Rapper Canibus has
teamed with longtime/collaborator Phoenix Orion as Cloak-N-Dagga and the duo recently
released the album, Def Con Zero.
The title is a reference to a nation’s Defense Readiness Condition
and according to Canibus, the album reflects the rapper’s stint as a member
of the Army’s Stryker Brigade.
“I spent my teen years learning my craft, how to rhyme
and translate the information I was seeing and feeling into poetry,” Canibus
said. “The kinds of songs I wrote in my adolescent years, I mastered in
my 20s. The album is mature, like my indie album Mic Club from a few
years back, but reflects all of the life experiences I had in the army as part
of the Stryker Brigade. The 19 tracks summarize all of my experiences.”
The album is Canibus’ debut for Head Trauma Records in
association with First Kut, a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Kent Entertainment
Kent is owned 48-year industry vet Morey Alexander, who helped
launch the careers of Eazy-E, N.W.A., Kid Frost and Mellow Man Ace.
Canibus said this album contains his most recent material and
is a throwback to the style of rap music he made before his first album
Can-I-Bus, which was released through MCA in 1998.
“I’m implying that we as a society are very much
at the end of our rope, at the edge of a cliff looking over,” he says.
“There will be an after, but right now we’re on the edge. On the
more personal and artistic side, Def Con Zero is my attempt to make an album
for my fans that would remind them of the more hardcore, uncensored style of
rap music I made before I made my first album for MCA.
The album, which comes with a companion DVD, was executive produced
by DJ/world champion K-1 kickboxer Dewey “Black Cobra” Cooper.
Guests include Kool G. Rap, Free (106 & Park), K-Solo, Zookeepa
and others.
“Def Con Zero shows once again my allegiance
to and the integrity of my music,” Canibus continued. “What pleases
me is that it falls in line with the technical strength and lyrical dexterity
of my best work. The DVD is also the first of its kind for a rap project, so
that’s exciting as well.”
Def Con Zero
is in stores now.