As a rapper, iCON the Mic King approaches the microphone with balance and a perspective few can truly appreciate.
January 13, 2007 (Press Release) --
His style is strictly East Coast -- straightforward and gimmick free. His rhymes are measured, often coming in full sentences and mixing a graduate-level vocabulary with common profanity, as he rhymes about things like being paid fairly, or, as he puts it in the title of one of his songs, "F--- You, Pay Me."
Raised in Philadelphia, his parents split when he was young. But when he was about to start high school, they decided to give things another go. That's how the kid from Philly wound up in a private school in Connecticut.
"I was basically the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," iCON says. "It was awful. It was a predominately white area with a lot of white kids who had never really seen a black person before, so they wanted to see what I was about. I got into a lot of fights out there."
If you've heard of iCON, it's likely because of his four-year stint on the rap battle circuit. He boasts a long list of championships and finals appearances, including the 2003 Major Noise Battle title. As a battler, his goal was simple: make the crowd see his opponent the way he did.
"Battling is about who can tell the best jokes and who can establish synergy with the crowd," he says.
Battling, confrontation, telling jokes -- the root of all of these things is the desire for self-maintenance.
"I really felt like I needed to do something to stay connected to my urban roots," iCON says. "Before I started rhyming, I was doing [graffiti] and breaking [dancing], and then I heard Method Man's first album and was like, 'I can do this.'"
Upon finishing high school, he decided to completely change his surroundings by enrolling at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
"I wanted to see what the other side was like," he says.<
But he was also in for another education.
"I was living in a bubble for a while and was like, 'I'm the best [rapper] ever.' But then I got there and realized I wasn't the best ever. So, I had to climb through the ranks and become the best ever again."
He jumped into the Washington music scene. At the time, he says, there wasn't a lot going on hip-hopwise in the nation's capital. But this had advantages.
"It was easier to get shows opening for out-of-town acts," he says.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY DAVID
Raised in Philadelphia, his parents split when he was young. But when he was about to start high school, they decided to give things another go. That's how the kid from Philly wound up in a private school in Connecticut.
"I was basically the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," iCON says. "It was awful. It was a predominately white area with a lot of white kids who had never really seen a black person before, so they wanted to see what I was about. I got into a lot of fights out there."
If you've heard of iCON, it's likely because of his four-year stint on the rap battle circuit. He boasts a long list of championships and finals appearances, including the 2003 Major Noise Battle title. As a battler, his goal was simple: make the crowd see his opponent the way he did.
"Battling is about who can tell the best jokes and who can establish synergy with the crowd," he says.
Battling, confrontation, telling jokes -- the root of all of these things is the desire for self-maintenance.
"I really felt like I needed to do something to stay connected to my urban roots," iCON says. "Before I started rhyming, I was doing [graffiti] and breaking [dancing], and then I heard Method Man's first album and was like, 'I can do this.'"
Upon finishing high school, he decided to completely change his surroundings by enrolling at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
"I wanted to see what the other side was like," he says.<
But he was also in for another education.
"I was living in a bubble for a while and was like, 'I'm the best [rapper] ever.' But then I got there and realized I wasn't the best ever. So, I had to climb through the ranks and become the best ever again."
He jumped into the Washington music scene. At the time, he says, there wasn't a lot going on hip-hopwise in the nation's capital. But this had advantages.
"It was easier to get shows opening for out-of-town acts," he says.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY DAVID
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