 |
Cause and effectNYC rapper Cause inspires
|
In East Harlem, New York, the capital of bodegas, open fire hydrants and sneakers dangling from telephone wires, hip hop—along with salsa and merengue—is the soundtrack to people’s lives, the universal language of the youth. For hip hop artist Cause, a native of that neighbourhood, the sound of the streets didn’t take long to reach his ears, but it didn’t come easy. “When I was a young kid, I wasn’t able to listen to hip hop in my household because of the vulgar content and some of the things that they were talking about. I had to sneak in the records I wanted to listen to. But growing up in East Harlem, I ended up being exposed to hip hop on a daily basis.” Having been classically trained on the violin for nine years, starting at age five, Cause, who recently released his debut album, The New Golden Era, had a musical ear before his relationship with hip hop. In fact, his spark as a rapper was first ignited by simple poetry. “My first desires to make music came with certain struggles and tough times I was going through. When I wrote poetry, it gave me an escape, so I wanted to combine my musical background with the poetry. I gave it a shot and it turned out well so I really grew a passion for it and I’ve been working hard ever since.” He cites Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Big L and Immortal Technique as strong influences for him. Not simply for their music but also for what they represent. “What these artists are about is really more than music, they speak about meaningful things that really influenced me. It made me wanna have a strong message in my music and communicate morality. “I explore things that are dark and I explore things that are joyous, but in the end, I want people to feel better about themselves when they listen to my music. I want them to choose the better path in their life, whatever it may be. I don’t wanna be preachy because I’m just another person, but I do wanna shed positive light if I can.” WITH MALICIOUS, UNDERGROUND |
