The determination and focus applied to his chosen craft led Derrick Douglas to adopt the alias "e.d.g.e.", which is an acronym that stands for "eternal determination grants everything". The only child of a Guyanese mother and a Jamaican/Bajan father, e.d.g.e's love for music was deeply rooted in his upbringing. His uncle is veteran Vancouver DJ "Earl The Pearl" Douglas, and at a very young age, e.d.g.e. was surrounded by various genres of music, including funk, soul, reggae, classic rock and later on, hip-hop. His high school years found him concentrating on crafting verses in-between studies as a hobby, which eventually turned into a full-time obsession. A coincedental meeting with Webmatic during the summer of 2000 at an open mic session would lead to the formation of the group known as the Usual Suspecs. They quickly began working on material in various studios and released their first artist-driven mixtape entitled "Jackin For Beats" in early 2001, to widespread accolades and requests for more material. The mixtape was created solely to promote the new group and led to work with various local producers such as Jeff Spec, Che Imperial, Mobius Suntzu and Calamalka. Later that year, the addition of mutual friend and skilled turntablist, DJ Krisp, would turn the duo into a full-fledged group with a DJ. Eventually, e.d.g.e.'s passion for writing led him to begin working on solo mixtape ventures, which began in 2002 with his first disc, "Captain Nasty's Introduction Vol.1". The following year, e.d.g.e. released two more mixtapes, entitled "All-Star Flow" and "I'm Here To Save You", within 3 months of each other, once again proving the prolific nature of his talent. Consequently, the buzz on the streets of Vancouver created by the Usual Suspecs led to shows opening for some of the very artists they had been influenced by, such as Common, Talib Kweli, DJ Green Lantern, Mobb Deep, Raekwon, 2 Live Crew, DJ Kool, Naughty By Nature, and most recently, The Legendary Roots Crew. In early 2005, e.d.g.e. released perhaps his best work to date, "Consider This A Privilege", which was not only a testament to his skill, but also showcased the Central Soul team with appearances from Webmatic, Jaykin, Sugar Shane, and also featured the turntablism of DJ Krisp. The metaphor-heavy wordplay e.d.g.e. utilizes in his writing ranges from mixtape punchlines to in-depth and introspective songwriting. His influences include New York favorites such as Jay-Z, Nas, Saigon and Jadakiss, but rather than sounding like a carbon copy of his inspirations, he has formed his own unique sound and style. ETERNAL DETERMINATION GRANTS EVERYTHING....
