Chicago hip-hop artist NoTryDo Sincere is coming to Ames for the first time, playing at Zeke’s on March 9, 2013.

Sincere was the first artist in Chicago to release music via a USB flash drive as well as being the first hip hop artist in Chicago to play with his own five-piece drum line, which is the same drum line that plays for the Chicago Bulls half time show called the Kaotic Drum Line.

Starting after high school, Sincere formed a rap group with friends and toured around the Chicago area. He got his name from a lesson his grandmother told him as she lay dying. 

According to his biographical profile on Reverbnation’s website, his grandmother had told Sincere, “there is a lifetime of difference between trying and doing, and changing the world requires action.”

The latter part of Sincere’s name was taken because he sincerely adopted his grandmother’s words as his mantra and artist name.

According to Reverbnation, “NoTryDo has blazed his own trail in a cluttered hip-hop jungle with a series of firsts because, after all, if youre going to do something, might as well be the first to do it.” 

Sincere elaborated on how he got started in music. 

“We were noticed by somebody at Atlantic,” Sincere said. “But that part of the company got folded and I kept doing shows and kept going…moved on from them.”

Sincere started a marketing company, and it was during one of the company’s grand openings he first heard the Kaotic Drum Line.

“I did a couple of grand openings, and I heard some noise in a distant parking lot outside. I was like, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ I hired them to be an introduction for the grand openings, and from there on, we’ve been doing shows all around,” Sincere said.

The drum line accompanies the music live, sometimes performing to a prerecorded beat or sometimes just performing by themselves with Sincere on vocals.

With his background in marketing, Sincere took inspiration from the Barenaked Ladies and released his music via USB flash drives he refers to as “robots.”

“It helps with the notoriety, helps to be unique an different. People aren’t just left with a CD; they get a flash drive too that they can do anything with,” Sincere said.

Sincere will be selling his latest music on his robots, which Sincere said is the most involved in music he has ever been.