8bit Cynics express views on society with lyrics

The 8bit Cynics, a local indie hip-hop group, came together in early 2005, and since then, has formed a sound and voice that almost any college student can relate to.

Jesse McDermott, also known as Dewey Binns, is the emcee and lyricist of the group. McDermott was introduced to the producer, Will Watkins, known as Saevio.Is.Dead, through a mutual friend. Both members were former students and have created a fan base here at Cameron.

Built with originality, the 8bit Cynics have a live set like no other group in the southwest. According to McDermott, their show consists of one emcee and one guy, Watkins, playing four different instruments, switching between each song.

“Hip-Hop is usually one emcee and one DJ so, we bring that different element to it,” McDermott said. “It has made it easier for us to be accepted.”

According to the group’s biography on Myspace, McDermott started writing and rapping as a teenager, using creative thought and poetry that made his audience step back and think.

McDermott came to Cameron on a baseball scholarship and graduated in 2005 with a degree in English. McDermott said the English department is how he grew to be an artist, and he enjoyed those who taught him.

“The English department was a good department,” McDermott said. “I liked all the professors there.”

McDermott’s lyrics are profound and honest, revealing lies and providing his view on the downfall of society and of the American government. Putting together a mixture of sounds and samples is Will Watkins’s way of throwing his form of expression into the music. It also helps that both members feel the same way about most topics.

Watkins can play up to six different instruments, although he only plays four on stage. According to McDermott, Watkins has been playing music since he was young and has been in many types of groups before 8bit Cynics, which helped to create their eccentric sound.

“There’s everything,” McDermott said. “Will’s been in a punk band, he’s been in a rock band and a Christian band.” 

With just two hands, Watkins’s can only play one instrument while a CD is played to fill in the rest of the music. Watkins’s said he can edit out the instrument he wants to play on a certain track. .

“Whatever I find to be the best part of a song, I take that part out and play it live with the CD,” Watkins said. “So I would be switching instruments every song.”

According to Watkins, students should listen. If they’re tired of the superficial, it does not matter if they are a hip-hop fan or not.

“We have elements from every musical genre,” Watkins said. “No two songs sound the same.”

“We’re different,” McDermott said. “This is my take on life and nobody else in the world has that.”

If interested in upcoming shows or sampling some of their music, students can go online to, www.myspace.com/eightbitcynics. The group already has one album out, “The Livingroon E.P.”, and is working on a second album due out sometime this fall. According to their biography on Myspace, the second release is a full length album “that will dive deeper into the mind behind the mouth that needs to be heard, and explore more the hands that never rest.”