MY MUSIC BIO!
Born in Mount Vernon NY (Uptown) February 5, 1978, Vast Aire relocated to Jamaica Queens in 1988 and shortly thereafter his love-affair with the microphone began.
Known for his ability to draw and play football, Vast quickly fell in love with poetry and music. By the time he was sixteen he was performing at every underground hip hop club in New York city such as Wetlands, The Cooler, Nuyorican Poets Café, Baby Jupiter, SOB's and the Knitting Factory.In Jamaica Queens, then in Harlem N.Y. Vast came into contact with countless emcees, one of them being Vordul Mega. With a passion for cutting school and rhyming, Vast and Vordul ran the streets together and in the process sliced up allot of emcees. So when it came time for the duo to choose a moniker for their group, one name surfaced almost instantly---and Cannibal Ox was born.
In 1997, Vast came into contact with El-P (then of Company Flow) and after making an immediate impression, by 1998 Vast, Vordul and another fellow upstart, Mr. Lif, were already touring with Company Flow in support of their seminal debut Funcrusher Plus and winning over crowds with their energetic shows.
Though still without a deal, Vast and Vordul had already begun collaborating when El-P, who had recently broke out on his own after Company Flow broke-up, placed a call to Vast and Vordul to gauge their interest in recording an EP. Once they had recorded six-seven tracks, everyone knew they had created something very special and expanded the EP idea into a full-length LP. Cannibal Ox’s 2001 debut, The Cold Vein, would go on to not only launch the inception of El-P’s Def Jux Records imprint and be included on to be a chart topper on every smart critics year end poll, but also spearhead an underground movement that ruminated throughout the entire industry.
At the close of 2001, Cannibal Ox released a tour only EP, The F Word, but it was so highly sought after, the duo ended up releasing it on a national level. Yet, The F Word would end up being Cannibal Ox’s last release on Def Jux, as much to the dismay of Hip-Hop fans across the globe, Vast and Vordul mutually agreed to take a hiatus from Cannibal Ox to solely focus on their solo-careers; Vast had already begun working on a solo album in 1999, but after recording a handful of tracks he put those plans on hold to focus on The Cold Vein.
In 2004, Vast stepped out of his role as chief Ox man and unleashed one of the year's strongest albums with his solo-debut Look Mom...No Hands. Though Vast’s solo-debut featured a wide range of guest emcees including MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X and even a reunion track with Vordul, his reinvention as a solo-artist came full-circle by enlisting a who’s who list of underground producers (including Madlib, RJD2, Blueprint, Ayatollah, Da Beatminerz) who supplied a compelling new sound to Vast’s unmistakable lyrical styling’s that were previously untapped.
Vast quickly followed up Look Mom…No Hands with his two Martial Arts inspired Way Of The Fist mixtapes, which consisted of rare unreleased material and B-sides that he had culled away over the years. In early 2007, Vast joined forces with Karniege under the pseudonym Mighty Joseph and released Empire State which featured production from Madlib and J-Zone and a guest appearance from Murs.
Vast Aire will release his second solo-LP, Dueces Wild, on 6-24-08 on One Records. His long-awaited second solo-outing will feature appearances from Camp Lo’s Geechi Suede, Copywrite and an appearance from Vordul Mega for a new Cannibal Ox reunion track. Production will be supplied by Pete Rock, Melodious Monk, Oh No and others.
Labels vast has worked with ;
IGC RECORDS
CPR RECORDS
DEFINITIVE JUX RECORDS
STONES THROW RECORDS
CHOCOLATE IND. RECORDS
EASTERN CON REC AND MANY MORE!
Discography
1999 "THE PERSECUTION OF HIP HOP" [ATOMS FAM]
2000 "THE PREQUEL" {ATOMS FAM}
2001 "THE COLD VEIN" [CANNIBAL OX]
2003 "DIRTY MAG"- MIXTAPE VOL.1
2004 "LOOK MOM NO HANDS"
2004 "THE WAY OF THE FIST" VOL 1- 4
2005 "THE BEST DAMN RAP SHOW"
2008 "EMPIRE STATE" [MIGHTY JOSEPH]
VAST AIRE HAS TOURED ALL OVER THE WORLD W/ MANY ARTIST SUCH AS:
THE GZA, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, THE ROOTS, BROTHER ALI, THE WEATHERMEN MURS, LITTLE BROTHER,S.A. SMASH, COMPANY FLOW, ATOMS FAM, PLANET ASIA, STRONG HOLD AND MANY MORE!!