Many hip-hop artists spend their days scouring record bins for choice samples to rap over, but rarely do they go out and find an actual orchestra. As rapper Thee Phantom, Jeff McNeill is doing just that.
McNeill has played at New York's famed Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Performing Arts Center in his hometown of Philadelphia, but he chose the theater space at the Ginza Apple Store for his Japan debut. Accompanying him will be a 10-piece Japanese orchestra.
The title of Thee Phantom's new album, "Making of an Underdog," refers to what McNeill describes as a "tough childhood." However, despite the dangers of growing up in a rough neighborhood and what he describes as a broken home, he says his parents' unwavering support of his early interest in music kept him pursing his dream. It's a journey that his new single "The Entertainer," which features opera singer Sophia Jaber, lays out in detail.