CasiDine

 My full name is CasiDine`Nichole, aka CasiDine- Princess of Raps. I was raised in the Bay Area suburbs of Dublin, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Danville and Alamo, California.  I have a lot of family in Oakland, California, especially Sobrante Park, where my mother was raised. I visited Oakland often and lived part of the time there with my Grandmother.  What attracted me to rapping was that it was interesting and bold, with no rules, and a raw way to express one self. Too Short  was my favorite rapper because he told the truth- Oakland was full of Bitches. No one, aside from Too Short, inspired me, because I always loved poetry and I never had a problem saying what I wanted to say. Since a lot was always expected of me by family and our family friends- because of who my mother was (a successful business woman), by rapping I could create my own identity as I was simply known as my mother's daughter- practically nameless.      When I wrote my first rap in 1983, I had no intention of becoming a rapper- I just wanted to see if I could write a rap. I was discovered by CeeCee the Bald Headed Wonder, while rapping at closing time during work at a roller skating rink in San Leandro, CA. CeeCee recruited me to perform at an upcoming hip-hop event that was to take place at Foothill Square in Oakland, where I performed the rap that CeeCee caught me reciting. That brought me major attention. Originally I was known as the "Educated Rapper" doing more traditional rap styles, but later when I joined 75 Girls I was encouraged to rap more "underground"- to prove a woman could spit like Too Short-  whose style became THE Oakland sound. Ceecee, along with his dj partner Jimmie Jam, put me in their hip-hop crew- The Def Crew, and also partnered me up with another Oakland rapper - Ms. Rapp Machine. I spent the next few years rapping from house party to house party (practically 10 parties every weekend), plus much battling and paying dues in the streets (such as hot spots like Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley and the notorious Eastmont Mall in East Oakland), as well as high school dances, city dances, and YMCA dances (the Y was especially poppin' on High Street). I was battling the best male rappers such as Pooh-Man (later aka Mc Pooh), Tony G (RIP), Mc Oz (who I had to battle to get into The Def Crew), Mc Ant, etc.- too many to name. Plus rappers from San Francisco, Richmond, Vallejo, San Leandro, Hayward, etc.. There's a difference between "battling" and "rapping against" - and all these male egos wanted to battle me. They were ruthless and vicious- it was no joke!  Guys came after me because they heard about CasiDine and especially because I was a female and was building an undeniable reputation. They felt a girl couldn't  be that good and not only wanted to test me, but crush me. None of the battles were easy, and they were mostly unexpected. I was constantly stepped to- but served them all.  I moved the crowd at parties, battles and shows, which girls weren't really doing back then. One battle stood out in particular: Pooh-Man, putting me on the spot, set me up and called me out at a big Oakland dance event in East Oakland, which I rolled to with Too Short. If I remember correct, Short had heard a rumor that Pooh was setting me up, but he didn't tell me in case it was just a rumor. Pooh-Man busted out with "I hate bitches who think they're fine, like Ms. Rapp Machine and Ms. CasiDine". His girlfriend at the time was Ms. Rapp Machine, who used to be my rapping partner in The Def Crew. The spotlights flashed on me and I was in shock. I came back with:  "When I first met you I knew I was in trouble, when you chewed my cum and blew a big bubble!" And so it went -  it seemed like forever. That was probably my toughest and tensest battle, but I beat him. I thought he was going to kill me at the end-  considering he was from the 6-9 Ville, one of Oakland's toughest projects -so I was ready to break out the back door. But he shook my hand after the battle.   One thing is for sure- I became a challenge to male rappers when I released the album "Man Handler" in 1988, produced by 75 Girls- Dean Hodges (who was also my mentor) and Kenneth "Hollywood" Houston. This album was considered to be an "underground" album in the style of Too Short who had just left the 75 Girls label himself, and no female much less male rapper aside from Short and Pooh-Man, could come close to competing in that style. I proved I was the Princess of Raps- untouchable.  The erotic rap track "She Daddy" not only blew Oakland out of the water, it broke all the rules of "good girls don't tell". I wrote and revised it over many years (probably starting in 1983, being influenced over time by many different men. Dean came up with the title for the album "Man Handler" (and side note- spelled my name wrong when he sent it to print). After my album's release, the company (75 Girls Productions) took a major fall due to unrelated circumstances, and I moved out from Oakland back home to San Ramon. Part of my decision to leave Oakland was all the violence and murder happening on the streets and also in the rap industry, as so much of it was funded by gangs made newly rich by the crack cocaine insurgence and epidemic. For example, a producer I was to meet with to talk over a contract, was assassinated the next day. Violence like that was all too common.  I will come out again in 2008 and will release a remix version of "She Daddy" with Kool Kyle, and hopefully Jimmie Jam, on future new cuts, and once again I will represent Oakland. Hopefully Jimmie Jam and I can put out some of our early eighties cuts we rocked together, which have been marinating in his archives. "Yeah Bitch, I'm Casidine!"                                                            - CasiDine