It all begins with a story.
The story behind Raw Proof began in a small town called Park Falls, Wisconsin. Part of an area near Canada called “The Northwoods,” young Joshua Marinko still remembers every little detail of his early childhood, from the clothes he wore to the hood his aunt and cousins lived in. His eidetic memory helps him filter all the details around him and develop them like photographs from the camera in his mind.
Raw Proof speaks the truth as he knows it, the only feelings to be found are in the details that unfold in his verbal tales spit over gritty Southern Boom Bap beats that knock with enough soul to shatter the speakers of any system. As a military child, he moved from city to city at a young age, soaking in all of the different cultures and styles of Hip-Hop he was exposed to in every location he temporarily called home.
His rhyming style really started to develop when he first moved to Clarksville, Tennessee. An early fascination with violence led him to write lyrics that painted stories of an incredibly violent and gory nature, that which would now be known as horror-core. These early songs were clever extended metaphors disguised as theatrical snapshots that Raw Proof developed to work through the internal and external demons plaguing his existence.
In high school, Joshua recorded his first track, called “Mind Drain,” with Y.D., aka “Your Demize,” an early inspiration in his career. This track led to a performance at the legendary venue “The Green Room” in Iowa City, Iowa and more would follow, as Raw Proof paid his dues at countless freestyle cyphers, house parties and college campuses. Being in a military town, he caught the attention of emcees from all around the country who came through during their national tours.
The lost opportunity only fueled his fire, as Raw Proof has now shared the stage with modern-day Hip-Hop legends such as Sage Francis, Carnage The Executioner, Atmosphere, and Starlito. While doing shows at venues across the country like the Fox Theatre in Denver and Kung Fu Cafe in Nashville, he was organizing and winning local rap battles and recording multiple projects for Kentucky-based Hip-Hop label Hoztyl Records.
During his stay in Dothan, Alabama, Raw Proof started working on a project that would redefine his style. “Unearthed Gems” is an album that took eight years to come out, as Joshua was discovering a newfound desire to help people and create music that they could connect with. He kept the theatrics from his horror-core days and sharpened his uncanny ability to tell unbiased stories that let the audience see what they want to see.
Joshua Marinko has emerged from the flames as a man in the world but not of it, a Hip-Hop oral historian who lives in the community but claims no clique. He congregates with preachers, politicians, and the poverty-stricken, while always speaking for, not at, the common man. His latest project “Blue Collar Music” is a working-class anthem, produced by Eddie B. who also shares vocal duties.
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