Butta Verses

A meticulous lyrical writer, Butta Verses was introduced to underground hip-hop audiences with the lofty endorsement of <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>, something only a few MCs can actually claim. Born and bred in the Bronx, Butta (aka John Cullen) embraced hip-hop culture early on with street ciphers and battle-rap freestyles serving as his lyrical training ground. In his teens, he relocated to Fort Lauderdale, FL, around 1993. Naïve and rebellious, Cullen had ambitions of being a surfer, which he never actually pursued, and at one point he enlisted in the U.S. Marines, but was eventually expelled for narcotics use. Hip-hop music was proving to be his only constructive outlet. Around the turn of the new millennium, Butta Verses helped put together the Glee Club Detention, a collective of prospective artists and DJs who supported each other in getting their music heard. In 2003, some of his work with the crew landed in the lap of <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>'s Maseo, who was beginning to set up operations in Florida. Maseo took Butta under his wing, signing him to his fledgling Bear Mountain imprint, and soon <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a> MCs Posdnuos and Trugoy the Dove were backing the newcomer as well.

After his proper debut on the track "No" for <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>'s The Grind Date (2004), Butta Verses seemed to be in all the right circles. He was the opening act for many worldwide tours headlined by artists like <a href="spotify:artist:2GHclqNVjqGuiE5mA7BEoc">Common</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5y2Xq6xcjJb2jVM54GHK3t">John Legend</a>, and, of course, <a href="spotify:artist:1Z8ODXyhEBi3WynYw0Rya6">De La Soul</a>. Some of his music was also being licensed for television use, including for Saturday Night Live, MTV's The Real World, and A&E's Dog the Bounty Hunter. However, frustrated with sitting on the sidelines, in addition to having a finished album that received no proper promotion or distribution (Brand Spankin' was only available online), the eager MC left Bear Mountain. With a new 12" single, "Jones in Ya Bones," in 2007, Butta Verses rebounded fairly quickly, releasing Six Minutes to Ten that same year. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi