Yes, the phrase "underground hip-hop" gets thrown around a lot, and occasionally refers to that guy in the jersey in Union Square who tries to sell you his illegal mix tape for five bucks. However, there is a real rap game out there, below the radar of radio play. Any fans of the genre owe it to themselves to be constantly searching for emcees with a worthy flow. Luckily for us, a combination of old friends and frequenting birthday parties at bars led us to run into a guy who was pretty much a ghost: a rapper named
Cause.
"I'm not a tree/I'm a g/so don't bark up me"
Have you ever tried googling "Cause?" We have... it's pointless. Luckily, after many weeks of searching, we met him. After hearing some sick freestyling, we got a hold of his business card. It led us to his site (which is really cool, by the way), and to some of his jams. He spits it really well, we've got to admit. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York is the pulse of his beats. He is self compared to
Common and even
Talib Kweli, and rightfully so; he is young, fresh, slick and witty, and has something really worthwhile to say. Mainstream appeal with underground credit, and a quick tongue all make this rapper irresistable. Check him out.-
joe puglisi
See Cause this week, 6/28 at Sullivan Hall.
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MP3: Cause:: People Over Power - Unreleased
Cause on Myspace