Havoc of Mobb Deep (left) & Cormega (Right)
Enter Cormega, a Hip Hop artist, born in Bedford-Stuyvesant but grew up in the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Long Island City, Queens. Growing up he formed childhood friendships with future artists such as future nemesis Nas, the legendary duo of Mobb Deep, Nature and duo of Capone-N-Noreaga. When he was 4, Cormega witnessed his mother being murdered. Jail sentences and other unfortunate events put a hold to his ambitions of pursuing a rapping career. Nas directed a great amount of awareness towards Cormega in his song "One Love".
Nas - One Love
A later collaboration with Nas led to the creation of the rap group, The Firm, which also consisted of Nas, AZ and Foxy Brown. Disagreements with Steve Stoute led to Cormega being ousted of the group and replaced by Nature. A fallout quickly happened and friendships were ruined. Since then Nas and Cormega have reunited and settled their difference. The Firm went to release one album titled "The Album" that revolved around mafioso rap-themes, and featured notable production work from Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters.
Nas, AZ, Cormega and Foxy Brown (The Firm) - Affirmative Action
Cormega is one of those underrated artists from the golden era who was never able to break through and capitalize like his childhood friends. He is a lyrical magician with an incredible story to tell. Born and Raised is the fifth studio album he's released. It was released on October 20, 2009, after suffering several delays; the album was originally titled Urban Legend but was changed to Born and Raised after rapper T.I. used the original title for his 2004 release. The album has been met with mostly positive reviews from both fans and critics so far.
He has recently released a cool video for one of my favourite songs on the album, Rapture. The songs features Cormega vividly painting on a canvas of experiences and attitude. A story of nothing to something.
Cormega "Rapture" from Q-Butta on Vimeo.
