Tag Archive for 'bronx'

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Published by Kate B on August 10, 2009 in Artist Feature and Hip-Hop. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

cause

The game of hip hop is one that’s fraught with disses and beefs, rodomontade and schadenfreude. These aren’t friendly waters for a newcomer, and many don’t survive first impact. When a young MC steps up to the mic, the hip hop community pauses—poised to either erupt into hisses and jeers, or break into thunderous applause. Those few seconds are where careers are made and broken … and only the strongest survive.

When it comes to New York rapper CAUSE, prepare to start clapping. The 22-year-old phenom explodes out of the gates, showcasing a bright young mind and an old soul. CAUSE is “straight from the boogie down Bronx,” a crucible for legendary hip hop acts during the early 80’s. On his searing single “In Too Deep,” he promises a renaissance for his community. “Hip-hop started in my borough now I’m bringing it back to get it on.” With a serpentine, lightning-quick flow and ceaseless wit he establishes his reign over his home turf: “I’m a king, I could never be a pawn.” It’s not an empty assertion—CAUSE already has a Billboard songwriting award under his belt and was cherry-picked by Bow Wow as the Hip Hop Channel winner on OurStage. In other words, this kid’s no joke. Don’t believe us? Check out the single “Banga,” where CAUSE name checks Tribe Called Quest over an irresistible vintage funk soul beat with a refrain that sums up his mission statement: “We’re bringing back what was missing so long.”

Welcome CAUSE. Now get to work.

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BREAKIN’: AN OURSTAGE BREAKDANCING PLAYLIST

Published by Sam C. on June 19, 2009 in Hip-Hop and Playlists. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
Summer Heights High's Jonah Takalua busting a move

Summer Heights High's Jonah Takalua busting a move

Amongst music scholars, breakdancing is considered to be one of the four foundational elements of the hip hop culture in addition to DJing, MCing and graffiti art. With its humble beginnings in the Bronx  during the late 70’s —at a time when gang violence ran rampant—breakdancing became an alternative medium for rival gangs to compete with one another. Hip hop pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash selected records featuring catchy drum break sections and mixed them together in a continuous “loop” while their MC’s egged on the “B-Boys” and “B-girls” to bust their best moves. No doubt hip hop’s early DJs inspired several generations of electronic musicians and record producers, such as Fatboy Slim and Rick Rubin. Today, the torch is carried by some great artists on OurStage like Metermaids —a hip hop duo who put their own spin on Sufjan Steven’s “Chicago.”

 

Feel like you’re ready to krush groove? We suggest you put on your best kicks and start the circle because it’s time for an OurStage breakdancing set!

OURSTAGE ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF THE RADIO ONE “ROC THE MIC” COMPETITION

Published by Sam C. on June 17, 2009 in Artist Feature, Artist News, Hip-Hop and OurStage Partners. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Back in April OurStage, Radio One and Sony Music joined forces to bring you the “Roc The Mic So You Can Get it All” competition with Bow Wow. Artists from the Hip Hop Channel submitted their original songs to compete for a chance to see Bow Wow in concert in New York City and to meet with him and Columbia Marketing Executives from Sony Music after the show. One lucky fan voter was also selected at random to receive concert tickets and have a meet and greet with Bow Wow. Unfortunately, Bow Wow parted ways with Sony Music in the middle of the competition and was unable to select and meet with the winners.

CAUSE

CAUSE

Not one to disappoint, Sony Music decided to honor the fans’ top choice in the competition by selecting up-and-coming Bronx MC, CAUSE, as the artist winner. CAUSE will meet with Columbia Marketing executives to get valuable industry feedback. And since he didn’t want to let a fellow artist down, Bow Wow will help CAUSE on the promotional front.

OurStage’s Jay Schneider was able to sit down and have a chat with CAUSE about his work after informing him of his win:

JAY: How do you think meeting with the executives from Columbia is going to help you?

CAUSE: First of all, I appreciate the opportunity from OurStage. I think this could potentially really help; anytime you get a chance to meet executives and people who are really influential in the industry—even if they’re not there to sign you—you can always take away a valuable piece of advice.

JAY: You recently won a Billboard Songwriting award for your track “Banga” on which you gave production credit to a young, British producer named Murray Biggs. How did you go about first collaborating with Murray?

CAUSE: That’s a crazy story. With the album I recently put out called The New Golden Era at least 80% of it was recorded through online collaboration—mostly with producers who I haven’t met. With that song in particular, I reached out to Murray through MySpace—told him I really admired his production. I told him I really liked a beat he had on his page and that I’d like to use it. He sent it to me and we emailed back and forth my vocals and his beat until it was done and the rest is pretty much history. So I’ve never actually spoken to him on the phone and I’ve never actually met him before, but we were able to create that magic through the power of the Internet.

JAY: After winning prizes from OurStage and Billboard, how do you feel about your career so far?

CAUSE: I feel like, until recently, I’ve managed to stay below the radar. Lately, especially with this prize, I feel like I’ve been breaking through. It’s only been about two years for me, so I’m still new in the game. There’s so many artist before me that took about five or six years to develop, but still have great careers. I feel like I’m progressing at a fast pace and that I’m starting to become more well-rounded. Earlier I had a lot of people respecting my music and songwriting, but I had to work on my live show. Since then I’ve been doing more shows and feel that the live performance aspect has gotten better. I feel right now that everything has come together really well.

JAY: Would you say that the evolution of your live show is the biggest change you’ve had since starting out?

CAUSE: I would say it’s a combination of that and building a team. Although I think building a team is more important since no one man can do this on their own. I have a bunch of producers now—I just got back from North Carolina after working with Sean Divine, who I consider my main producer right now. I’ve got my manager and a sneaker [apparel] expert. We all share the same unified vision.

JAY: If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

CAUSE: 45 King’s producer—he’s an amazing talent. In terms of hip hop artists I’d like to collaborate with, Nas. 45 King’s producer doing the backing with me and Nas doing the rhymes.
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If you’re interested in hearing CAUSE’s music be sure to check out his OurStage fan page! As for the fan winner of the competition, Sony Music rewarded Jerimiah C. of New Jersey with tickets to Beyoncé’s upcoming performance in Uncasville, CT in addition to giving him a Sony Xplod car audio system.

Daily Download: Cause

Published by internjosh on September 17, 2008 in Download of the Week. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Crafting rhymes that mix old and new school Hip-Hop elements, Cause crafts refreshing wordplay that eschews sexist braggadocio typified by many up and coming rappers. ‘The witty, slick-tongued — methodical rapper is focused on becoming Hip-Hop’s catalyst for change in a genre that has lost its way.’[BIO] In his own words, “It’s time we started becoming influential in a more positive way to the youth of this world. We as rappers and entertainers — whether we like it or not — have the great responsibility of guiding the up-and-coming generations into a more sturdy and less problematic future.” Winning the Hip-Hop channel prize in January and finishing Top Ten in July, Cause is our Daily Download with Banga. Check It.

FREE DOWNLOAD: CAUSE | Banga Feat. Tasha
Need help downloading? Click HERE for step-by-step instructions.