VENEM

Myspace LayoutsTired of hearing the same old, cookie-cutter hip-hop? Today's hip-hop music is saturated with predictable rants about being the richest drug kingpin and having the hottest cars, women and clothes. The time has come for a change...for a return to great hip-hop music. Enter Venem. Harkening back to hip-hop's finest hour--when legends like Rakim, KRS One & Tupac weren't afraid to spit the truth about racism, politics, and life on the streets while still flossing, talking to the ladies and lacing the hardest party tracks--Venem turns the world of hip-hop on its ear.
Venem was born and raised in a rough part of North Philly. As a young boy he moved from place to place with his single mother before finally settling in with family in Mt. Pleasant, PA. There he discovered street life and developed a perspective of life rarely held by other youth his age. The popular hip-hop parties of the late 80s and early 90s proved to be a good escape. It was at these parties --during the golden years of hip-hop--that Venem fell in love with hip-hop music and culture.
After several run-ins with the law and being expelled from school, Venem moved with his family to Northern Virginia hoping for a fresh start. With the harsh realities of life setting in, music provided the outlet he needed to express himself. At the tender age of 17 he wrote, produced, mixed and engineered his first album, Unsigned Hype. With rough, gritty lyrics over hard-knock, sample-free beats, Venem made a local classic that was loved for its battle-rap style and musical originality.
Venem’s first official mixtape, Spittin Venom Vol. 1, released in 2004, revealed a refinement of range and delivery with songs like "Venem's Town” which caught the attention of DJ Whoo Kid of G-Unit who played it on rapper Eminem's satellite radio station. Touching on explosive topics ranging from crime to government corruption, Spittin Venom Vol. 1 earned a coveted spot on MTV's Mixtape Monday and was featured in MTV's Shaheem Reid's "Don't Sleep" column. In 2006 Venem released the critically acclaimed Spittin Venom Vol. 2 hosted by DJ Young Legend of Tapemasters Inc. The well-rounded CD, with thought-provoking lyrics on everything from street life to relationships, gave listeners a deeper insight into Venem the artist and from whence he came. Venem teamed up with former Black Wall Street recording artist Heat, fellow VA rapper J-Roc and producer Manny Perez for one of the grittier tracks on the album, “Remember Me”. On “What Went Wrong”, Venem laments over the familiar topic of lost love. But it was the clever freestyle track “Blackout” that landed Venem a spot on DJ Big Mike’s Big Boy Game 10.
Venem’s next installment, Spittin Venom Vol. 3: PA to VA, is slated for release in the summer of 2008. Having performed at numerous venues including The Velvet Lounge in Washington, DC and the Vernon Davis First Annual Charity Event hosted by DC radio station WPGC 95.5FM and appearing on mixtapes by DJ Duke, DJ Mami Fresh, Tha Tzar, Mr. 08, and DJ Heat, Venem has already generated interest in his upcoming CD with songs like “Change Gon’ Come” ft. rapper/singer R.I.C.A; “Primitive”; and “Call Me Daddy” ft. singer G. Hector, in which Venem shows off his lighter, flirtatious side. On “Fear No Man”, Venem fearlessly tackles the subject of religion: “The Devil loves when we lie, cheat and kill people/We fornicate before marriage, are we less evil?/When you hear about priests molesting little kids/Are you following God’s word, if you don’t forgive?”
Venem unapologetically tells it like it is, whether the topic is upper-class society--“Poor getting poorer, rich fuckers feel fantastic/Catch AIDS then don’t have it, it’s Magic”; his enemies--“If they wanna go to war like Bush with no info/I’m JFK’ing niggas from a high-rise window”; or himself--“I take my life, times and crimes/Chop them up and put them in rhymes/It’s like a light to the blind, the way my flow will just shine”. Venem. REAL hip-hop makes a comeback.
Check out my mention on MTV.com under coming soon Here
Purchase Big Boy Game 10. I'm featured on Track 24 Here