Socalled

Socalled live on stage in October 2005

Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, is a Canadian rapper and producer, known for his eclectic mix of hip hop, klezmer and other styles, for example drum & bass and other types of folk music. A pianist and accordion player, he has taught the latter at Klezfest London, where he has also run workshops in "hiphopkele". He has played with clarinetist David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness!, and has also worked with artists such as rapper C-Rayz Walz, Chilly Gonzales, funk trombonist Fred Wesley, and Sophie Solomon. Dolgin has Ukrainian, Romanian and Russian roots.

Dolgin's Socalled collective and guests recently celebrated the Jewish Festival of Lights with the seasonal concert "Hip Hop Hanukkah". He is the subject of The "Socalled" Movie, a documentary released in 2010 by Garry Beitel for the National Film Board of Canada, which also features Krakauer and Wesley. The documentary includes footage of the first "Klezmer Cruise", in which a boatload of klezmer fans sailed down the Dnieper River in the Ukraine. He released a new album, entitled Sleepover, on May 3, 2011.

Discography

Albums

• Consensus-live in concert (with beyond the pale)
• HiphopKhasene (with Solomon) (2003)
• The So Called Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah (2005)
• Ghettoblaster (2007)
• SleepOver (2011)

Singles

• "(These Are The) Good Old Days" (2007)
• "You Are Never Alone" (2007)
• "(Rock The) Belz" (2007)

External links

• Socalled, official site
• The "Socalled" Movie, film blog
• Exclaim.ca September 2007 Interview with Socalled
• Watch The Good Old Days, a short film featuring Socalled, at NFB.ca