Biography
Born on September 7, 1987, Jon "Ditty" Didier is a rapper/songwriter/artist 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 Off The Dome, a freestyle hip-hop open mic (formerly known as the Dunedin Lyricist Society), taking place every Wednesday night at Blur Nightclub in Downtown Dunedin.
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. Consequently, Jon Ditty has embarked upon his career as a solo artist. Since 2013, Ditty has been collaborating with St. Petersburg, FL renaissance man, Stick Martin, who has played the role of Executive Producer on both the "Hopefully More than a Blanket of 'I' Statements" & "College Radio: Alumni Edition" albums.
In March 2019, Jon Ditty released the album "Factory Recall" with Swiss Producer/Turntablist, DJ Hurley. The project is produced entirely by DJ Hurley and features guest appearances by Underground Hip-Hop heavyweights Blueprint (of Rhymesayers Entertainment) and Ceschi Ramos (of Fake Four Inc).
In 2020, Jon Ditty began regularly performing with longtime collaborator and friend, Stick Martin. Sometimes known as "Stick & Ditty's Duo of Goodness," the pair accomplish a mash-up of both covers and originals, jammed out with an obvious hip-hop leaning. Their live shenanigans have garnered local attention, resulting in weekly-recurring performances.
Jon Ditty has performed with the following artists/bands: After Funk, Ajeva, Anthill Cinema, Between Bluffs, BlessEd & The Divine Derelicts, Bumpin' Uglies, Ceschi, Christian Ryan, The Crazy Carls (Zander), Displace, Dunedin Brewery House Band, Foundation & DJ Hurley, Four Star Riot, Future Vintage, Guavatron, Green Sunshine, GoldenEra, The Heavy Pets, Holey Miss Moley, Joe Marcinek Band, JOOSE, The Juanjamon Band, Justino & The Difference, Legacy Orchestra Collective, Leisure Chief, lespecial, lushbudget, Mouth Council, The HeadTones, The Nancy Rayguns, The New Rulers, One Sun, The Reality, Rev. Funky D & The New Diggs, Roosevelt Collier, Row Jomah, Serotonic, Shoeless Soul, Skallop, Stick Martin Show, TAND, Variety Workshop, Veird, Voodoo Visionary, Weaksauce, Wild Root, and more...
Jon Ditty has opened for the following artists/bands: Aceyalone, A-Plus (of Heiroglyphics), Astronautalis, Bleubird, Blueprint, Busdriver (even though he's a f@#%in' douchebag), Carnage The Executioner, Ceschi, Count Bass D, Devin The Dude, DiViNCi, Epic Beard Men, Grayskul, (hed) pe, Hurricane Party, Jimkata, Jonwayne, Kymani Marley, Living Colour, Mad Conductor, MC Chris, MC Lars, Mega Ran, MURS, Onry Ozzborn, Prefuse73, 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?), Zion I X lespecial, and more...
Awards & Achievements:
• 1st Place Champion of the 2013 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"
• Orange Blossom Jamboree 2017
• Artist at Large / Hometeam New Years Rally 2017
• Orange Blossom Jamboree 2018 (Silent Disco)
• BEST LOCAL HIP-HOP ACT in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2018
• Orange Blossom Jamboree 2019
• Vibes of the Bay 2019 presented by Symphonic Distribution
• BEST UNSAFE MUSIC in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2019
• BEST SPOKEN WORD ARTIST in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2020
• BEST COVER BAND in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2020
• 2nd BEST HIP-HOP ACT in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2020
• 4th BEST MAYOR in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2020
• 2nd BEST HIP-HOP ACT in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2021 (Stick Martin & Jon Ditty)
• Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grant Recipient 2021
• BEST HIP-HOP ACT in Creative Loafing Tampa's Best of the Bay 2022