Someone great once said; failure is not falling, but refusing to get back up. No one knows how true that old adage is more than Caktuz Tree..?13 (co-founder and one third of the number one performance art DJ band, DRX). Hailing from High Point, NC (The Middle East), this fiery lyrical MC is the breath of fresh air hip hop music and its culture have awaited. He is the voice of the black experience growing up in the heart of a textile city, seemingly, bent on entrapping its disenfranchised and impoverished inside its belly.
A well known entrepreneur since the age of 15,Cak..?13 was always at the front of the local hip hop industry. Music, as it seemed, was hereditary. Coming from a musical background; Cak..?13's grandfather, soul singer Johnny Scotton, was signed to James Brown's People/Polydor label, toured and released two successful singles written & produced by the Godfather of Soul. With the success of Cak..?13's 1st single, CoppaTone, he claimed his place in the history of Carolinas triad area, earning the title Carolina Classic (penned by one of N.C. s most popular Fathers of DJing, Dj Polo) for the song. Riding high on his local celebrity he was slated to be the one to bring North Carolina to the forefront of the game by fellow industry heads. On the verge of being courted by major labels, Cak..?13 was convicted of a crime he did not commit, as part of a conspiracy by the local state government, to destroy Caktuz..?13 and his business partner/ cousin.
Approached periodically by High Point Police to aid in tracking the movements of drug dealers through the store pager service, Cak..?13 and his cousin were targeted by HPPD for refusing to cooperate. In doing so they, payed dearly.
The idea of such seems far fetched, but indeed is very much alive in todays society. Not only was he tried in court for a crime he did not commit, but before a jury with a Federal Judge residing as a juror within it; burying him alive for 8yrs.
It would be a long, hard journey for the MC. Loosing his prospects for label contracts, touring opportunities, and worst of all the pressures of living through all the obstacles the prison system throws on a human being. For the next 8 years he would struggle in and out of appeals court. Unbelievably, the same judge that sat on his jury would come back to rule against his appeal, making his case one of the 1st of its kind. The higher courts agreeing it was highly impossible for a judge to do such things, still withheld the conviction. By all estimates it was clear the trail of corruption went all the way up. It seemed the world and fate was against Caktuz..?13, but with undulating ambition he fought his way out through music and art.
Apon his release, Cak..?13 wasted no time in getting back to good. He hit the ground running, accomplishing an award winning career as a graphic designer for the likes of Ecko, TBS, Wheatbread, and Apple Bottoms. His creations, ideas and, designs have opened up doors once closed to a little blackboy running around High Points infamous Daniel Brooks Project (DBG).
Frustrated with the industrys poli-tricks he has culled together his resources and self financed the release of his own album 2 Hevi 4 Heaven. A stirring journey through not only hip hop culture in North Carolina, but the definitive sound self penned by Cak..?13; Carolina Bluez. A warm sound that draws apon old slave spirituals and southern church roots; dirt roads, and wah-wah guitars beseeched over gritty/ rugged drum beats that recall that old school boom- bap! His music is essentially soulful and as moving as the most fitting soundtrack to any struggle; Funk, jazz, blues, and country; all the genres that make Carolinas culture distinct. With production under his credit, Cak..?13, is more than just your average street-hop artist. Able to play the guitar while simultaneously spitting venomous lines of intrigue, he turns any live show into a hip hop juke joint.
Cak..?13 embodies the pains and triumphs of a Middle East native. His lyrical delivery bleeds with emotion in every breath; every track a testimony in the electric church he builds with his heart. His name, Caktuz Tree..?13, symbolizes survival; that one shot with no holds barred; the scars that tell better stories than the tattoos; the yearning to simply be heard.This is what it sounds like when survivors sing.
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