his father’s Dell laptop and M-Audio keyboard. The clarity Khaleel gained from music softwares was strengthening by High School. Khaleel attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts, an independent Arts High School as a Theater Major in Natick, Massachusetts. Since he was a boarding student Khaleel took along all of his essential music/recoding equipment with him. Sections of his high school career by day he was a theater student, by night a musician honing his craft. While just getting somewhat comfortable with a sound of his own Khaleel would tap other students to collaborate on tracks with him since the very first week of school. Khaleel’s cousin, Stoughton Massachusetts resident Keion Jevon is the earliest collaborator of his. Often Keion would mention a friend of his who freestyle rapped very well to Khaleel. Keion introduced Michael Abelli, now known as Abelz to Khaleel. One day in Keion’s basement the three of them started rapping with each other catching an immediate rhythm. Every time they’d get together Khaleel had folders worth of original beats to write to. The three of them penned albums worth of material with each other throughout their respective high school years collaborating with artists such as Bobby Brown Jr.
During his senior year Khaleel auditioned for a number of musical theater university programs. All along knowing his heart was in music, Khaleel still succumbed to the process of senior acting students. Which was, apply to colleges for a BFA in performing arts. With attending Penn State’s musical theater program in the fall, once Khaleel graduated high school he had an even firmer grasp on the craft of acting while simultaneously holding onto loads of unreleased recorded music. Once Khaleel got to Penn State he’d gathered many primary elements that would later play a huge role in his mixtape debut Dead Weight. Penn is where Khaleel met artist now steady collaborator and business partner Vaughn Davis, and where majority of their first records were recorded. Over the three years at State College Khaleel would tend to lengthy responsibilities of an acting student while simultaneously attached to the production process of his first full length projects. For annual school vacations Khaleel spent all of them debriefing over records, getting acclimated with own creative processes. During Khaleel’s time in college he found himself in the familiar position of having to choose between professions. Not fully invested in musical theater as expected Khaleel would spend more time outside the classroom, scrupulously shaping his position in the music business.
“The willpower of practicing juggling fruit is addictive, but when you keep dropping a piece for health’s sake you must eat the one not from the ground ”; Is how Khaleel describes his choice to leave college before his final year and pursue his music career full time. Then dropping his debut mixtape Dead Weight. While its base is planted in Hip Hop music, The listening journey of Dead Weight brings us from New Age Reggae to Rap and cross hybrids of R&B/Funk. When on vacation in St.Lucia, a drive around town motivated Khaleel to dedicate a portion of Dead Weight to his West Indian roots. The island toned record “Recall” while a melodic/rap driven piece it breathes an aura of peak Bob Marley and “White Album” era Beatles. Afrocentric ballad “No Trouble in the Water” sonically paints the picture of late 90s hip hop, telling a story of how lovers find solace together through wades in the water to alleviate everyday distress. The unorthodox drum pattern mixed with sultry chords and a euphoric 90s synth bass underneath; “No Trouble in the Water” is a product of curating earthy sounds assertively. Rap centered powerhouse “Extra Mile” & jazz flavored “ill Will featuring Vaughn Davis” are two displays of Khaleel’s unapologetic approach to his lyricism and rapping methods. Whilst “Broke Bread” digs deep into what propels Khaleel’s hunger for more, the sudden loss of his Great-Grandmother, keeping his feelings from running away with him, and ends with a vivid fretless bass solo by his father.
Once Khaleel and singer-songwriter Simone Alyse recorded Dead Weight’s outro “Getaway”, Simone requested Khaleel produce her entire debut EP, Liquid Gold. Seeing that they’ve known each other since high school the chemistry in the studio was seamless. Thus resulting in the EP being recorded and finished throughout a three week span. By fall of 2016 Khaleel, Simone, Vaughn & Keion all released projects of their own, but deliberating over a team name for themselves. At the end of December 2016, the title DoubleCrown Inc. was finally born.
“ The Double Crown logo of two crowns, represents the emergence of two singular identities, forming, coming together as one. The first crown is of the Pschent, a double crown representing both Upper and Lower Egypt worn after the uniting of the two regions in Ancient Egypt. The second crown is the traditional solid gold crown typically seen in European rule. The concept of the double crowns symbolically represents the merging body with the mind. When both the physical and the metaphysical has aligned itself with one, then we are able to transcend into something way beyond the measures for which the mind can imagine. “
Vaughn Davis’s debut EP 10.1 Program produced by Mandel, is a project with subjects centered around knowledge of one’s self, materialism becoming the face of Hip Hop, and romantic fashioned courtship. Immediately after this EP was released work began on Vaughn’s debut independently released album, New Chi. Entirely produced (also exec) by Khaleel, from fall 2016 until July 2017 New Chi was created. New Chi is an album for the now. It is a composition/epode involving language that leans on solutions, not the problems. Khaleel states “The goal of New Chi was to go on a trip to a land full of unused and unknown sounds, chord progressions and whatnot. Which by the day pushed our artistry beyond limitation. This is the album Vaughn and I wanted to make especially for our ancestral bloodlines.” New Chi does just that with upbeat song Chicken George quote - being “reminiscent to hot summer nights down South, draped Spanish moss laden trees with cricket-like sounds chirping in the background.” New Chi is available on iTunes and all streaming services now.
As of now Khaleel and his DoubleCrown team gather something new in their respective journeys daily. Having been in the seat of a listener for so many years, the role of the provider of sound still rings new to Khaleel. The foremost purpose for Khaleel and DoubleCrown as a whole is to make sure the original elements of Hip Hop remain presented in the public eye. Khaleel holds himself and his team accountable with the phrase,“Players put up stats, teams win with each other.”
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