360 degrees

CD Details

Review

” I want everybody to relate to the songs, not just street cats,” says Infinite. The independent rap artist’s new five-song CD 360 Degrees has become a hot commodity in records stores from Victoria to Halifax, thanks to Infinite’s radio-friendly tracks and of course, MuchMusic’s strong rotation of the video for the title track from his new EP. Hip Hop heads cite Infinite is one of Canada’s most talented rap artists. His musical accolades present very good evidence to his lyrical gifts and production skills. He has won two Juno Awards for “Best Rap Recording” in 1995 and 1996 with his former group Ghetto Concept. Earlier this year he received a further boost to his solo career when he took home the award for “Best Hip Hop Video” from the Canadian Urban Music Awards for his song “Gotta Get Mine” which featured Toronto diva Divine Earth Essence.” With support dates for rap star LL Cool J along with his own dates across the country, Infinite is definitely on the rise. Citing musical influences as diverse as The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Wu-Tang Clag, Nas, The Roots and Jeru, it’s not hard to see that Infinite embodies the future of Canadian rap. — Word Magazine/September 1998 included in package

Product Description

This EP is blessed with pure underground artistry and yet it also attracts the commercial audience. This CD is reality based, verbalized by the street poet/ life narrator, Infinite. The hot beats, phat lyrics and dope production will get you hooked and you’ll be coming back for more. Definitely one of the hottest rap albums to come out of Canada.

About the Artist

Infinite
Infinite definitely knows the art of storytelling. Once quoted by Kwame, on-air personality of the new KISS 92 FM as being, “the underground ghetto brother that just pushes it on a commercial level” his knowledge comes from the heart, which is his reality.
Infinite a.k.a. Desmond Francis, grew up in Rexdale, a low income area in Toronto by a single mother and two older brothers, one of whom was murdered in 1995. Shortly after this tragic event, he left his 1995/ 1996 Juno Award winning group Ghetto Concept. Starting at a young age, Infinite was continually exposed to the negative street environment. But now he strives to educate the new breed of youth by turning negative into positive.
Artistic ability and new flavour are the rules that Infinite and brother Cain, C.E.O. of his label Lockdown Entertainment Inc. abide by to create rap music on a new level. They are constantly striving to lead the independent record market to major record label status, i.e. video “Gotta Get Mine” which raised the standards of urban video quality and recognition by commercial radio stations.
The Beatfactory/EMI RapEssentials: Volume 2 wisely chose “Gotta Get Mine” as the first single off the compilation, catapulting Infinite into the North American spotlight. “Gotta Get Mine” rang in at an incredible number 17 on Energy 108 top 108 of 1997. Infinite has been selected as the spokesperson for “Chill Out”, a clothing drive for the homeless, in which the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors are sponsors. He has also made a host appearance on MuchMusic’s Rap City as well as performing along side Bob Marley’s band, The Wailers on MuchMusic’s Da Mix, Black History Month discussion panel.
Infinite has most certainly been a consistent and outstanding artist in the Canadian music scene. Although “360 degrees” was chosen as the lead off single from the EP, Lockdown produced a video for every original track on the album. All five videos received substantial rotation on MuchMusic. Infinite toured with LL Cool J during the summer of 1998 which was sponsored by Fubu. Infinite also makes an appearance in LL Cool J’s upcoming film “In Too Deep”(starring Omar Epps, scheduled for release August 25, 1999).
Infinite was chosen by CapCom Japan which is the guru of video game makers to record voice-overs as well as the game soundtrack for the Street Fighter, “3rd Strike” game. The game was released in Japanese arcades May 1999. On June 30, 1999 he performed on the new KISS 92 FM CN Towers lauch “Da Vibe in da Sky” live to air event.
“Take a Look” accomplished the feat of being the first single off the BMG distributed album RapEssentials: The Rebirth, helping the compilation sell more than 5, 000 copies in its first week. The four minute fully animated video for “Take a Look” was well embraced by the MuchMusic staff. The video was immediately placed in heavy rotation, once again setting new standards for urban music. “Take a Look” was charted on MuchMusic’s Rap City Top 5 for 6 weeks during June and July 1999, holding down the number one position for three consecutive weeks. Infinite’s performance at the 1999 NXNE showcase helped to highlight Canada’s urban independent music scene. On June 11, 1999, Infinite was one of the featured acts in the Toronto Sun (circulation 1 million) coverage of NXNE.
All of the songs from the album “360 degrees” contain clean and