ALI VEGAS

As one of the most recognizable names in hip-hop, Ali began his career in the late 90's, and at only 25 years of age, has already earned his veteran stripes thanks to his proven skill and lyrical dexterity. The self proclaimed "Prince of New York" hails from Jamaica, Queens and is often compared to Hip-Hop greats such as Nas and Jay-Z.



During the shooting of a documentary based on the life of his infamous friend Panama PI, a label executive heard the young rapper spit and insisted he come to the Columbia offices the next day. When the unassuming MC arrived that day, he was met by Mase, Nas and Kid Capri who had just stopped by to drop off a beat over which Ali Vegas flawlessly spit over. When his mother saw the respect that her son received from the same artists that adorned his little sister’s wall, it was the first time she truly understood how gifted her son was. Unfortunately not even his formidable lyrical prowess could save the Trackmasters from losing their deal with Columbia and his first recorded album wouldn’t see the light of day. After Trackmasters lost their deal with Columbia, he had made such an impression on the Columbia Records music mogul, Tommy Mottola, that he then signed the young rapper to his Casablanca records; which eventually folded leaving Ali, once again, as a free agent. Ali immediately hit the pavement staying on the road and doing mix tapes and constantly feeding the streets with music.



After years of establishing his name as a staid force to be reckoned with, Vegas went back home to his roots and teamed up with childhood friend Lamar Odom and signed to his newly formed Rich-Soil Entertainment. With the recent release of the highly anticipated debut, Generation Gap 2, Vegas and his Rich-Soil family plan to plant seeds of greatness as they re-introduce a new generation of hip-hop. “The album I recorded for Trackmasters was going to be called Generation Gap,” explains Vegas “I always felt like that was a classic title and that album would’ve been a classic album had it been able to come out. Now I wanted to name this one Generation Gap 2 because I wanted to mend the gap between the teachers and the students because I’m a product of both. I come from both generations so that’s how I put the album together. I put the teachers together with the students so we can learn from each other and take hip-hop to a better place musically. Like on production, DJ Premier is like the Principal and L.E.S is the assistant Principal, then you have Scott Storch and Cool and Dre who are teachers to the young hot students J-Nyce and Baron Boys” Other teachers and students on the album include: AZ, Styles P, Young TRL and Siah-Me’z. The first single “That’s Nothing” produced by Scott Storch will be the introduction to bridging the hip-hop divide. Generation Gap 2 is available on iTunes



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