Jon Ditty
Born on September 7, 1987, Jon "Ditty" Didier is a rapper/songwriter/artist/activist from Dunedin, FL. He is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in December of 2010. He is also the founder of the Dunedin Lyricist Society, a freestyle hip-hop open mic, operating since July of 2012.
Jon began rapping in 2006, starting a punk rock/rap group, The Chupacabra Machine, with drummer Derek Saballos (DJ D-Rok). During their short-lived run, the band wrote, rehearsed, and recorded a handful of terrible songs that will hopefully never see the light of day. Around this time, Jon began performing as a guest emcee with local Clearwater, FL band, Variety Workshop—appearing on their self-titled debut—and additionally, recording with the band's hip-hop side project, the Vdub Allstars.
From 2007-2014, Jon Ditty, alongside DJ D-Rok, performed under the moniker, project: SAVE c.a. hircus (the worst possible name for, frankly, anything). In 2012, while living in Orlando, they released their debut album, College Radio: The Music That Beck Wishes He Had Made, aided by the encouragement and guidance of Swamburger (Solillaquists of Sound). In November of 2013, the duo won 1st Place in the inaugural Open Jam Challenge at the Dunedin Brewery (featuring 40 local acts).
In February 2015, DJ D-Rok decided to pursue his dreams of becoming an astronaut, enlisting in the United States Air Force to gain flying/pilot experience. Since then, Jon Ditty has embarked upon his career as a solo artist.
Jon Ditty has performed with the following artists/bands: Between Bluffs, BlessEd & The Divine Derelicts, Christian Ryan, The Crazy Carls (Zander), Displace, Four Star Riot, Future Vintage, Green Sunshine, The Heavy Pets, Holey Miss Moley, The Juanjamon Band, Legacy Orchestra Collective, lushbudget, The Nancy Rayguns, One Sun, Rev. Funky D & The New Diggs, Serotonic, Shoeless Soul, Stick Martin Show, Variety Workshop, Weaksauce, and more...
Jon Ditty has opened for the following artists/bands: Astronautalis, BLEUBIRD, Blueprint, Count Bass D, DiViNCi, Grayskul, (hed) pe, Jimkata, Kymani Marley, Living Colour, Mad Conductor, Onry Ozzborn, Rampage the Last Boy Scout, Rob Sonic, Sage Francis, Slum Village, SOJA, Solillaquists of Sound, Sublime w/ Rome, Supastition, The Supervillains, Yoni Wolf (of WHY?), and more...
Awards:
• 1st Place Champion of the inaugural Open Jam Challenge at the Dunedin Brewery
• 3rd Place Runner-Up in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2017 for "Best Hip-Hop Act"
Band
Rap/Hip-Hop