Vast Aire 'Dueces Wild' album

Vast Aire, remember him? He's the titan MC who shocked the world and conquered critics as the leader of Definitive Jux's landmark upstart crew, Cannibal Ox; their essential 2002 debut, Cold Vein, was a chart-topper in nearly every smart music critic's year-end poll.

After quickly following up his critically-acclaimed 2004 solo-debut, Look Mom…No Hands, with two Martial Arts inspired Way Of The Fist mixtapes and after a few years scratching his collaborative itch (2005’s The Best Damn Rap Show with High & Mighty’s DJ Mighty Mi and in 2007, Vast joined forces with Karniege under the pseudonym Mighty Joseph and released Empire State) Vast returns with his sophomore solo-LP, Dueces Wild, which will be released on 6-24-08 on One Records.

With guest appearances from Camp Lo’s Gecchi Suede (“The Dynamic Duo”), Copywrite (“Give Me That Mic”) and a Pete Rock produced Cannibal Ox reunion track (“Mecca And The Ox”) Vast concluded the recording sessions for Dueces Wild supremely confident with the music he had created as he states “I put the letter “U” before the “E” in the LP title because I have paid my dues and this is the best music I have ever made. This project is about the power of the number 2 and the truth and the balance of the Ying-Yang. The number 2 influences many facets of our lives; this my sophomore solo-LP (second solo-LP), your Mom and dad are “two,” you and the love of your life are “two,” life and death, good and bad, night and day, love and hate are all interrelated with the number “two”.

Dueces Wild is primarily produced by Melodius Monk, a multi-talented producer, vocalist and lyricist from the streets of Brooklyn, Monk grew up with Vast and in fact has been making music with Vast as far back as Cannibal Ox’s inception and he helped craft Dueces Wild retro-sonic/alternative Trip-Hop feel.

In the card game of life, any deck of cards can reveal pain, power, pleasure, misery, poverty, life and death. There are many choices you can make, but the final outcome ultimately depends on making the most out of those cards. Dueces Wild is truly a full deck of wild cards!

biography
Born in Mount Vernon NY (Uptown) February 5, 1978, Vast Aire relocated to Jamaica Queens in 1988 and shortly thereafter his love-affair with the microphone began.

Known for his ability to draw and play football, Vast quickly fell in love with poetry and music. By the time he was sixteen he was performing at every underground hip hop club in New York city such as Wetlands, The Cooler, Nuyorican Poets Café, Baby Jupiter, SOB's and the Knitting Factory. In Jamaica Queens, then in Harlem N.Y. Vast came into contact with countless emcees, one of them being Vordul Mega. With a passion for cutting school and rhyming, Vast and Vordul ran the streets together and in the process sliced up allot of emcees. So when it came time for the duo to choose a moniker for their group, one name surfaced almost instantly---and Cannibal Ox was born.

In 1997, Vast came into contact with El-P (then of Company Flow) and after making an immediate impression, by 1998 Vast, Vordul and another fellow upstart, Mr. Lif, were already touring with Company Flow in support of their seminal debut Funcrusher Plus and winning over crowds with their energetic shows.

Though still without a deal, Vast and Vordul had already begun collaborating when El-P, who had recently broke out on his own after Company Flow broke-up, placed a call to Vast and Vordul to gauge their interest in recording an EP. Once they had recorded six-seven tracks, everyone knew they had created something very special and expanded the EP idea into a full-length LP. Cannibal Ox’s 2001 debut, The Cold Vein, would go on to not only launch the inception of El-P’s Def Jux Records imprint and be included on to be a chart topper on every smart critics year end poll, but also spearhead an underground movement that ruminated throughout the entire industry.

At the close of 2001, Cannibal Ox released a tour only EP, The F Word, but it was so highly sought after, the duo ended up releasing it on a national level. Yet, The F Word would end up being Cannibal Ox’s last release on Def Jux, as much to the dismay of Hip-Hop fans across the globe, Vast and Vordul mutually agreed to take a hiatus from Cannibal Ox to solely focus on their solo-careers; Vast had already begun working on a solo album in 1999, but after recording a handful of tracks he put those plans on hold to focus on The Cold Vein.

In 2004, Vast stepped out of his role as chief Ox man and unleashed one of the year's strongest albums with his solo-debut Look Mom...No Hands. Though Vast’s solo-debut featured a wide range of guest emcees including MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X and even a reunion track with Vordul, his reinvention as a solo-artist came full-circle by enlisting a who’s who list of underground producers (including Madlib, RJD2, Blueprint, Ayatollah, Da Beatminerz) who supplied a compelling new sound to Vast’s unmistakable lyrical styling’s that were previously untapped.

Vast quickly followed up Look Mom…No Hands with his two Martial Arts inspired Way Of The Fist mixtapes, which consisted of rare unreleased material and B-sides that he had culled away over the years. In early 2007, Vast joined forces with Karniege under the pseudonym Mighty Joseph and released Empire State which featured production from Madlib and J-Zone and a guest appearance from Murs.

Vast Aire will release his second solo-LP, Dueces Wild, on 6-24-08 on One Records. His long-awaited second solo-outing will feature appearances from Camp Lo’s Geechi Suede, Copywrite and an appearance from Vordul Mega for a new Cannibal Ox reunion track. Production will be supplied by Pete Rock, Melodious Monk, Oh No and others.

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Tracklisting

Vast Aire - Dueces Wild