Decora

Lloyd Gregory Sandiford (born January 4, 1984), known professionally as Decora, is an American AfroLatinX hip hop artist, producer, performance poet and social activist based in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Decora initially gained notable recognition as a member of the socially-conscious hip hop group, The Readnex Poetry Squad. While touring nationally and abroad, he and the group developed the “Hip Hop and Poetry Saved My Life” workshop aimed toward at-risk youth. In 2009, the group was one of the first hip-hop acts to perform at the Clearwater Festival which helped to secure Decora's place on Hudson Valley's list of People to Watch in 2012. Decora launched his solo career in 2015 with his debut album Bread and Oats. He released his second album, Beyond Belief, with a concert at Lincoln Center in February 2017, and released his third album Reverie in 2018. In 2019, Decora released new music every month, in the form of EPs, singles, and a full-length instrumental album.

Early life Decora was born Lloyd Gregory Sandiford on January 4, 1984, in Texas. He shares a name with his great-uncle, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, the fourth Prime Minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. Decora's nickname was bestowed on him by his grandmother, a variant on the Puerto Rican phrase de corazon, “of the heart.” In the fourth grade, Decora moved with his father to Delhi, New York, where his father returned to college to study engineering. It was around this time that Decora began writing poems to cope with his transient family life. The group met during a campus open mic night in 2001 while attending SUNY Orange. When asked to define ReadNex's style, Decora said, “There are four elements that make up hip-hop culture: rapping, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti writing. We’ve added a fifth, ambiguous element, which is more personal and can be anything you want it to be." but the group members continue to find new ways to collaborate. In 2014, Decora and Freeflowin teamed up to open Create Space, a collaborative workspace and art gallery in Newburgh, NY.

2015 - 2016: Solo Debut, Bread and Oats Decora launched his solo career in 2014, with the release of “Flowers,” a single from his debut solo album, Bread and Oats. The tune pays tribute to his late hero and mentor Pete Seeger, referencing the folksinger's classic "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" in the chorus as the verses outline commentary on current sociological and environmental situations.

Bread and Oats includes two tracks featuring Corey Glover, lead vocalist of Living Color. According to Afropunk, Glover's “mind-expanding contributions” to the album - as heard on “Nantucket” and “Beautiful Bitch” - helped to highlight Decora's commitment to skirting expectations and pushing boundaries.

Decora performed Bread and Oats with a live band. At the 2015 O+ Festival in Kingston, New York, Chronogram contributor Peter Aaron reported that Decora and his five-piece group brought forth “a funky force that left the thick crowd a whooping mass of ecstatic goo.”

In 2018, Decora's song "Mad Random" off the album Bread and Oats (2015) was featured in season 1, episode 1 of She's Gotta Have It, an American comedy-drama television series created by Spike Lee.

2019: An Album Every Month In 2019, Decora issued himself a challenge: release a new album every month. He kicked off the year with a listening party at the World of McIntosh Experience Center, where he celebrated five years as an independent artist and offered listeners a preview of the 12 albums he would be releasing in the coming year.

Decora would go on to achieve his goal, releasing music every month in 2019 in the form of EPs, singles, and a full-length instrumental album. He also performed at shows and festivals throughout the year, including the local Newburgh Illuminated Festival. An estimated 40,000 people attended the 2019 event, which included over 40 bands, 160 street performers, and almost 40 dance troops performing throughout the day.

2021 - 2022: Ink Lloyd Tapes Decora released his fifth full-length album titled Ink Lloyd Tapes on October 1, 2021.

In 2022, Decora's song "I Got the Juice" off the EP Stamina (2019) was featured in season 1, episode 9 of Welcome to Wrexham, an American sports documentary series following the events of Welsh association football club Wrexham A.F.C. as told by the club's owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Artistry Decora describes his music as rap and electronic, and the thread that connects all of his music, he says, is a “message of possibility.”

But music isn't Decora's only method of bringing about social change. In 2008, he founded the Urban Farmers League to grow organic produce for Newburgh's low-income residents.

On September 23, 2018, Decora performed at the At What Cost event at the Apollo Theater. The event organizers Global Citizen and Vera Institute of Justice teamed up with hosts Hill Harper and Symone Sanders to present an evening of testimonials, musical performances, and thought-provoking conversation about criminal justice reform and mass incarceration in America.

In 2019, Decora's commitment to local activism in the Hudson Valley earned him the Orange County Human Rights award.

Newburgh, NY & The Hudson Valley Decora may have had a transient family life growing up, but he's clear when he says he now considers the Hudson Valley his home.

Discography

Albums

Bread And Oats (2015) Beyond Belief (2017) Reverie (2018) Ink Lloyd Tapes (2021) Cashmere (2019) Lunar (2019) Home (2019) Flowers (2014) I'm With You (2018) Can't Speak (2018) Wolves (2019) Electric Feeling (2019) Want to Be (2019) Mama (2021)