Dialtone Picks Up The Mic, Taps Into Everyday Tulsa

Frequency: “No Club“
Atento Capital
July 22, 2023

It’s hard to imagine the day Dialtone picked up a mic. Maybe it was in middle school during lunch break. Maybe it was in English class. It could’ve happened because a friend playfully said that he couldn’t.

Whatever the origin story, for more than a decade now it’s been hard to imagine him without one. The once up-and-coming rapper is now a veteran in the Tulsa hip-hop scene who has lived the switch from physical media to the brave new digital world. Dialtone’s highs have included performing at the historic Cain’s Ballroom as well as having huge artists featured on his tracks, such as the legend Charlie Wilson of Greenwood, Archer, and Pine (better known as the GAP Band). And just like the GAP Band, Dialtone has always made it a mission to remember where he came from and bring others up along with him.

Through his music and art — he’s also a painter whose No Parking Studios, established in 2016, has become one of the premier art collaboratives in Oklahoma — he’s bringing the creative energy of North Tulsa into the regional spotlight. As part of a program called Plains Exchange, Dialtone recently finished a two-week residency in northwest Arkansas, generating new visual art and new connections. He came back home with plenty to celebrate, so it’s no wonder that when Frequency needed an artist/MC for their most recent event, Dialtone would get the call.

In monthly gatherings that bring artists, entrepreneurs, and tech creatives together in a collaborative environment, Frequency (a Tulsa Creative Engine project) is about creating community among people who otherwise might not otherwise have crossed paths. It’s a vibe-builder that usually includes elements such as a live DJ, live musical performers, food and drinks, and plenty of space to generate new friendships and let ideas flow. With a performance by Dialtone and art by No Parking Studios at the center of the July event (billed as “No Club”), we saw how deep that kind of creative connection can go.

Dialtone’s “No Club” set included songs from way back in his catalog as well as one he’d just written the night before. This Tulsa rapper has always been known as a true MC. His stage presence, his vocal inflections, and the fact that he doesn’t rap over his vocals attest to his years of perfecting his stage presence, his breath control, and even the raps themselves.

Subtle changes such as pausing for a moment without getting out every conceivable word into a bar have helped elevate his performances. One thing that sets him apart from other rappers is that tucked inside the smooth-layered P‑Funk tracks are always the most quotable lines and stories. Lines like, “I’m from north Tulsa where your shit can get parked…”, or “could’ve been a marine biologist, but I skipped the colleges, put the city on positives, it started growing wild” caught the attention of unsuspecting concertgoers who might have never heard Dialtone’s music before.

What’s refreshing about Dialtone’s performances is his appreciation for the crowd, which usually includes the community he’s created of fans, family, and friends he’s cultivated throughout his career. During his performance, he acknowledged some of the audience members as a way to thank them for their support. (One fellow artist in the crowd handed him a bouquet of flowers, which he carried as he rapped the first songs of his set.)

But Dialtone wasn’t the only artist on display that night. No Parking Studios was in full force. Members Deren Walker, Cruise, Tyler James, and DJ Hidden Display all got their time to carry the flag for the collective, which has now grown not only in roster size but also in mediums. The venue was filled with hand-painted hats, clothing, and the neon-framed artwork that has become a NoPS signature. The warm neon invited you in as your eyes traced each line of the figures in each painting, while the infectious playlist of DJ Hidden Display drew you outside to the spacious patio where Dialtone performed.

Was the night perfect? Almost. Dialtone did mess up when rapping his song “Everyday In Tulsa.”

But hey, the song is over five years old, and as anyone who knows his discography knows, that’s at least 300 songs ago.

So the crowd gave him grace as he let the performance track play into the distance. But as the chorus says, “It goes down Everyday in Tulsa.” There’s plenty more energy on the way.

What’s next for Dialtone? He will be working on a project for Route 66 with the help of the Artist Creative Fund, which will be one of his biggest neon jobs to date.

Dialtone’s setlist: