Cage

The tortured and visceral lyrics of underground rapper Cage (Chris Palko) come from a life of pain, paranoia, hard drugs, and hard living. His father was MP in the U.S. Army, stationed in Wurzberg, Germany, when Cage was born. The family lived there until Cage's father, named Bill Murray, was busted for selling and using heroin and sent back to America. Landing in Middletown, NY, Cage's father continued using heroin and didn't bother concealing it from his son, going as far as to have the young Cage tighten the tourniquet around his arm. A standoff with the state police after threatening his family with a shotgun landed Murray in jail. It was the last time the eight year old would see his father.

While in high school, Cage went home to a physically abusive stepfather. Drugs became a serious problem for the teen, leading to expulsion from school, getting kicked out of the house, and various arrests for various crimes. Facing serious jail time, Cage's mother convinced the judge to send her son to a mental institution instead of jail. Sentenced to 18 months in the Stony Lodge Psychiatric Hospital, he became a test patient for the new drug Prozac. His depression deepened and suicide attempts led to solitary confinement. It was there that Cage had nothing to do but write his thoughts on paper.

Released from "the Lodge" and confident with his writing skills, Cage began practicing his rap and eventually cut a demo. Meeting Pete Nice of 3rd Bass led to Cage's first appearance on record, a guest vocal on "Rich Bring 'Em Back" from Nice's 1993 album Dust to Dust. Appearances on DJ Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia's legendary N.Y.C. radio show got his name out and lead to friendships with the KMD crew, the late Subroc, Pharoahe Monch, and producer El-P. Nice and Garcia were now working on a sub-label for Columbia and encouraged Cage to make the major-label jump. Too strung out on drugs to record a worthwhile demo, Cage put his career on hold and descended deeper into drug abuse.

Garcia formed his own Fondle 'Em label in 1997 and gave Cage another try. This time he was ready and focused and recorded three successful underground 12"s for the label, including the revered "Agent Orange." He then formed the Smut Peddlers with Mr. Eon and producer Mighty Mi. The group was signed to the hot underground label Rawkus in 2001 and released the album Porn Again that same year. Going solo again, Cage signed with the Eastern Conference label and released his full-length solo debut, the chilling Movies for the Blind, in 2002. The album was well received by critics and underground hip-hop fans, but 2003's Weather Proof didn't catch fire. That same year he formed the superstar group the Weathermen with Camu Tao, El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Ballz, Tame One, Breeze, and Vast Aire. The group's album The Conspiracy was to be the last work Cage would record for Eastern Conference, leaving the label over alleged non-payment. Cage also decided he needed to be more open in his writing and stop playing a character. While his new writing style was no less blunt or shocking, it was more genuine, something longtime friend and associate El-P noticed and began to champion. Cage and El-P began work on his next album, enlisting the help of RJD2, Camu Tao, DJ Shadow, Jello Biafra, and Yo La Tengo member James McNew. The album, Hell's Winter, was released by Definitive Jux in 2005. The occasionally bracing Depart from Me, an album with an even nastier sonic disposition, followed nearly four years later.

from Wikipedia:

Chris Palko, better known by his stage name Cage, is an American rapper from New York City. He has released three studio albums and two extended plays. Cage is also the founder of the underground hip-hop supergroup called the Weathermen.

History

Early life

Chris Palko was born in Würzburg, Germany to American parents. His father was stationed on a West German military base as a member of the military police. Palko lived there until the age of four when his father was dishonorably discharged for selling and using heroin, and the family was sent back to the United States where they lived in Middletown, New York. His father would often force Palko to pull homemade tourniquets around his arm as he injected heroin. At the age of eight, Palko's father was arrested during a standoff with state troopers after threatening his family with a shotgun. By the time Palko was kicked out of high school, his mother had remarried twice, and he was beaten by his stepfather Frank. Palko began using PCP, cocaine, LSD, cannabis and alcohol, and was sent to live with his uncle on a German military base, where he was beaten and sent home after a year.

Palko was arrested several times for drug possession and fighting in the streets. When he faced jail time for violating probation, his mother convinced the judge that he was mentally unstable, and he was sent to the Stony Lodge psychiatric hospital for a two week evaluation. He eventually ended up staying in the hospital for eighteen months, where he was a part of a small group used to test fluoxetine. After being misdiagnosed and placed on the drug, he became suicidal and made several attempts to kill himself, including hanging himself with his shoelaces and saving his lithium dose for a month before ingesting all of them at once.

Early career

When Palko was released at the age of eighteen, he pursued a career as a rapper, naming himself "Alex", after the protagonist of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange. After hiring a manager and recording a demo, he was introduced to rapper Pete Nice, and Cage was featured on the 1993 album Dust to Dust. Pete Nice also introduced Palko to radio personality Bobbito García, who featured Palko on his program several times, increasing his reputation amongst New York's underground hip hop scene, where he became associated with KMD, Kurious Jorge, K-Solo, Godfather Don, Necro, Artifacts, Pharoahe Monch and El-P. Palko signed with Columbia Records, but frequently recorded while intoxicated, and the label found his efforts to be unsatisfactory. Palko briefly put his career on hold and his drug use increased.

When García founded the label Fondle 'Em Records, he offered Palko a record deal, and Cage released a single featuring the songs "Radiohead" and "Agent Orange" in 1997 to success and acclaim. Following the release of The Slim Shady EP, Palko accused Eminem of imitating his style, however in the single Role Model Eminem ironically jests that he rapped over a Cage mixtape. After several more singles with Fondle 'Em, Palko met Mr. Eon and DJ Mighty Mi of The High & Mighty, and the trio formed the group Smut Peddlers, releasing the album Porn Again on Rawkus Records. The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #43 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #184 on the Billboard 200, while its single "That Smut" peaked at #9 on the Hot Rap Singles chart and #96 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

Eastern Conference, Definitive Jux

Palko signed with Eastern Conference Records, releasing his debut album, Movies for the Blind, on August 6, 2002. It peaked at #12 on the Heatseekers chart, #14 on the Top Independent Albums chart, #58 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #193 on the Billboard 200. Palko later stated that the album "sort of glorified drugs" and that he felt the album was "crazy for the sake of being crazy [...] . During this period, Palko formed the group The Weathermen, named after the left-wing political organization. The group released their debut album, "The Conspiracy" on June 3, 2003 before Palko left Eastern Conference over alleged non-payment. An extended play, Weatherproof, was released on July 29, 2003.

Because Palko felt that he should no longer play a character, he began to take on a more open writing style, and signed with Definitive Jux, where he released his second studio album, Hell's Winter on September 20, 2005. Palko is quoted as saying "I make progressive rap, it's as simple as that. [...] I don't live for drugs anymore, I don't support them, and I'm not about to make a million songs about them anymore." Hell's Winter peaked at #26 on the Top Heatseekers chart and at #36 on the Top Independent Albums chart. In July 2009, Palko released his third studio solo album, Depart from Me, which was characterized as having a rap rock sound by Cage.

Cage is currently on tour with Kid Cudi. In an interview with actor Shia LaBeouf for Vanity Fair, LaBeouf expressed interest in starring as Palko in a possible film biography. On November 30, 2007, Spin reported that the film would go into production.