C-Rayz Walz

All Music Guide:

Socially conscious and a skilled freestyler, underground rapper C-Rayz Walz participated in open-mike nights around New York City before hooking with the Stronghold collective. Walz's earliest appearances included mixtapes, an AWOL magazine compilation, and Single Minded Pros' Session 2 EP. A demo-filled debut album, The Prelude, appeared on his own Sun Cycle Entertainment imprint in late 2001 and soon caught the attention of the folks at Definitive Jux. A guest feature on Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein with fellow Stronghold member L.I.F.E. and an appearance on Aesop Rock's Labor Days kicked off his relationship with the label.

Definitive Jux released Walz's proper debut effort, Ravipops, in 2003. The EP We Live: The Black Samurai appeared in 2004. Walz took a break after the EP's release, opting to spend most of his time off in seclusion. Burning his old rhyme books was a cathartic act that freed the rapper's creativity for his next album. The full-length Year of the Beast arrived in 2005 with El-P, Jean Grae, Aesop Rock, and Rob Sonic all making guest appearances. Though the death of his brother understandably sidetracked him, Walz still released a set of new material, 1975: Return of the Beast, on Draft Records the following year. He then partnered with Urchin Studios for three additional releases -- The Dropping, Chorus Rhyme, and The Angel and the Preacher -- while continuing to work on outside projects, including a collaboration with Sharkey that was issued in 2007 as Monster Maker. Another collaboration, this one with Israeli-American hip-hop artist Kosha Dillz, arrived in 2008 under the name Freestyle vs. Written. His fourth proper solo album, Who the Fuck Are You?, followed in 2009 on Kings Link.

Wikipedia:

Waleed Shabazz (born 1979), better known by his stage name C-Rayz Walz, is an MC from The Bronx, New York. He is currently a member of the legendary NY hip hop syndicate Stronghold. C-Rayz Walz has been a fixture in the New York hip-hop scene for years. He hosts many hip-hop shows and events, has appeared on over 43 singles that consistently make Billboard charts & College Radio. Walz has had a video in rotation on BET and started his own label, SunCycle Ent. C-Rayz has appeared on many other rappers' records, including Aesop Rock and Immortal Technique, and has done work with such artists as Percee P and Messiah J & The Expert. Immortal Technique is reputed to be the only MC who can hold his ground against Walz in a freestyle battle.

Biography [edit]

Shabazz was born and raised in The Bronx. At the age of two, his father was murdered, likely as a result of his involvement with drug dealing. According to Shabazz, his father was "a drug dealer but a good man" and was the inspiration for his song Protect My Family. In an interview, he describes how he was deeply affected by his death, saying, "I was always socially dysfunctional, as far as not being able to deal with other kids having fathers." Shabazz described how he drew wisdom from older community members and ultimately gained inspiration for his music and how he views being a father himself. In the same interview, he points to his music as compensation for his social dysfunction resulting from not having a dad growing up.

At the time that Shabazz was growing up, The Bronx was the site of the early hip hop scene. Shabazz recalls listening to DJ Cool Herc, who is credited with originating the genre, in Echo Park where he lived. In this environment, Shabazz developed a love of music and began freestyling with his friends for fun. Both he and his childhood friend and now professional rapper Prodigy describe MC battles in the lunch room in school. He recalls how his ambitions to be an MC were sealed when Busy Bee Starski heard him rhyming: "When I was 5 or 6 years old I freestyled for Busy Bee. He gave me $5, said, 'Boy, you're good. Keep rocking son.' I ran with that because he was one of the greatest of all time. I knew I was a freestyle legend when I was 6."