Rapper-Producer SLICK
Sparks A New Revolution In Mainstream
West Coast Rap By Incorporating
The ‘Elements Of The Game' Into His Debut CD

 

Working With His Clique “The Shock Mob,” A Group Of Young Rappers Which Includes His Son “Conspiracy,” The Self-Styled, Multi-Talented “One Stop Hip Hop Shop” Mixes “Dirty South” With “Cali-Crack” Grooves Behind His Supercharged Social Commentary To Create A Style With A Multi-Generational Appeal

 

19-Track Collection Marks Italian American Rapper's Debut On First Kut, A Label Owned By “Godfather Of Gangsta Rap” Morey Alexander

 

Slick Has Done Over 200 Live Performances, Opening For Boo-Yaa TRIBE, E-40 And B-Legit, And Has Appeared On 16 Rap Compilations With Artists Like Snoop Dogg, Xzibit And E-40

 

A lifelong fan of rap music who performed all the voices in “Rapper's Delight” to the amusement of his extended family--and who claims his life was changed when he first heard The Beastie Boys--it's long distressed California based rapper Slick that his coast is traditionally and wrongly stereotyped only as the home of Gangsta Rap.

“Unless you're Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre or The Game,” he says, “people think if you're from the West Coast, you must be a gangsta. The East Coast and South are known as the booming centers of mainstream rap, and California has a lot of great mainstream rappers who talk about worldly things. But we're still labeled as gangstas by association, and that's gotta change.”

Putting his multi-racial L.A. ghetto background, tight potent rhymes, gritty social commentary and brilliant and diverse musical abilities where his mouth is, Slick (we're only gonna tell you his real name once, Anthony Masaracchia) set out to create an album intent on fixing those gross misconceptions. The result, a powerful, real deal, highly autobiographical 19-track odyssey called Elements of the Game , is already gaining heated responses from radio programmers nationwide. No doubt as it catches on, it will be a catalyst in redefining West Coast rap for current and future generations.

Over the past few years, Slick—who, with long cornrowed hair and braids down to the middle of his back on a six foot, 250 lb frame, cuts a striking image--has done over 200 shows across the country, doing his own thing (like his recent gig at the Skin Club at The Palms Hotel in Vegas) and also opening for groups like Boo-yaa Tribe, E-40 and B-Legit. In the last four years, he's also been featured on 16 rap compilations with Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and E-40.

Elements of the Game marks Slicks highly anticipated debut recording for Mob Inc. Records in association with First Kut, the rap subsidiary of Kent Entertainment, which also houses the blues label Kent Records. Kent Entertainment is owned by 48-year industry veteran, producer-manager Morey Alexander, the “Godfather of Gangsta Rap” who launched the careers of genre pioneers N.W.A., Easy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella, Mellow Man Ace, Kid Frost, Boo Yaa TRIBE and Dr. Dre. Before he entered the rap arena, Alexander was a great blues producer, marketing manager and impresario whose charges included B.B. King, Steve Miller (when he was a member of the Goldberg-Miller Band), Ike & Tina Turner, Charlie Musselwhite and Etta James.

One of the most remarkable Elements of the Game you'll hear on Slick's joint is what he calls the “southern sound,” which comes naturally from his eight plus years living and making music in Atlanta. “The whole idea is to talk about West Coast things and start with phat drums with a Cali-crack,” he says, “then merge that with a heavy low end 808 bass and fast high hats like the dirty south and big orchestras do on the East Coast. That allows me to reach a whole new audience by creating a balance that could make the West Coast more mainstream and universal. Overall, the sound is very West Coast but with the East Coast drum flavor.

“And I don't have to wear Dickies to do it!” Slick laughs. “The first song on the album is ‘Creased Up,' a total West Coast statement about not bending the crease in my pants for anyone. I will not bow down to the rules of the industry, for a woman, for record company executives, nobody. I'll stick with what I feel.

The result is a mature sound that incorporates many different elements of who I am.” The results on the street are already staggering. The disc has so many quality tracks that radio programmers in different regions are picking different cuts to play. On a more personal level, Slick is hearing about the cross-generational appeal he's got going. “I'm doing stuff that the kids can enjoy,” he says, “but adults are also coming up to me, telling me they hated rap until they heard my album. I'm definitely giving them a type of music that nobody else is doing but me and my clique, Shock Mob.”

No doubt, they're all responding to Slick's sharp autobiographical honesty that blisters through on each track. “I write about life,” he says. “It's social commentary, the world through my eyes, covering a lot of subject matter. It's got a little of that tough Tupac vibe, and of course my world point of view incorporates a bit of the gangsta and bling bling. But I don't rap about anything I don't have. I rap about Cadillacs because I own one. The one exception to that is my fantasy song, ‘Somewhere Over The Ghetto, a takeoff on the Wizard of Oz in which I rap in all the different character voices, shifting rap style and vocal tones. My '64 Impala gets swept up in the air and spins before it lands in a place where instead of munchkins there are youngsters with hoods. It's really a cool song from a creative standpoint.”

Like superstars Kanye West and Dr. Dre before him, Slick is not content with being just a great rap artist and songwriter. Using his Vegas-based Heavyweight Studios and production house as a home base, he's building a stable of young rappers (who are part of the Shock Mob) and producing projects for them. Chief among these isYungstarz, comprised of 15 year old male rapper Envy, 15 year old female singer Justine Peru and Slick's own 15 year old son, Michael, whose professional moniker is Conspiracy. A soon to be released project by the Yungstarz, “Big Dreams” is a fascinating multi-generational collaboration between Slick, Conspiracy (who co-wrote the rap and music with his dad), and slick's father, who plays acoustic guitar. When Slick was coming up, his dad and uncles jammed endlessly, exposing the youngster to the rock, funk and folk music, which contributes to his wide-ranging musical sensibilities.

The Shock Mob also includes Slick's business partner Casino, and various artists Bugsi-luch , Sonny Black, DeLuca and female R&B singer Nyia. Slick's partner in Heavyweight Productions is Morey Alexander. Knuckles is a very talented professional technician out of Cleveland. Slick also crossed over as a producer to a hot new hybrid sound called reggaeton, which mixes reggae, Spanish music and hip-hop. He's currently producing a project for First Kut done entirely in Spanish.

“Through the experience of making Elements of the Game , I feel as though I can make rap music in every genre,” says Slick. “Looking back on all the experiences leading up to this first album, I think the best thing is that the pain I've been through has paid off. The more pain I've gone through, the better artist I have become.”