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MC LYTE
-------------MC Lyte (born Lana Michele Moorer on October 11, 1971 in Queens, New York) is a female rap artist. Being one
of the first major female rappers, she was the first to receive a gold album. She released her first single, the crack tale
"I Cram to Understand U (Sam)", at the age of 12 and then signed a contract with First Priority. Her debut album, Lyte As
a Rock, was released in 1988, featuring the previous single and "10% Dis." She then made a guest appearance on a remix of
Sinead O'Connor's "I Want Your (Hands On Me)," which became a dance hit. This was followed by the releases Eyes on This in
1989 (including "Capaccino"), Act Like You Know in 1991, and Ain't No Other in 1993. Lyte then moved to Elektra/Asylum and
released Bad As I Wanna B (1996), which included a collaboration with Missy Elliott called "Cold Rock a Party". Seven & Seven
(1998) also included guest appearances from Missy Elliott, along with LL Cool J and Giovanni Salah. Lyte is also featured
as Kai, a recurring role on the UPN sitcom Half & Half. In December of 2004, she was inducted as an honorary member into Sigma
Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. In December of 2005, her latest single "Wonder Years" (produced by DJ Premier of Gangstarr fame) leaked
onto the internet to rave reviews.----------------------------
GRANDMIXER DXT------------------------
GrandMixer DXT
(short Bio)
GrandMixer DXT (formerly, GrandMixer D.st.) was born in the Bronx, NY. He came from being a local band drummer to one of the
most influential DJ' in hip-hop history. His original name D.st., was an abbreviation of Delancy Street, one of his former
hangouts; D. was also his nickname. After attending a Kool DJ Herc party, DXT was inspired to become a DJ, adding this skill
to his musical arsenal. In the mid to late seventies GrandMixer DXT along with Rob The Gold, Dennis Pettiford and Ritchie
Levister, introduced the Hip Hop culture to Westchester County based mainly at the studios of Ritchie Levister located in
Mount Vernon NY. This is where he started the group The Infinity Squad/Infinity Four MC's and introduced Mount Vernon to the
culture of Hip Hop. During1981-1983, he became the hottest NYC DJ, spinning on weekends at the Roxy the first hip-hop dance
club in New York City. Soon after, he emerged as an internationally- known artist, touring Japan and Europe using the turntable
as an instrument. In the early 80s DXT met Bill Laswell, "one of the most creative and challenging producers in modern music."
From the collaboration of DXT, Laswell and jazz legend Herbie Hancock came one of the most spectacular recordings in modern
music history: the Grammy Award-winning "Rock It." This song changed modern music forever: it was the first collaboration
between hip-hop and jazz musicians, the first appearances of turntables used as a soloist
GrandMixer DXT uses signature technique to restore 1957 recording of Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie
Hall
Noted Hip-Hop DJ GrandMixer DXT is no stranger to utilizing his prowess as a technical wizard to bridge the worlds of jazz
and hip-hop music.
--------------------------------DJ JAZZY JAY-------------------------
The Original Jazzy Jay began his illustrious career playing in the street s of the Bronx, under the guidance of Afrika Bambaataa.
During the 80's club revolution, Jazzy went from performing on the streets and in small clubs spinning records in NYC's hottest
clubs: Negril, The Roxy, The Ritz, and Danceteria. He was one of the first to bring Hip Hop music to the airwaves, on KISS
FM. Jazzy's three hour show grew so popular that it was eventually syndicated on Europe's Radio One broadcast.
With the Jazzy 5, he recorded the hit single: "Jazzy Sensation". He was propelled to stardom when he co-produced the seminal
hit "Planet Rock"with Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force. Jazzy Jay played the role of club DJ in the Hip Hop classic, "Beat
Street", and he also contributed to the movie's soundtrack.
It is a little known fact that Afrika Islam and Jazzy Jay pioneered the first DJ team routines as they used to team up to
battle GrandMaster Flash (solo) and GrandWizzard Theodore (solo). Jazzy Jay was also one of the Zulu King B-Boys in the early
70's.
Jazzy Jay was a co-founder of Def Jam records along with Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. He appeared on T La Rock's "It's
Yours". While with Def Jam, Jazzy worked with such artists as LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. Jazzy Jay also
put out the 3rd Def Jam 12" in 1985 called "Def Jam" b/w "Cold Chillin' In The Spot" with Russell Simmons on vocals.
Jazzy furthered his producing and engineering skills when he founded Jazzy Jay's Studio, providing a place where Fat Joe,
Brand Nubian, A Tribe Called Quest, among others could begin their careers. Jazzy began a new label with Rocky Bucano- Strong
City records was born. Strong City produced a multitude of hits with Ice Cream Tee, the Masters of Ceremony, Busy Bee, and
Don Baron.
Jazzy was inducted into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame in 2000. He is featured in the DJ documentary "SCRATCH" (Palm Pictures)
and has headlined every Scratch Tour in the US, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Jazzy enjoys rocking parties internationally
as well as speaking on panels about Hip Hop history, industry, and politics.
-------------------------------DJ ROB SWIFT---------------------------------
In 2002 Swift performed at the World Economic Forum in New York with Herbie Hancock. “That was incredible. At the rehearsal
Dr. Butcher said to me, 'Yo, I just heard someone say that somebody named Quincy's here,' and I'm like, 'Whatever,' then in
comes Quincy Jones 'cause he was overseeing the musical portion of the event. It was an incredible feeling. I came up doing
this as a fun thing, as a hobby, and now this skill I learned to have fun is introducing me to people who I've always respected.
It's crazy!”
Earlier this year, the 3 rd X-Ecutioners album came out- Revolutions, and with it, Rob's decision to go solo. “My decision
to go solo was in the making during " Built From Scratch." I'm a strong believer in the notion that change is good. Life is
about evolving. That's how you grow and learn. During the making of " Built From Scratch" I started feeling like recording
on a major label and having the pressure to deliver hit singles began to disrupt my creativity. I started worrying more about
making music that our label would except instead of just being creative for the sake of being creative. Whenever I started
feeling frustrated I would think about my experience recording my first solo album " The Ablist." Another Asphodel release,
I remember working on " The Ablist" was similar to working on " X-pressions" because I had the freedom to experiment and try
new things. I new that even if an idea didn't end up sounding the way I thought it would, I was commended for trying it opposed
to discouraging from experimenting again. However, as frustrated as I felt, I was still proud of what we accomplished as a
group and I felt like I needed to do my part to help the group return to the " X-pression" days. So I would ignore my feelings
of frustration and focus on the positive things the X-Ecutioners were accomplishing. Appearances on TV, worldwide tours,
etc. When we began working on " Revolutions" those frustrations slowly started creeping there way back into my psyche. Making
music for the major labels started to become boring. It wasn't fun anymore. Also, there were things I wanted to say and do
in my music that I knew my current label wouldn't support. So I started working on the next Rob Swift album as an escape.
The difference this time was working on my third solo album saved me in a lot of ways. I was so caught up in recording music
that the label staff would like there was a short period where I forgot just how gratifying it felt to do music and not feel
limited or stifled. So I decided to leave the group because I felt I was in a different place creatively. I wish those guys
luck though.”
So now he starts work on the next opus in his career- one that leaves him with more opportunity and risk then any before,
and even more important, more responsibility. No longer does he have anyone's shoulders to lean on, no rapper, no DJ crew,
just himself. His 3 rd album, in the works now, will be called “War Games”, and this time Rob wants to make a
social statement, saying something with relevance, a totally new concept in turntable music. “Tablists have minds, we
can think and we can use our turntable as a tool to convey those thoughts.” The album features Large Professor, Akinyele,
Melo-D, DJ Quest and Ricci Rucker, and this site will have constant updates and previews on what its gonna sound like, so
stay tuned.
Ultimately, if Rob has one goal its this- “Artists like Stevie Wonder go in to cut records and they think, 'Well, we
can get him on drums and him for guitars.' My thing is to get people to think, 'Who's gonna play the turntable?'
-------------------------------------TCIZ--------------------------------------
This man requires no introduction.T.C. IZ is the messenger of Stateside
Jungle Drum and Bass music, bringing it to all corners of the world. He
is one of the most recognized stateside names, most commonly associated
with Zulu Nation. JungleSky, and Konkrete Jungle. T.C.'s years of
experience allow him to grab control of the crowd the minute they hear
his first lyric. His presence onstage commands respect; pity the fool who
attempts to step. One of North America's premier MCs, T.C. IZ has helped
shape and define America's Jungle scene. He has worked alongside every major
DJ in the Drum n' Bass community.MCing for the likes of Aphrodite,
Rob Playford, Goldie, Ed Rush, Trace, Shy-FX, 1.8.7, JMagic, and
Afrika Bambaataa, as well as with the Jungle Brothers, Grandmixer DXT, Boosty Collins,
Maceo Parker, Rodney Jones, Idris Muhammad, Krafty Kutz, DJ Craze, Ming and
FS, MC Skibbadee, MC 50, MC Det, Navigator, Grooverider, Fabio and many
others too numerous to mention. He has also given birth to many other
talented individuals within the scene worldwide. As son of the God
Father of Hip-Hop, Afrika Bambaataa, T.C. IZ was born and raised with the
sounds and the principles of the Zulu Nation. Stepping out of his father's
footsteps, T.C. IZ breaking down the boundaries as he creates the Hip-Step
sound. Combining the sounds of Drum n' Bass and Hip-Hop, T.C. IZ
has established himself as not only one of America's finest MCs, but one
of the top MCs in the world... a dj's mc.
-------------------------------------Dyer-----------------------------------------
Dyer was one of London's first female MCs, and possibly also
one of a few responsible for setting the precedent for those that
followed. She began on the capital's various pirate stations, those
now accredited for the discovery of a plethora of artists currently
at the forefront of Garage/Grime and Jungle/D&B scenes, at a
time when the MCing artform was more raw and not yet the
subject of any media exposure. At that time Jungle was the only
genre other than HipHop to offer MCs any sort of platform.
Dyer MC was quickly picked up by the All-Star Ragga Jungle Squad
Knowledge & Wisdom, a connection which lead to her extensively touring Europe and Canada.
After generating an industry buzz with her first solo track. Female
Phenomenon DyerMC went on to become a member of an all female mc based group called Bad Girl MC, the crew released material
to critical acclaimed which was reviewed in Touch and Rewind magazines. Currently working on her debut album, Dyer also represents
Bad Breaks and Stamina Records with DJ N from France. She is associated with The Hipstep Massive and has played extensively
with American Hipstep, Jungle Drum and Bass Legend Supa
MC TC Izlam.
Possessing a unique style and flow, Dyer brings an electric energy
and stage presence to the dance, an energy and vibe that has captured her an ever growing army of fans across the globe. Dyer
has per formed for Roots n Bass, Drum DNA, (FR), Deep
in the Jungle, Ulanbator, Freshly cut, (GER) WEMF, Ganja Smile, Next Total
Technopolis, (NOR) Bar-b-Q beats n Booty, Cookies & Cream,Clash of Da Sexes,Karess, (U.K) and more\'85 She regularly guests
on a variety of live, pirate and internet radio shows on
Radio stations such as Rude FM, Rinse FM, Pressure Origin, Xtreme, Subjam, Raw Mission, Y2K, Pyrotechnic (net), Planet
DnB (net), Touch FM, Essex FM, The Dominion Order (net) and more...
Discography
Female Phenomenon >> Air In Motion
Nothingz gonna stop >> Fragile Recs (feat Dyer, Radar D-melo)
Who Da Bad Girlz >> Fragile Recs (feat Dyer, Radar D-Melo)
The Worldz Against Me >> Chosen ones
Our Flows >> Knowledge & Wisdom all stars (feat Dyer, Demolition Man
Million Dan & Frisky)
Fresh vibes >> Mars exist (feat Dyer & Jamalski)------------------------------U-GOD--------------------------U-GOD
They say good things come to those who wait. But it is also said that hard work breeds success. No matter which cliché you
believe, veteran rapper U-God can prove both ideologies to be true. As an original member of Wu-Tang Clan, the nine person
crew that literally thugged out the rap game in the mid-'90s, U-God knows what it's like to experience both power and success.
And even though he has already achieved legendary status he has no intention of calling it quits. Like a true artist, the
MC born Lamont Hawkins is devoted to perfecting his craft and exploring every creative outlet he can muster.
Nearly a decade after first coming into the game with the intentions of shifting the entire power structure within the music
industry, U-God continues to reinvent both himself and the climate around his art. His latest LP, Mr. Excitement, is a testament
to his artistic development and proof that time rears wisdom.
"I'm not the same dude I was 10 years ago," explains the MC formally known as Golden Arms. "That's why I called my album
Mr. Excitement. I'm not in the Wu chamber that they expect me to be in."
Instead of basking in all of life's ills, U-God has decided to put a whole new spin on the words he spits while staying true
to the rapid-fire rhyme flow his fans continue to praise him for. "My new album's hard as hell but I got a little more sunshine
on it," explains the Staten Island-bred rapper. "You could see the pictures in my words. I'm not trying to lose you what so
ever. I made it real easy for your ears so you could be like, 'Damn! Did you hear what that nigga said? I didn't know he could
get down like that.'"
Enriched with a bevy of styles, the follow-up to U-God's critically acclaimed debut, Golden Arms Redemption, is a well rounded
album that incorporates as many characters as it does musical influences. "Mr. Excitement ain't just about partying," tells
U-God. "Mr. Excitement is a drug dealer/killer/pimp. I spent four years writing this album, I took my time-I didn't rush the
shit."
Songs like “Pretty Like Me” and the first single, “You Don't Wanna Dance” will reunite old fans with
the baritone rhyme animal and bring them up to date with his ever changing slanguistics. “I kinda talk different than
dudes,” explains U-God. “'You Don't Wanna Dance' is an uptempo joint. In other words, you don't want to fuck with
a nigga that's 'bout it 'bout it. You don't want to disco with me baby.”
When he's not tearing the club up, U's got his sites set on turning out a whole new audience. The rock-tinged “Kick
Ass” is a certified head banger that was inspired by his recently deceased crew member, Ol' Dirty Bastard. “I
took a page from my brother Dirty and I formulated it to my style on that one,” he says. “It's something he would've
did with my 2005 twist on it.”
In an effort to keep the ladies listening, Mr. Excitement features a dramatic love affair on wax for the song, “Jenny.”
U-God flexes his knack for rapping intricate story lines, this one riddled with deception and greed. And after taking listeners
through matters of the wounded heart, U offers up some words of encouragement and the importance of not taking one's life
for granted on the uplifting track, “Carry On.”
“I'm always gonna come different on every song,” says U-God. “That's one thing about this album, I don't
sound the same on one track. That's a skill I got from being Wu-Tang 'cause I always had to get in and fit in.”
Variety has a lot to do with U-God's appeal. The fact that he is able to touch on so many different topics and morph his
character into someone who is still relevant today says a lot about his ever-changing mic skills. “Niggas don't realize
the U in U-God stands for universal,” he explains. “It means no boundaries, infinity, it goes on forever. There's
no shape or form that you could say, 'That's U.G. right there.' You're always gonna be like damn that's him?”
Even if you don't recognize the man on the mic you will learn to love what he's done for rap now as much as ever.
------------------------------------------SPECIAL K & TEDDY TED-------------------------------------Special K & Teddy Tedd
(AKA the Ooh Child) have been pioneers in the Hip-Hop industry since their initial arrival in 1982. They have devoted their
lives to the art and in the interim have gained enormous respect. The Awesome 2 are not only known for their radio show but
also for their multi media production company Awesome Entertainment, which boast projects that include Branding opportunities,
marketing, television & film production, domestic and international events and concerts, management, production as well as
consultancy to name a few.
Special K & Teddy Tedd are two of the most hip-hop literate and well-known figures in the hip-hop community today. The Awesome
2 radio show on 105.9 is legendary. The Awesome 2 are currently on SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO every Saturday and Sunday (7PM-1AM)
you can also hear their show on SIRIUS on the internet (Sirius.com). Awesome 2 can also be heard on AOL Radio (Mix-tape station).
The Awesome 2 are well known international arena, club and party DJ's having played all over the world: London, Switzerland,
Germany, France, Brussels, Africa and Canada. They have played many major venues and events including THE 1998 WORLD CUP (France)
THE WORLD FAMOUS APOLLO THEATER, THE HOUSE OF BLUES, BB KINGS, PLEASURE ISLAND, BET SOUNDSTAGE as well as the HUB STAGE for
VIBE LIVE at WALT DISNEY WORLD. Awesome 2 do private exclusive celebrity parties for clients like ESPN, NFL hall of Fame legend
Lawrence Taylor, Tennessee Titans Keith Bullock, Comedian Chris Tucker, Pittsburgh Steelers Jerome Bettis, Queen Latifah,
Comedian Tracy Morgan, Philadelphia 76ers Derrick Coleman, Jason Williams, Dennis Rodman, Marcus Chong (Panther, The Matrix),
Vibe Magazine, The Source magazine, American Music Awards, private events for Bloomingdales and Macy's etc.
The Awesome 2 are frequently special invited guest on various radio shows across the United States and abroad including POWER
105, HOT 97 (NYC), 92.3 DA BEAT(LA), HOT 97.5 (ATL), SKYROCK FM (FRANCE), BBC RADIO/ CHOICE FM (LONDON), FREEWAY 77.7-(JAPAN).
The Awesome 2 have produced, wrote, remixed, managed and worked with some of hip-hops best: NICE & SMOOTH, EPMD, EDOG & DA
BULLDOGS, POSITIVE K, BUSTA RHYMES, RAKIM, P DIDDY, MARY J BLIGE and KRS 1 to name a few. You can also see the Awesome 2 in
various music videos and motion pictures (“Rakim Told Me', “Battle Sounds”, “Who's the man”,
“Lets get busy” etc.).
The Awesome 2 have been featured on MTV's Direct Effect, The Carson Daly Show and YO MTV Raps! Bet's 106 & Park, RAP CITY,
Planet Groove, The Basement, Teen Summit and NIHON (BET in Japan), MUCH Music's DA MIX (CANADA) plus many other video shows
around the country. They continue to receive press coverage from VIBE, THE SOURCE, SCRATCH, IB MAGAZINE BILLBOARD, RAP PAGES,
URBAN LATINO, XXL, and KING etc. and are featured in several books: “RAKIM TOLD ME”, “WHO SHOT YA”,
“BREAK IT DOWN”,”EGO TRIPS BOOK OF RAP LISTS”.
The Awesome 2 have the longest running Hip-Hop show in the world and are recent inductees to the MUSEUM OF TELEVISION AND
RADIO. Their accomplishments, respect among their peers and the faithful fan base has cemented their popularity and acceptance
in the music industry. With over 20 years in an ever changing industry, Awesome 2 continue to stand the test of time.------------------------------------------BLACK
SHEEP---------------------------------In 1991, Black Sheep released their seminal debut "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," which
reached #30 on the Billboard charts and ended up selling over a million records.
The album spawned two massive singles, “The Choice is Yours” and “Flavor of the Month.”
"Our record plays in a party everyday of the year...a lot of artists can't say that," Dres said of his previous hits. "If
we were to get paid for every time our album was played, we would be millionaires."
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