About Me
It’s said that art mirrors life. In hip-hop’s case, there’s always been a deliberate entanglement of perception and reality. Fans demand their MCs be real…but never too real. Successful hip-hop is about the hint of the danger, the tease of it, the mystique. Hip-hop is about balance. InfaRed is an artist striving for that balance, volatility versus musicality. Controversy has grabbed the headlines, with insufficient regard paid to his considerable mic skills, raw talent, and business acumen. InfaRed is looking to rest his name from public speculation and let his own words do the talking. “I wish everybody well who’s making money in this rap game,†the Decatur-raised rapper says, dismissing the controversy that followed him in the past. “My own rap game is going so good, I’ve got so many things on my plate, that I don’t got time for other people’s business.†“I live my life with no regrets. I just wish that a lot of things never happened, but anybody can wish," says InfaRed. Sounds like a man with his eyes on the prize. And you’d expect nothing less from an artist who ground his way to the top via the hustle of independent records. Good music firmly in hand, InfaRed was fast approaching stardom when more tragedy befell him. But let’s backtrack; how did the man born Donte Henderson in Decatur, Georgia, become INFARED, mouthpiece for Atlanta stuntin’? InfaRed remembers little from his childhood in Decatur, just that it was rough, and that it’s changed dramatically since he was younger. "I gotta shout out Decatur though, because we holdin’ it down," he affirms. "Every time I hit the streets to do a show, I’m impressed with how hip-hop culture has taken root." "I lived all of my adolescent and adult life in Decatur,"he explains. "I’m from East Atlanta Zone Six; it was hard, man, it was real rough. I grew up in the Starter jacket era: they’d take your Starter jacket, your 8Ball jacket, they’d take your hat, your shoes. It was just no holds barred on the streets, dog eat dog. If you missed the bus, you had to be crewed up or you’d get jumped. It was wild when I came up." It’s a bleak portrait. When asked to describe his home life more vividly, InfaRed offers a look into his contemplative side, a side honed as a schoolyard poet. "I was just a young dude in a single parent house most of my life. I can’t complain that much. I would guess it’s like any black child growing up in a single parent household. There are a lot of people who know how that is. I didn’t have a lot coming up; but what I did have, I appreciated. I was blessed to have a caring mother to raise me right and to help me with my business ventures; she’s been there through the whole struggle. There’s a lot that goes along with that; it made me who I am today." When you hear me, you hear a lot of pain, a lot of hood; you hear what’s going on in the inner city in Atlanta.†“Since me and "HOT" created Pyrex , I want everybody to know I’m still keeping it street, keeping it hood,†InfaRed maintains.Pyrex is trying to open up a new album to a new fan base. So it’s a mix for everybody coming together.†Pyrex has always prided themselves on their innate ability, and their refusal to let guest appearances dictate the tone of their records. “I just want people to know I’m a great songwriter, man,†he asserts. “I’m passionate about what I do, and it’s choreographed strategically when I do it. I bring a lot of experience, creative wordplay, and a crazy style.I record most of the songs without writing them down; it’s a God-given gift and I just get paid for it. It come from God, it’s like wondering what makes a bird fly. He made me a poet like the great poets of the past.†But don’t mistake InfaRed’s confidence for self-absorption. The vicissitudes of his career have dictated a longer view. Lyrics aside, he’s less preoccupied with visible means and more so with acting as an emissary from his under-repped block. “I’m not the one to glorify what goes on in the hood,†he insists. “We have everything there, the whole range from violence to people getting on the bus and going to work. There’s a lot more to the hood than just drugs. It’s a bigger story, there’s a big picture. I went to school in that neighborhood, I worked there,I hustled there, and I got my name there. I’m proud to be from East Atlanta Zone Six, and I claim there. I hold that on my back and carry that, to be the first one from there to really rock.†And Pyrex’s professional aims have matured as well. While other rap groups stress platinum plaques, Pyrex hasn’t forgotten the route they took to stardom. “We made a lot of CDs on our own. People fucked with us and supported us, and just made us the men we are today. That’s my blueprint right there, and I stay mindful of it. So now, my only concern is that people feel our music; at the end of the day, We do it for people to feel it. If one person feel it, two people feel it, I feel like my job’s been done.†Fortunately for InfaRed, he should be prepared to welcome an army of new fans with Pyrexs Upcoming mixtape. Infared/PYREX has something for everyone, and with the struggles of the past in his rearview, InfaRed is settled in for his ride to the top. “I’m best known for Style but I’m trying to gain respect as a songwriter and entertainer. PYREX plans to hit them so hard with this upcoming mixtape; who knows what the future will bring. We will be banging them out till we can’t bang no more.†music layout powered by HOT FreeLayouts.com / MyHotComments
