CA$_uNO of (S.O.C)

A proper emcee should represent all the crucial elements of the hip hop culture: graffiti art, break dancing, turntablism and rhyming. Without those, hip hop doesn‘t exist.

Santa Fe-based artist, Cas_Uno, is a veteran emcee with years of experience and a slew of successful shows under his belt who consistently reps every aspect of the coveted culture. In 1993 when Cas was in his sophomore year of high school, the allure of hip hop culture started to take hold. He began to take it seriously once he moved to Arizona and participated in “Freestyle Fridays” in downtown Tempe. The infectious energy he felt was enough to get him hooked. With the proverbial ball rolling, he linked up with other like-minded artists in the area and “got his chops” at a local event called ‘Ancient Chinese Secret Night.’ Eventually, he joined the first of many hip hop collectives, Blowup Co-Op. Their established “Wicka-Wicka Wednesday” nights exploded into an underground scene large enough to attract the attention of promoters. Cas soon found himself and the rest of the crew opening for national acts such as Cypress Hill, The Shapeshifters, De La Soul, Linkin Park, Sole of Anticon Records, Scarub of The Living Legends, CunninLynguists and Abstract Rude. Around the age of 26, Cas was steadily gaining momentum. Showing no signs of slowing down, Cas decided to settle in New Mexico. He thought he could help establish a scene in the thirsty town of Santa Fe. There he collaborated with local DJ/emcee Perish One. Together they formed Mentill State and performed diligently around the area. After just a year and a half, Cas, once again, got restless and escaped to Austin, Texas in 2004. Cas was slapped in the face with an entirely different world of music. Back then, the chopped and screwed style of rap was popular which was a genre he was not trying to develop. However, Cas embraced the challenge. He adapted his production technique and the result was a more soulful sound. In 2007, he returned to New Mexico, this time with child. “Having a child changed my thought process. Now I focus on trying to educate kids through my more mature lyrical content and create more uplifting hip hop, “ he says. Currently on his mission to bring back the roots of hip hop, Cas is focused on new material and performing. Cas is undoubtedly one of the freshest voices to come out of New Mexico in a long time.