Born into a military family, Ryan "Breakdown" McGown spent a large portion of his childhood in Japan. At the age of eight he became fascinated with Hip Hop culture, breakdancing in particular. After moving around several times within the U.S., his family moved to Tampa, Florida in June of 1990 where Breakdown has lived ever since.During much of his formative years, he spent countless hours trying to imitate the dance moves he would see in Hip Hop videos (which later led to his moniker). When a friend convinced him to freestyle during a lunch break at work in September of 1995, he realized that he could rap. Breakdown had been writing since he was very young, so writing lyrics came very naturally to him. From that point on, he began writing on a constant basis drawing inspiration from artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Common to Outkast. Then, in late 1999, he began attending local open-mic nights and in March of 2001 he formed the group "Verbal Diverzion" with another local emcee. They recorded numerous songs together and performed at many local shows. After creating a small buzz locally, the two parted ways in January of 2003.
Around the same time, Breakdown sought out the production talents of local emcee/producer Surreal and began working on solo material. With the help of Surreal's production, he took on a very unique type of sound, writing songs about social topics and infusing them with beats influenced by Funk and Soul music. This, along with his intense live performances, eventually led to him linking up with other producers who shared a similar sound.In May of 2003 Breakdown began performing on his own and attracting attention with his honest lyrics and charismatic stage presence. Then, in January of 2005, he teamed up with dj/producer Ranmecca and they've been performing regularly across Florida. The two have also appeared on several local radio shows, gotten nods from newspapers in several cities, and shared the bill with many artists including Wu-Tang Clan, Common, De La Soul, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Guru, Blackalicious, and Butta Verses.
Breakdown released his debut e.p. Get Learned in March of 2005 with production done by Surreal and Ranmecca, which he has been selling at live performances. Then, in June of 2006, he released his debut L.P. Social Studies on Saving Grace Records, the label he co-owns with Pete Tan. The album, which features production by Marco Polo, SlopFunkDust, Surreal, Ranmecca, Breakdown, and others, was recieved quite well and garnered much praise from local media critics, underground Hip Hop websites, and music fans alike. Social Studies was followed by Stay The Course which was released in November of 2006. The disc is a collection of remixes and unreleased material with Breakdown handling most of the production and the artwork, in addition to the lyrics.Breakdown spent most of 2007 playing shows including the Rock The Bells Tour stop in Miami. Also, his album Social Studies reached a peak of 14 on the CMJ Hip Hop charts in August.He is currently busy with performing, producing, and writing and recording his second full-length disc. The album should be done by late 2008.
Breakdown and DJ Effex on beatbox performing "La Ti Da Di" on 8/07/05 opening for Common
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