Nomadic Sounds – Dec 6th – Chosan, LF and Chee Malabar!
December 30, 2005
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Listen to the radio show below from WBAI’s Nomadic Sounds show.
Chosan was born in the country of Sierra Leone, West Africa. He and his mom later moved to Canada and then to London. It was in London Chosan got involved with the whole culture of hip-hop. His first break came when a freestyle CD recorded in a friends bedroom, made its way to a DJ at KISS FM London. Impressed by his raw talent, Chosan was asked to perform live on air where he captured the hearts of the capital. After doing numerous talent shows and performances, Chosan convinced an established artist at the time, to give him 5 hours of his 12 hour recording session. With his first track recorded Chosan entered a local radio’s talent search competition. As fate would have it Chosan eventually went on to win first prize. The grand prize included 1000 copies of the wining song pressed up and one recording session. With a distribution deal that fell through, Chosan rapidly used his street smarts, and used it as an opportunity to single handily distribute the records across the UK. This was to be the start of Chosan’s entrepreneurial enterprises. Chosan also managed to get into many high profile publications, and created a street team of people from his neighbourhood. Chosan also managed to secure warm up spots for international artists such as Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss & Styles P (D Block) and Dead Prez. After being dissatisfied with the representation of Hip-Hop and R&B in the UK Chosan decided to pack his bags and move to the Bronx New York. Not long after dealing with the general issues of living in the big apple disaster was to strike again this time on a personal note. He was hit by a truck whilst crossing the road on Gun Hill in the Bronx and miraculously escaped with no cuts and injuries but had to attend a years worth of physical therapy after 2 months in Jacobi hospital in the Bronx. With a new appreciation for life, he recorded his debut “The Beautiful Side Of Misery” vol 1, with money received from the accident and started Silverstreetz Entertainments. Out of passion, struggle, determination and a love for hip-hop music Chosan still stands.
Eli Efi (LF) is a hip hop artist that blends banging beats, politics, and a global perspective. LF is a well-known hip hop pioneer in Brasil hailing from São Paulo. In 1988, he founded the politically charged rap group DMN and went on to record five albums receiving praise from the hip hop community and music industry alike. The group was nominated for best video and best rap group at the MTV Brazil Video Music Awards, best rap song of the year at the Hutus Hip Hop Awards Festival, and won best music video at the São Paulo Shorts Film Festival. In 2004, he left DMN and now continues his musical career alongside DJ Laylo. Laylo hails from the South Bronx by way of the Dominican Republic. Together, they bring hip hop back to a place where MCs rocked alongside DJs to move the crowd but with an international flavor with LF rhyming in Portuguese and Laylo always finding a way to blend some Samba or Salsa into the brew. They have performed throughout the United States, Brasil, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile and have shared the stage with U.S. Based artists such as Styles P, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, Jeru da Damaja, Immortal Technique, Ras Kass, Lord Finesse, CL Smooth, Welfare Poets, Hurricane G, David Banner, among many others.
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