Wino Willy

From New Orleans to Shanghai. Wino Willy is the sound of a musical nomad.

Born in Edison, NJ the MC/DJ/producer grew up absorbing the rugged, jazz-inflected sounds of classic 90s hip-hop. His first DIY experiments with music included making beats with belt-driven turntables while cutting and pasting samples together in Audacity. He continued to polish his skills in Beijing’s underground hip-hop scene while studying in China as a teenager.

Upon moving back to the States and attending Morehouse College and Temple University, he began honing his skills rocking live beat and DJ sets in New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Wino settled in New Orleans and continued to hone his craft as a musician. After performing at the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s monthly Dolo Jazz Suite series, Wino Willy teamed up with AFKA, deliciousbeets and friendkerrek to form Bag Season Records.

Wino Willy’s album Burlap was featured in a 2019 interview with Bandcamp Daily, in which it was described as “twisted and obscured through a dense thicket of jazz samples.”