Red Cafe

Brooklyn-bred rapper Red Café lived a life as intense and raw as his music, going to jail for drug charges and diving headfirst into a life of hip-hop after he got out. He worked first as part of group Da Franchise in the late '90s, later breaking off to release music solo as well as working as a ghostwriter for other rappers. Multiple false starts and setbacks with major labels plagued Red Café, but he managed to maintain a strong presence with his mixtapes throughout the 2010s, releasing multiple volumes on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Shakedown+Entertainment%22">Shakedown Entertainment</a> imprint. The guest list of legendary rappers who made cameos on his mixtapes spoke to his reputation among hip-hop's innermost circles, with 2018 releases Natural Born Hustler and Less Talk, More Hustle both featuring verses from big names like <a href="spotify:artist:1YfEcTuGvBQ8xSD1f53UnK">Busta Rhymes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:17lzZA2AlOHwCwFALHttmp">2 Chainz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6PXS4YHDkKvl1wkIl4V8DL">Fetty Wap</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4kYSro6naA4h99UJvo89HB">Cardi B</a>, and many more.

Born in Guyana, Jermaine Denny immigrated to New York with his family when he was young, settling in the Caribbean-populated Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Hip-hop music suddenly became an obsession for him after he first heard the <a href="spotify:artist:1W9qOBYRTfP7HcizWN43G1">Slick Rick</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:7xN8vFwslE67EC3DhgB9Ip">Doug E. Fresh</a> classic "The Show." However, his real interest was the streets, where his life of crime eventually landed him in prison in 1992. Upon his release four years later, he formed a rap group named Da Franchise with neighborhood friends. The group signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Violator+Records%22">Violator Records</a> and even appeared on several mixtapes and label compilations, but because the crew never really took off, they each went their separate ways. Red Café stayed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Violator%22">Violator</a> and also began to rack up credits as a ghostwriter, including for <a href="spotify:artist:59wfkuBoNyhDMQGCljbUbA">Diddy</a>'s verse on the <a href="spotify:artist:1YfEcTuGvBQ8xSD1f53UnK">Busta Rhymes</a> Top 20 single "Pass the Courvoisier" in 2002. After he left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Violator%22">Violator</a>, a series of failed major-label deals and, consequently, shelved albums followed. During his stint with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Capitol%22">Capitol</a>, to which he was signed via <a href="spotify:artist:3USpNaxpX1iNqNnQWqg9ob">Mack 10</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hoo-Bangin%27%22">Hoo-Bangin'</a> imprint, Red Café even recorded a number of well-received singles, including "All Night Long" (appearing on the Coach Carter soundtrack in 2005), "Yellow Bottle," and "Bling Blaow." Despite the label ups and downs, he was able to maintain a consistent presence in New York through its mixtape circuit, collaborating with <a href="spotify:artist:75rSoy9VvZ5fhmAE2O4KL5">DJ Whoo Kid</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:63rJq5DaUMq2OhAnh3al79">DJ Envy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6PHq7gqoQmOD05QBJ69IC0">Craig G</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:3kOPviLsiuKCFTTsHc47lI">Clinton Sparks</a>. In 2007, the Brooklyn rapper joined rising star <a href="spotify:artist:0z4gvV4rjIZ9wHck67ucSV">Akon</a>'s boutique label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Konvict+Muzik%22">Konvict Muzik</a>. He first dropped the <a href="spotify:artist:63rJq5DaUMq2OhAnh3al79">DJ Envy</a>-hosted mixtape The Co-Op in 2007. while 2009 saw him land a role in <a href="spotify:artist:5me0Irg2ANcsgc93uaYrpb">the Notorious B.I.G.</a> biopic Notorious. Mixtapes like 2010's No Witnesses and 2012's American Psycho followed, and in 2014 he released "The Pretty Gang" single, which featured a guest appearance from rapper <a href="spotify:artist:0YWxKQj2Go9CGHCp77UOyy">Fabolous</a>. In 2015 he contributed vocals to <a href="spotify:artist:1sBkRIssrMs1AbVkOJbc7a">Rick Ross</a>' Black Market album, but the performance was uncredited. The next several years found Red Café releasing a string of star-studded singles and mixtapes, including the 2017 single "God Wanted Us to Be Lit" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:137W8MRPWKqSmrBGDBFSop">Wiz Khalifa</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6vXTefBL93Dj5IqAWq6OTv">French Montana</a>, as well as the 2018 mixtape Less Talk, More Hustle, which featured spots from <a href="spotify:artist:4kYSro6naA4h99UJvo89HB">Cardi B</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6Ha4aES39QiVjR0L2lwuwq">Yo Gotti</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3USpNaxpX1iNqNnQWqg9ob">Mack 10</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6PXS4YHDkKvl1wkIl4V8DL">Fetty Wap</a>, and many others. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi