Phashara

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Phashara (pronounced fah-shuh-rah) born to an afroed soul cat & sophisticated lady, Phasha spent the 1st couple of years of his life in Chicago’s Martin Luther King Plaza on the west side of Chicago. His Mom & Dad both sang with reputable choirs and gospal acts, his Uncle is a Jazz Trumpeter. Needless to say, the musical influences in his life were many and varied. “I can remember hearing Rappers Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang and The Breaks by Kurtis Blow when I was like 4 or 5 years old. My Mom would play those joints all of the time. But I’d also be like “Ma play this…” holding up the Minnie Ripperten joint where she has the blue jean coveralls on with the ice cream cone. So I really grew up listening to Hip-Hop and Soul music. Soul and Hip-Hop are like the sound track to my life” he says of his early influences.

Inevitably, Phasha began to dabble in the arts himself. “I remember wanting piano lessons but we couldn’t afford it.” Eventually he’d take Saxophone lessons in elementary school but he never cared for it much. So he began writing… “I wrote lots of poetry at first but then I listened to so much BDP, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Biz Markie, Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim that I just had to write a rhyme. It just seemed to be the most enjoyable thing to do.” Phasha wrote rhymes in secret for years but because he was so meticulous he typed them all up and kept them in binders. His best friend and former group mate “Trust” picked up the binder one day and began to read. As he read he chuckled and went thru the entire gamut of reactions from laughter to amazement. After that Trust immediately began to urge Phasha to let it be known that he was dangerous with the rhyme and soon they started Phasha’s first rap group P-93. When asked what did P-93 mean Phasha says “I couldn’t tell you what that shit meant if I tried…”

As a couple of years went by and Phasha grew as an Emcee the group faded to black and Phasha began working with Bosa aka Double O - The PHYSICAL EQUINOX. They soon formed Chicago rap group Vibe Percent and later became known as Sac.Fly. The group included Phasha & Bosa as Emcees a-la Run-DMC and Trust as producer / DJ. The group lasted approximately 8 years and gained much notoriety in the Go as one of the illest and most hard working rap groups in town.

 While partnered Sac.Fly Phashara performed at NAACP, RAINBOW PUSH, PAN AMERICAN FEST at Soldiers Field, & a host of other local reputable hip-hop joints. He was also a regular crew member and freestyle fanatic on WCRX’s” the last crate” hip-hop show, which was hosted by Therapy & DJ 3rd Rail. These regular appearances and performances gained the group a nomination along side Rubber Room as best new rap group. Still an electrifying performer and Emcee today Phashara has performed at some of Chicago’s & Los Angeles’ biggest named venues including Wild Hare (Chicago), Morseland Cafe (Chicago), Hot House (Chicago), The Larchmont (Hollywood, CA), The Temple Bar (Santa Monica, CA.) & The Airliner (Los Angeles, CA).

Now in 2008, Phashara preps his debut solo album. After featuring as both artist and producer on Beatmonstas Entertainment’s UK & US College Circuit released hit CD “The 3rd Weapon”, Phashara is ready to embark on new journeys with soon to be crowned classic release entitled “The Storybook Adventure”.

The Storybook is authentic Hip-Hop. It’s genuine approach veers far from the beaten path of today’s cookie cutter urbanized renditions of hokey-pokey that some refer to as “ring tone rap”.

Phashara’s mission this go round is to use the art of storytelling to project rich portrayals of life through the eyes of a west side Chicagoan. The soulful bangin beats provided by the likes of Heralded Beat Champions, namely Radius, Tall Black Guy, Noble Dru & Phashara himself, serves as the canvas and soundscape for Phashara to paint vivid tales of city living and lessons learned. Still the fun and excitement of hip-hop’s golden age are overtly present and seem to be the recurring them in “The Storybook”.