Slaine

Slaine was born into an Irish American family in the working class Dorchester section of Boston and spent his youth as somewhat of a gypsy bouncing from place to place around Boston. His intensity and penchant for always being the new kid around the block made him quick to make friends and enemies, while at the same time remaining a loner by nature. Always being somewhat of an outsider, hip-hop seemed like a natural fit for him, even if it didn't always for others. "I always was an outsider and a walking contradiction wherever I went anyways, so when I got a sour response from people at times, it kind of just fed my fire."

Indeed it may be the contradictions that make Slaine so intense to listen to. His flow in a matter of seconds can switch from sentimental, to violent and defiant. His lyrics flawlessly paint portraits of the Beantown streets with a wordplay that can make you laugh even if the subject matter is depraved. He seems to be almost joyous in his description of an oxycontin robbery, and haywire with subjects that run in between the lines of race, class, religion, love, lust and drugs. "I have learned to use hip hop as an outlet that allowed me to escape all of the elements that seemed to invade my life, by wrapping myself in them even more. I don't care about anybody else and their perceptions of what I am or what I say because that would be a betrayal of what I am at the core, which is a writer. This is my escape."

And that is exactly what he did when he was 18. He escaped from his life in Boston and his family situation, which had both spiraled out of control, and moved to New York City. For the better part of five years, Slaine developed and rhymed with a crew called Introduction to Insanity and End of the Weak, which is now a staple on the New York underground. He was managed by MC Shan, opened up for Run DMC in their last ever NYC show, and cliqued up with the infamous hardcore crew DMS. "The hardcore scene is brimming with the kind of energy that hip hop used to have, and though my style isn't on any rap metal shit, I do try to bring that emotion and energy from hardcore on stage with me. And if you are going to watch and learn from cats, Freddy Cricien (Madball, and Hazen St,) and Danny Diablo (Skarhead) are definitely not a bad place to start."

Armed with a new family and a new arsenal of skills to bring to his music, Slaine felt it was time to go back home to Boston and come up where he was from. When he got home though things again spiraled out of control quickly. His girlfriend of 10 years kicked him out of the house, many of the friends he'd grown up with were either dead, in jail, or left with nasty drug habits, and he lost the mailroom job that was allowing him to make ends meet due to his late nights in the studio. "I was fucked. I couldn't pay my rent. I was living in an apartment with a TV, and futon for a bed with not much else. I was scamming to get money to eat everyday. It was horrible. But it was just more of the shit that I had gone through. I saw so many others fall into the same traps and I knew that if I didn't get my shit back on track I was going to be in jail or dead, or a junkie myself." Thanks to some relatives in his hometown, the hardnosed neighborhood of Southie, he made it through and picked up a job roofing and bricklaying, and so went his music one brick at a time.

Slaine in the past two years has gone on to become the up and coming rapper in Boston. He is a member of Boston's 2006 M.I.C. Award winning "Group of the Year" Special Teamz which also feature Boston legends Edo G, and Jaysaun. There single "Main Event" was produced by DJ Premier and recieved heavy critical acclaim and burn internationally. He has become a staple on 88.9 and garnered spins on Hot 97.7 and Jamn 94.5 in Boston from a cd with no distribution. He was featured on a single by The Kreators called Hardcore which peaked at number 3 on the College Radio Charts Top 30, and recently dropped his own single "Rich Man Poor Man," which peaked at number 2 on the CMJ and Rap Attack Lives charts . His 23 song mixtape "The White Man is the Devil Volume 1" has sold 6,000 copies with no distribution, and earned him a spot on the cover of the Boston Globe's calendar section this past August labeling "one of the area's most talented hip hop artists. Slaine exudes mass appeal...with tenaciously catchy hooks, and a masterful use of layering." His notorious grind and hustle, along with his skills ended up netting him four M.I.C awards at the Boston Hip Hop extravaganza, which was more than any other artist, and included "Best Lyricist" among them.

He was featured in Mass Appeal Magazine's Oh My God Column, and in Japans Warped magazine, Elemental Magazine, The Village Voice, The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, the Weekly Dig, and numerous hip hop websites around the world. He has performed his controversial set from Boston to New York, from London to Amsterdam, and was labeled by the Boston Phoenix as "part Necro, part Nas with the stage intensity of DMX." He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Hatebreed frontman, and host of MTVs Headbangers ball, Jamey Jasta, Royce the 5'9", DJ Premier, Psycho Realm, B Real of Cypress Hill, Krumbsnatcha, Danny Diablo, Rob Aston of the Transplants , and of course his legendary La Coka Nostra bandmates DJ Lethal, Danny Boy O'Connor, and Everlast of House of Pain, Street Villain and Uncle Howie founder Ill Bill, and Big Left. Aside from the tremendous buzz he has created for himself in the music industry, Ben Affleck recently signed him to star as Bubba Rogowski in his directorial debut and adaptation of best selling author Dennis Lehane's book "Gone Baby Gone," which also stars Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Casey Affleck, and Michelle Mognahan. What the course of any young rapper's career will be is always unknown, however, it is apparent when someone like Slaine comes around, the world needs to hear him.