C-Rayz Walz

Socially conscious and a skilled freestyler, underground rapper C-Rayz Walz participated in open-mike nights around New York City before hooking with the <a href="spotify:artist:1SfOuP6DqlQXcHwnYzqt7E">Stronghold</a> collective. Walz's earliest appearances included mixtapes, an AWOL magazine compilation, and <a href="spotify:artist:4FgfpC6rR67HLTV55Qw2MS">Single Minded Pros</a>' Session 2 EP. A demo-filled debut album, The Prelude, appeared on his own Sun Cycle Entertainment imprint in late 2001 and soon caught the attention of the folks at Definitive Jux. A guest feature on <a href="spotify:artist:3FjTqZ6SZYSYQMzY03O4RG">Cannibal Ox</a>'s The Cold Vein with fellow <a href="spotify:artist:1SfOuP6DqlQXcHwnYzqt7E">Stronghold</a> member L.I.F.E. and an appearance on <a href="spotify:artist:2fSaE6BXtQy0x7R7v9IOmZ">Aesop Rock</a>'s Labor Days kicked off his relationship with the label.

Definitive Jux released Walz's proper debut effort, Ravipops, in 2003. The EP We Live: The Black Samurai appeared in 2004. Walz took a break after the EP's release, opting to spend most of his time off in seclusion. Burning his old rhyme books was a cathartic act that freed the rapper's creativity for his next album. The full-length Year of the Beast arrived in 2005 with <a href="spotify:artist:57UnSUpae3SbRekxNa5Kgl">El-P</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2ipBhKpOYqs6BbysLNGye6">Jean Grae</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2fSaE6BXtQy0x7R7v9IOmZ">Aesop Rock</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0JQiT3MRJw3WsT2MT80qTR">Rob Sonic</a> all making guest appearances. Though the death of his brother understandably sidetracked him, Walz still released a set of new material, 1975: Return of the Beast, on Draft Records the following year. He then partnered with Urchin Studios for three additional releases -- The Dropping, Chorus Rhyme, and The Angel and the Preacher -- while continuing to work on outside projects, including a collaboration with Sharkey that was issued in 2007 as Monster Maker. Another collaboration, this one with Israeli-American hip-hop artist <a href="spotify:artist:64ea3gojfUUFJSJiyZbVK7">Kosha Dillz</a>, arrived in 2008 under the name Freestyle vs. Written. His fourth proper solo album, Who the Fuck Are You?, followed in 2009 on Kings Link. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi