蜜柚直播

Many of those unknowns were on , a behemoth independent out of Los Angeles that was home to Kottonmouth Kings, Hed P.E., King Spade, Saigon and Mesa punk rockers Authority Zero.

鈥淚t was always my dream to be a part of that record label,鈥� said the Amphitheater High School alumnus, whose real name is Aaron Tacker.

Late last October, the dream came true.

Styles鈥� Suburban Noize debut 鈥淟ive Your Best Life鈥� is set for an early summer release.

He is the first 蜜柚直播 rapper signed to Suburban Noize, whose roster also includes Dropout Kings, Long Beach Dub Allstars, OPM and Salty Brasi. The move puts Styles on a trajectory to take his brand of high-energy chopper-style rap to a national audience.

鈥淭his label is the next step to the next level; it鈥檚 a major independent label,鈥� he said during a late January phone call as he was making his way from a tour stop in Billings, Montana, to Great Falls. 鈥淭his definitely puts me up there with the big boys and the major players in the industry.鈥�

Signing with Suburban Noize comes nearly 20 years after Styles quit his day job delivering pizza in 蜜柚直播 and focused on music full time.

Styles, who was born in Houston, Texas, and lived in California and New Mexico before his family moved to 蜜柚直播 in 1994, specializes in the fast-paced speed rhyming style that was born in the Midwest and popularized by artists including Eminem, Twista and Tech N9ne.

鈥淭hey call me the Southwest Chopper. When it comes to the speed and velocity, that鈥檚 what I bring to the table,鈥� said Styles, who said he soon plans to challenge Eminem鈥檚 fastest rapper of 7.5 words per second. He said he recently clocked himself at 10 to 13 words per second.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty impressive how fast I can go,鈥� he said.

Even more impressive is the fact that when he was a kid, Styles, 39, stuttered to the point that he could barely get out a sentence. He credits music with helping him to overcome it; he would go to sleep listening to cassette tapes of the 鈥淏lues Brothers鈥� soundtrack, Beastie Boys or the R&B duo Sam & Dave.

鈥淚 really think that listening to those tapes and falling to sleep to those songs really helped with my speech,鈥� he recalled.

Doing musical musical theater as a kid taught him to memorize lines and lyrics, which boosted his stage confidence when he began rapping with a few buddies who called themselves the .

鈥淲e were downloading beats off of Napster back in the day and we would play them on an Aiwa boom box and we would rap on a Radio Shack mic and that鈥檚 really how we started freestyling,鈥� he recalled.

Friends in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 hip-hop community introduced them to 蜜柚直播 rappers including James Ciphurphace and The Runt from Jivin鈥� Scientists. The crew started doing shows at Vaudeville on East Congress Street with Black One (aka Jaron Ikner) and met Ryan Lameyer of , which books local artist showcase events at the Rialto and other 蜜柚直播 venues.

鈥淗e was the one who gave us our first shot, including putting us on a show with Hed P.E. and King Spade,鈥� said Styles, whose stage name reflects his diverse musical influences, from classic rock and soul to R&B and hip-hop. 鈥淭hat led us to opening for Tech N9ne.鈥�

CCS went on to do a dozen shows with Tech N9ne as well as opening shows for Nas and Ice Cube. Soon after high school, they landed a record deal with the Canadian label Seizure Productions, which went bust six months after Styles and the crew relocated to Canada. The group came home to 蜜柚直播 and continued playing the handful of local clubs that hosted rap and hip-hop, including The Rock, Club Congress, Mr. Heads and the Rialto.

In 2005, Styles, determined to land at Suburban Noize, went on tour as a roadie with the hardcore/punk jazz band Mower. The band was impressed enough with Styles鈥檚 style that they introduced him to Suburban Noize owner Kevin Zinger. The connections led to tour invites from other Suburban Noize artists including landing on the label鈥檚 2020 Henchlord Tour with Chucky Chuck and the 2022 Underground Alliance Tour, where he met DJ Swamp. He and the award-winning Swamp, who spent four years touring with Beck, recorded a project together that they shopped to Suburban Noize last year.

The label liked it so much that they signed Styles.

鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to soak it all in,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really is a dream come true.鈥�

Styles left 蜜柚直播 in 2021, but he said 蜜柚直播 has never left him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to come out of 蜜柚直播, 蜜柚直播, and really represent 蜜柚直播 to the fullest. I still rep 蜜柚直播 all day, every day, no matter what,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to be signed to a major independent label and to be from 蜜柚直播. To me, that鈥檚 gold.鈥�