east coast rap | Musicosity

east coast rap

Celph Titled

The over-the-top, bazooka wielding action star of hip hop, charismatic Floridian word master Celph Titled began his professional entrance into the rap game as a teenage lyricist and local production staple during the late 90's indie 12-inch vinyl boom. Being a member of, and producing for, a number of boundary-pushing Tampa rap crews at the time, he networked heavily to take his music worldwide and began contributing beats and rhymes to a non-stop tirade of vinyl singles during a time when the 12-inch single market was key in building a cult fan base.

Artist Type: 

Hail Mary Mallon

Hail Mary Mallon is a group formed in 2009 by Definitive Jux rapper/producers Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. Their first officially released track, "D-Up", was featured on the 2009 compilation Def Jux Presents... Vol. 4. Their debut album 'Are You Going To Eat That', was released on the 3rd of May 2011. Their name refers to Mary Mallon or "Typhoid Mary", the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the United States, who infected 53 people with the disease as she continued to work as a cook while denying she had it.

Artist Type: 

Biz Markie

Biz Markie is an East Coast hip hop artist, DJ and world-renowned Human Beat Boxer, best known for humorous singles like "Just a Friend" and "Pickin' Boogers." and his pre-MTV hit "Vapors". He has been labeled The Clown Prince of Hip-Hop. His career began in the 1980s. In 1992, Biz recorded a song called "Alone Again," but Gilbert O'Sullivan claimed the track featured an unauthorized sample of his hit "Alone Again (Naturally)," and served Biz papers. His career was quite damaged from the lawsuit, and Biz ducked out of the harshest glare of the limelight for the remainder of the 1990s.

Artist Type: 

Ghostface

Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970 in Staten Island, New York), better known by the stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper. Ghostface first rose to fame as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan hip hop collective. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the early-mid 1990s, each member was free to pursue solo careers; Ghostface's would turn out to be one of the most critically and commercially successful of the group, regardless of, and perhaps due to, his loyalty to his obscure yet highly vivid lyrics and 1970's soul sound.

Artist Type: 

Bumpy Knuckles

Bumpy Knuckles, also known as Freddie Foxxx, (born James Campbell in 1969) is an American rapper from New York. He has a trademark rough and tough approach in his lyrics (as well as his lifestyle) which has endeared him to Hardcore hip hop lovers and yet made him infamous within the record industry. Foxxx released his first LP, Freddie Foxxx Is Here in (1989) through MCA Records. He soon parted ways with the label and became a member of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit establishment.

Artist Type: 

C.L. Smooth

CL Smooth (born Corey Penn, October 8, 1968 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American rapper from Mount Vernon, New York and the vocal half of the influential hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the pair split in 1995, Pete Rock, whose work with CL had garnered him a reputation as one of the finest producers in hip-hop, went on to produce (and remix) tracks for dozens of marquee-name and/or well-respected acts, and to release a batch of solo and instrumental albums. CL Smooth remained musically inactive.

Artist Type: 

Keith Murray

1) Keith Murray (born September 13, 1974, Central Islip, New York) is a rapper and a member of the rap trio Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and Erick Sermon. . Murray was introduced to Erick Sermon of EPMD by K-Solo. Sermon would feature Murray on his album No Pressure on the Single "Hostile". Murray quickly established himself as one of the most creative lyricists in the industry with his first album The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World, released in 1994 on Jive Records. The title track from this album remains Murray's biggest solo hit.

Artist Type: 

Skillz

Skillz (formerly Mad Skillz, born Donnie Shaquan Lewis in Richmond, Virginia) is an African-American rapper. Known as a talented freestyle rapper, Skillz has not received widespread acclaim outside of the community, but within it is considered one of its best performers. He first made a name for himself by finishing in second place in a national freestyle competition in 1995, which resulted in a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Skillz' Atlantic debut, From Where???, and its single, The Nod Factor, were released in 1996, but sank without a trace.

Artist Type: 

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagon is one of Kool Keith's many alter egos. His initial release as Dr. Octagon was 1996's Dr. Octagonecologyst, on which he collaborated with Dan the Automator Nakamura and DJ QBert. After the name was dropped in favour of Dr. Dooom, it was widely believed that it wouldn't be used again until the release of 2006's The Return of Dr. Octagon, which Keith maintains was changed and released without his consent.

Artist Type: