Earlier this year, we shined the spotlight on Hibernation, a talented artist from the RapMusic community. Today, we’re revisiting the rapper and looking at him through fan Julia Feeney’s eyes.
With the recent birth of his first-born daughter, Nicholas “Hibernation” DiTomo is far beyond his days of “Percocet Poetry” and “Cigarettes, Sex, and Cocaine.” He now has to focus on ways to feed his new family through his artistic pursuits.
Rhyming since he was a child, Hibernation is a rapper from Philadelphia’s underground scene. He has a small but very dedicated cult following, which he has been building since 2002. Fueled by depression, hatred, and agony, his music reflects much of the same. His sound is gritty and grungy mumbles into the microphone; he is a rougher, tougher, rapping Kurt Cobain. He served a sentence in Jade County Correctional Facility for pulling a gun on a cop and then putting it to his own head. After he was released from prison drug free, he had a fresh mindset to create new music.
His affection to his fans is undying; he makes it clear he writes for them:
“and to the first person that happens to hear this:
you mean the world to me,
you can have every lyric,
you can own them, you can take them
and tat ‘em on your arm if you think that they’re worth it
and turn them into living art.”
Although still suffering from depression, anxiety, and bipolar schizophrenia, Hibernation continues to chase his dreams, trying to grasp at the heels of success. Being surrounded by poverty is his main motivation to become a successful recording artist doing the only thing that has ever come easy to him: rap.
At first you might see a typical thug . . . even worse, a frightening man with the word “Monster” tattooed on his neck along with an X under one eye, which symbolizes attempted murder. He also has two tears under his other eye, signifying heavy losses of his friends. He’s tall and strong with an intimidating stature. He is banned from most of the stores surrounding his area (from the days when he would shoplift and create chaos wherever he stepped foot). Some may call him a monster, a beast, or a psychopath, but his fans view him as some sort of mad genius.
He is a complete rebel to society and when listening to him, you can hear the loneliness in his voice. His sound makes you feel just as lost and hopeless as he is, stuck in constant battles with himself. As a listener you feel lucky to hear what beautiful lyrical poetry this monster writes. Hibernation raps of desolate emotion but his voice is deep, strong, and confident. He is bold and daring, rapping of things that most would be embarrassed or ashamed to even speak about like drug use.
His ability to be so honest and true to himself is the glimmer of hope he has to be successful. The stories he tells place an impact on any listener, no matter how different they may be from him. Each song is a lyrical masterpiece that creates a lasting impact on anyone lucky enough to hear it. His words form in a deep dark cave in his mind, and when put to music, they become beautiful.
DOPE ARTICLE