New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Makin Waves Record of the Week: "Suburbia" by Drew the Recluse


By Bob Makin

originally published: 09/26/2019


Jersey Shore rapper-singer Drew the Recluse will play Oct. 4 at Asbury Park Music Foundation in support of his latest EP, “Suburbia.” PHOTO BY CHRISTIE CORSO

 

Jackson-raised rapper-singer Drew the Recluse is based in Asbury Park but lives in Freehold. The suburbs have influenced him more than the kind of urban setting that informs most rap, hip-hop and R&B, the blend of which he once again deftly mixes on his latest EP, “Suburbia,” for his family-owned Black Suburbia Music Group.

The four-song collection opens with the title track, a sonically symbolic snippet that depicts both the serenity and sprawl of suburbia and segues into “Survive,” a hip-hop anthem about remaining vital as an artist and alive as a human. Drew realizes there’s no place like home even if it means you have to die in suburbia rather than be a creative and physical flash in the pan among the flashing lights of the big city. A beautiful chorus features an excellent high-pitched vocal sung by the rising local star.




Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



“Everytime,” the Makin Waves Song of the Week, is an ode to a stripper working her way through college that features awesome internal rhymes by Drew and a dreamy feature by Solo for Dolo. As the Song of the Week, the tune can be heard at 6:45 pm on Friday and Monday on “Radio Jersey,” four more times daily at ThePenguinRocks.com, as well as at Makin Waves’ Spotify and YouTube playlists. The lyrics were co-written by Jake, who also helmed the closing track, “The New Zealots Oath,” a dynamic account of race, religion and righteousness in relation to the American Dream, the pursuit of which Drew says is his mission.

Check him out live Oct. 4 at Asbury Park Music Foundation, where he also may perform tunes from an EP due by year’s end and an LP to be released early next year. Sharing the Suburbia Friday Night bill will be brother and Black Suburbia Music Group mate Momo Da Gawd?, as well as fellow Jersey Shore rapper Lance Ambrose.

 

 

 

Bob Makin is the reporter for MyCentralJersey.com/entertainment and a former managing editor of The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him at makinwaves64@yahoo.com. And like Makin Waves at www.facebook.com/makinwavescolumn.



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Tuesday

Tuesday Night Record Club - Crowded House

Tuesday, July 01, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Monmouth University - The Great Hall
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


 

Curtis

Curtis Salgado

Wednesday, July 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

John

John Lee & Friends

Thursday, July 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Blues

Blues People with Special Guest: Jeff Levine

Saturday, July 05, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Straight

Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90’s Part 2

Tuesday, July 08, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

NJPAC

NJPAC presents KEM with special guest Melania Fiona

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents a special evening with KEM, known as Soul's Greatness, on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 8:00pm. Special guest Melanie Fiona will open the night.



Drew

Drew University Rocks the House with Legendary Tributes and Live Comedy In September

(MADISON, NJ) -- This September, Drew University's Concert Hall in Madison will transform into a powerhouse of live entertainment, delivering six unforgettable nights of tributes and laughter. From heartland rock and Southern soul to mystical classics and offbeat comedy, each event brings a unique and electrifying experience to audiences of all ages.



Levoy

Levoy Theatre presents The Artimus Pyle Band – Honoring Ronnie Van Zant's Lynyrd Skynyrd

(MILLVILLE, NJ) -- The Levoy Theatre presents The Artimus Pyle Band on Friday, August 22, 2025 at 8:00pm. The band features Artimus Pyle, the last surviving member and drummer of the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup & 2006 Rock & Roll HOF inductee with Lynyrd Skynyrd.



An

An Interview with Tim Palmieri of Lotus

Lotus was founded between 1998-1999 at Goshen College in Goshen, IN. Now based out of Dever, Colorado and Philadelphia, PA primarily, Lotus continues to bloom as a premiere jamtronica band for over the past 25 years. In 2021, founding member and longtime guitarist, Micheal Rempel left Lotus ushering in new guitarist, Tim Palmieri.



Latin

Latin Legends Tribute to Shakira and Selena Comes to The Strand Theater

(LAKEWOOD, NJ) -- Two of the most iconic voices in Latin music history will share the same stage—at least in spirit—when Latin Legends: Tribute to Shakira and Selena arrives at The Strand Center for the Arts on Friday, September 26, 2025 at 8:00pm.