The Synopsis

In underground hip-hop, The Zodiac has been around since the 90s when his college buddies challenged him to show off his skills. Back then, his style was evolving and getting more and more complex with more and more words thrown in. He had a fast flow that was hard to miss on first listen, but once you got it, his lyrics had a different meaning. This combo has been the Zodiac’s weapon against the lost art of hip-hop, where emcees used to challenge each other with razor-sharp rhymes. That’s in stark contrast to the watered-down versions now, which rely on a lot of n-words, basic words, catchy rhymes, and a really heavy bassline.

The Origin Story of The Zodiac

He moved to New Jersey when he was just a kid, and his suburban background and love of English made him want to get into rap. He used his skills he had learned by listening to his favorite rap artists, like Rakim and Run-DMC. He also listened to rap by Ice-T and Public Enemy, as well as Scarface from Geto Boys. He would imitate their rap style and change the words to darker ones, like “The Zodiac”. He would write these lyrics for fun, but eventually it became more than just a hobby. When he was in college, he met some friends and emcees who encouraged him to come out and rap. It wasn’t until the summer of 1992 that he changed his name to The Zodiac.

The Saga Continues

The Zodiac helped form Black InQ in the late 90s, bringing together a bunch of other creative minds. He recruited other rap, hip-hop, and fashion people online to help him develop his own skills and vice-versa. He was surrounded by so many creative minds, and he was able to influence others for years. Eventually, he released his first solo record, Sixense, which sold well online and was a test of Black InQ’s collaboration album, 12 Disciples divided by 3. After that, the band split up, but The Zodiac kept releasing albums, each one with a different mission. The main thing is to stay focused on the lyrics and never let your audience down. As he states “an artist has the ability to uplift his or her audience. One shouldn’t stoop down for them to understand his artwork.”