Native
to Prince George's County Maryland (a suburb of Washington D.C.) I have
spent all my life growing up in the area. Parliament-Funkadelic deemed
Washington D.C. as the Capital of all Chocolate Cities in the 80s; I was
born in 1991 when the city was referred to as the "murder capital"
because of the crime reputation and height of the crack epidemic. The
prodigious Len Bias overdosed at nearby UMD and his brother was shot at a
shopping center down the street from where I grew up. The area has a
rich hip-hop history, and one of my favorite bands Experience Unlimited
helped to create this era. Our local music is a percussion style called
"Go-Go," local rappers and influencers Wale and Tabi Bonney use this in
their style. However, I
am most influenced by Classic Rap, Gangster Rap, Acid Jazz, Funk, and
Bossa Nova. My appreciation for all styles of music comes from the very
diverse neighborhood that I grew up in (people were always cranking
something). For me, my early music started as an exit to escape the
reality of problems at home with my family. It evolved into a hobby when
I linked up with my best friend Abel Battery in middle school. Out of
his circle, I met the young OfficialOB and 6ix (producers for Logic)
where ciphering and beats became our weekend "turn-up" all the way until
we went our separate ways after college. I was a student at American
University in northwest D.C., while the majority of my friends attended
UMD. While at American U, I studied abroad in Seoul and Tokyo picking up
some language and culture along the way adding some influence to my
artistry as well. Two styles that I switch back and forth from is the
"futuristic pimp" and "intelligent goon", these are the two personas
that were born and live in my writing. The RYU Tape specifically came
from an idea I had while studying abroad. The RYU concept came from the
korean hip-hop student org that I was apart of called "Rap in da Yonsei
University." Here I learned that next to English, Korean is the second
most rhythimic language when used in a hip-hop fashion. And of course,
as a 90's baby I loved the game Street Fighter. Putting these two ideas
together formed the theme for this project.
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