MonoNeon

About

Also known as: Dywane Thomas Jr., Mono Neon

MonoNeon was the last bassist Prince ever hired, a fitting fact for a player whose style is anything but conventional. He plays a right handed bass upside down and left handed, which lets him bend the upper strings hard, and he leans into microtonality, the notes that fall between the keys. That approach has earned him a following through harmonized viral videos and a long list of collaborators, from Pete Rock and Bon Iver to Mavis Staples, George Clinton and John Scofield. The credits keep stacking up. He won a Grammy for his bass and additional production on Nas's "All Bad", and has since picked up nominations for work on Jacob Collier's Djesse Vol. 3, Cory Henry's Operation Funk and Eric Gales' tribute album. On his own, he has put out avant garde solo records, the full length Supermane with Davy Nathan, and music with Katt Williams rapping over psychedelic funk. Lately he has been playing the Newport Jazz Festival as part of Atomic Habitz with Marcus King and Chris Dave.