thePhantom*

“Risks may be hard, but comfort is dangerous.” Atleast, that’s a quote thePhantom* believes in whole-heartedly. In a world constantly evolving, there lies one emcee who remains unapologetic when it comes to his music. With infinite versatility, mind blowing rhythm, and unparalleled creativity, one would easily believe the hype. The St. Louis Dispatch eloquently states thePhantom*s Debut album as “…possibly the most unknown anticipated hip-hop album in history.” Not to mention the Kansas City Globe calling thePhantom* an “…unmatched, thought provoking renaissance man worthy of divine status in Hip-Hop.” An Emcee, Producer, Singer and prolific orator, thePhantom* stands alone in most cases as what he calls an “Unconscious Rapper.”—an artist stuck in the middle ground of secular hip-hop and underground rap music: at least, that what you think. thePhantom* was born Kemet Dumas Coleman in Kansas City, Missouri to an afro centric family on March 9th, 1987. At birth his father immediately exposed him to classic writers such as Aesop, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Shakespeare, and Alexander Dumas. His open minded father and conservative mother enabled thePhantom* to see contrasts blatantly. Kemet grew up as the youngest of his siblings who were both over ten years older than he. From this exposure, he was forced to grasp the world quickly and he matured rapidly for his time. Gospel was his first exposure to music as he joined the youth choir at his church. thePhantom* then because astute to rhythm and call and response—highly prevelant in gospel, blues, and rap music. As time and his musical curiosity progressed, thePhantom* began writing lyrics. At the age of 8 he started writing verses for he and his friend. Fine tuning his craft over time, he did not take rapping seriously until the age of 13 when he formed a group “Da Royalz” with fellow member Mark “Key” Green. He signed with Slam Records, then with the moniker kAo5, and released an album but later went on a hiatus in 2000. Almost immediately following, he began working on solo albums. Collaborating with national artists, thePhantom* completed three so projects; However, being the perfectionist he is, his fourth album “Release”, not yet released, is the only to be pushed.“Release”So what can one expect when they hear “Release?” Expect what Abeo Rzo, a Boston producer and emcee likes to call, “Everything Amalgamated.” Refusing to be limited, thePhantom* provides the listener with a futuristic yet presently relevant standpoint, non-typical in any genre of music. thePhantom*s unique style is often times paralleled with abstract emcee’s such as Tech N9ne and Andre 3000 because of his elegantly unorthodox speed shifting flow, yet he is compared to the likes of Nas, Common, and Little Brother because of his roots inspired content. With this in mind, however, One mustn’t place thePhantom* in any category but expect the unexpected with his hidden poetic genious. With his baritone voice, thePhantom* is able to sooth and agitate effortlessly—and that is his goal. He explains. “The earth has two opposite attracting poles, my aim in this music and life, is to emulate those forces and in the middle, create something new, challenging, unexpected, yet…cool. Something we can only appreciate if we as humans tear down every mental confine and release.”