Week 1 Assignment – BLOGS AND BIOGS: autobiography (introduction); ‘celebrity biography’ designed for web fanzine or similar, or a web biography of a fictional character from literature or media. (Written 7/10/08).
Rahzel M. Brown is the hottest hiphop MC of today. Specialising in vocal percussion, he has expanded the art of beatboxing in a truly exceptional way, creating vocal backing beats whilst singing lyrics simultaneously. His only accompaniment is his own instrumentation, a skill that is boasted in his famous acapella ‘If Your Mother Only Knew’ (an interpretation of Aaliyah’s song ‘If Your Girl Only Knew’). A song which is featured as an interlude on his debut album Make The Music 2000. It is this ability to recreate full songs independently that has hailed him The Godfather of Noyze.
Growing up in the Bronx, Rahzel attended Grandmaster Flash’s shows regularly and later became a roadie of the Ultramagnetic MCs. Such early inspiration along with other musical influences like Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Bobby McFerrin, Buffy of the Fat Boys and Al Jarreau, have shaped his obvious appreciation for the art of making music. This is reflected hugely on Make The Music 2000. The album demonstrates a musical charisma of pure, unblemished versatility and boasts a raw and unique talent. It quite simply rejects genre categorisation.
However, despite his massive solo success, Rahzel is probably most recognised as one sixth of The Roots. The Roots are an influential Philadelphia based hiphop group renowned for their innovative lyrics and live instrumentation. Famed for their eclectic approach to music, they take the basic fundamentals of hiphop and inject it with elements of jazz, funk and rock. They are hiphop at its finest.
Rahzel is currently touring the UK with The Roots.
