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A name can often make or break an artist. In the oversaturated rap
industry, a rapper’s name is often the difference
between getting a shot or being dismissed as wack off the top. Butta
Verses, a Bronx-bred rapper who now calls Fort
Lauderdale, Florida home, knows all to well how a name can affect how
you’re perceived.
Fortunately enough for Butta, his name was bestowed upon him based on his skills. It was as simple as walking down the block to hear Butta tell it, "One day I was just walking up to a cipher and one of the guys
was just like, 'Here comes some butter verses and
it stuck."
Accepting the name is one thing but being able to back it up is another
and Butta understands this well. "Most of my stuff,
any song that I do, it's written. I'm not going to front and be like, 'Oh I don't write my rhymes. I just do it, you know, in fifteen minutes.' Nah I take a lot of time and put a lot of thought and effort into every song that I create. I sit and I make sure that it's something butter to make sure it's going to fit the name," the MC explained. Even with a hot name like Butta Verses and the skills to back it up, the rapper wasn’t guaranteed success. But a little bit of luck and some hard work by his crew, Glee Club Detention, paid off when Maseo of De La Soul got his hands on one of the rapper’s mix-tapes. Maseo immediately signed Butta to his Bear Mountain label and took the rapper under his wing and into the De La Soul fold which was a dream come true for the rapper. Butta explained, “As a kid that's what I used to say to myself. If I could be in any crew I would be in Native Tongue with De La and Tribe."
De La Soul's two MCs agreed with Maseo's assessment of Butta's talent. Dave (Trugoy) compared the rapper to Ghostface Killah, "Butta’s like a breath of fresh air. He makes you want to go back and write some shit
after you hear him. He reminds me of Ghostface.
I am a big fan of the style where people have their own language. Butta
has finesse and style and character. He motivates
me to want to sit down and write a rhyme."
Posdnuos, who has penned his share of Hip-hop quotables, added, “I am a
true fan. He is inspiring. Literally when I hear his
voice and tone he makes me want to create a rhyme. He has so much
personality in what he is saying. He can come with
any type of concept and bring it to life. He is a great lyricist who knows how to make a song."
With all of the elements and necessary co-signers in place, Butta Verses
is poised to release his debut album, Brand Spanking,
later this year but don’t expect the album to sound like the music
which is currently monopolizing the airwaves and
your favorite mix-tapes. As Butta puts it, he can only be himself. The rapper said, "I'm really not going for the street element at all. That's one thing I can't even front and try to play like I'm street.
I'm not. I'm more of a comedy cat and I leave that street
stuff out of my music. People are getting tired of everybody
flooding them with guns and the wealth. All I can do is
be me and hope people like it.”
Brand Spanking will be released in November and will include the production of Maseo, Tony Dawgs, and Vitamin D. In the meantime, fans can get a taste of what’s to come on De La Soul’s 2nd single, “NO” featuring Butta Verses.
And don't be surprised because history has a strange way of repeating
itself and if you know like I know, the last time
De La Soul co-signed for a new MC, he also had a serious handle, Mos Def
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