I Am Many (Brooklyn, NY) – Party Dave
The Mc, I Am Many debuts a new hard-hitting fast-paced comedic track produced by the 2 Hungry Bros. This is from his new album, OBESE, produced in its entirety by the 2 Hungry Bros. The album will be available online at all digital retailers on March 4th, 2014.
“I was born an artist,” says Brooklyn-born-and-bred MC I Am Many.
And by “Brooklyn,” we mean real Brooklyn. Okay, one of the real Brooklyns: Bay Ridge.
If you don’t know NYC, you probably think Brooklyn is a single identity, or that New York as a whole is down with hip-hop. But Bay Ridge is the bottom of the city map: diehards here treat Manhattan like another country, and some still respect ethnic gang territories from the 1950s. Urban in theory, it resisted true urbanization — the intermingling of residents across races and ethnicities.
Seeking a wider culture even as a child, Many started rapping at age 11 and hung out on the streets until he was able to get into clubs, always carrying a boom box. “In 1996, I became a raver and went to parties constantly for 2 years… but even in some crazy rave outfit I would still march up to a dude in another hood and say, ‘Do you spit?’ and we we’d start up a cypher. I always had that hip-hop identity, even as I might not look the part. In 1998, I dropped the rave scene to become a battle rapper and part-time b-boy, winning battles and gaining respect from anybody who’s anybody in NYC.”
That routine continued until 2004, when he released the then-eponymous MANY STYLES with Deep of 2 Hungry Bros and others. Supporting the LP, he says, “I did a thousand shows, but then disappeared to work on my follow-up.” That sophomore album took way longer than it should have due to writer’s block and personality conflicts. ”After years of nonsense we managed to string together a measly 4-song project,” he laughs. ”This was stupid for many reasons. Good music, good lyrics, great artwork, but simply took too much time to create. You should still buy it, though: it’s called THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE and it’s on iTunes or you can get it off me for 5 bucks!”
He’s honest about the ensuing lull. ”After that ordeal, I attempted to create a project with Frank Sasoon and longtime crew member Reason Kills under the group name Dope Heads. Had some joints, but in the end I felt it wasn’t up to par, so I kept the songs I liked for what was to be my next release.”
That release was 2011′s BORN AGAIN SINNER mixtape, a brand new start and a brilliant segue into the Strength In Numbers (S.I.N.) movement. ”The S.I.N. crew is the local family and, I hope, a global family of people who see the world the way I do. We share my ideals, convictions, and my take on society, but also my sense of humor and love of experimenting with the art form.”
Next up was 2012′s S.I.N., an epic reintroduction to I Am Many entirely produced by Logik Proof. Standout videos for the hilarious anthem POSERS and the dark and dangerous MORE BLACK brought new respect for Many’s boundless range of styles and topics. With singles co-signed by underground tastemaker Peter Rosenberg, the album and its electric supporting shows brought the MC into studio sessions and cyphers with a new group of performers-turned-fans.
Beyond music, Many caused a streetwear stir over the past year with his DISOBEY project. DISOBEY was originally meant as a simple, wearable counterpoint to the polymorphous perversity of the “Obey Propaganda” brand (Shep Fairey’s jaw-dropping sellout move), rather than a musical movement. But over time, the theme of disobedience was worked into a number of tracks which became May 2013′s DISOBEY LP (which you can read much more about in the discography section).
Many jokes that his political stance is “anarchist-hippie, with a little douchebag thrown in.” The hippie part keeps him from being too serious, and the anarchist makes sure he isn’t playing by anyone else’s rules. The douchebag? Well, that’s just Brooklyn.
DISOBEY is proudly political (though certainly not always angry), upcoming I Am Many projects run the gamut. He’s rhyming over 2 Hungry Bros’ playful, crate-digging breakbeats for their upcoming OBESE and has a top-secret EP in the mixdown right now. Asked recently about his grand philosophy, his final answer was “Fun” (we didn’t ask for it in one word, but we got it). Of course, he means reclaiming the freedom to do what makes you happy, so it’s not all fun and games along the way. In 2013, he’s definitely in his element, whether it’s kicking sci-fi nightmares, ripping the insipid Bruppies claiming Brooklyn these days, or a riveting iPhone a capella that blows you away with one verse.
https://twitter.com/therealiammany
https://soundcloud.com/2hungrybros
ITUNES PRE-ORDER LINK: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/obese/id819681941
