Wrekonize

Wrekonize
Birth name Benjamin Miller
Born (1983-05-05) May 5, 1983[1]
London, England U.K.
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, Singer
Years active 2001–present
Labels Strange Music
Associated acts Tech N9ne, ¡Mayday!

Benjamin Miller (born May 5, 1983), better known by his stage name Wrekonize is an American underground rapper and current member of Miami band ¡Mayday!. He is currently signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music record label.

Early life

Born in London, England, Wrekonize was raised in a cultured household of both British and African descent. His mother was England born and father had immigrated to England from Cape Town, South Africa.[2] Moving to the U.S. in 1988, his parents had formed a local band together. They performed on occasion with MC Guru for his original Jazzmatazz album.[3] At the age of 11, Wrekonize was introduced to Guru, who helped inspire him to make his own music.[3]

At the age of 13, Wrekonize was part of the popular cult of graffiti. Attempting to imitate the works of Miami graffiti artists Os Gêmeos, he spotted "Wrekonize" in Martha Cooper's[4] Subway Art book. Admiring the graphic he chose to adopt it as his stage name because to him it meant, "observant and always alert to the surrounding and the people in them".[5]

Musical career

Born in 1983 in London, England, Wrekonize moved to Miami, Florida at the age of 5. In 2003 he competed in MTV Battle II: The Takeover in Times Square[6] to beat 10 rappers and won.[3] Promised a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records as a grand prize, reports several months later surfaced that Wrekonize was never offered a contract as the contest initially stipulated.[3] Soon after he was signed to SouthBeat Records[7] and shortly released "The Waiting Room Mixtape" which featured songs with Ras Kass and DJ Spinna.[3] The Waiting Room was planned to be the first mixtape to a three-part series he arranged with to Southbeat Records.[3] With a subsequent fall of the label, the album had minimal release but luckily resurfaced on the underground hip hop database DatPiff as an album of the week.[3] With online success of the first album, he self-produced a second installment called "Elevator Music".[3] It featured the Miami MC rapping over underground instrumentals with one track produced by Plex Luthor of ¡Mayday! and another produced by DJ Sharpsound.[3] ¡Mayday!,[8] a Miami-based hip hop band had also been signed with SouthBeat Records in 2004 and performed with Wrekonize at local clubs and opera houses as well as collaborating on songs with him.[3]

Eventually ¡Mayday! offered Wrekonize a vocal position and membership in the band. In 2010, Wrekonize released "Stuck On An Island" with ¡Mayday! and a solo album called "A Soiree For Skeptics".[3] After ¡Mayday! signed with Strange Music in 2011, Wrekonize came to release the "Take Me To Your Leader" album, the "Thrift Store Halos" EP, and the "Smash & Grab" mix-tape with his band ¡Mayday! in 2012, as well as completing the "Waiting Room" mixtape trilogy with the "Rooftops Mixtape".[3] Wrekonize then went on to release the solo album "The War Within" and ¡Mayday!'s second album "Believers" in 2013.[9] Wrekonize has also produced various freestyles via numerous blogs and web sites.[9]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US US R&B US Rap
A Soiree For Skeptics[10]
  • Released: August 30, 2010
  • Label: Baggins Family Produce
  • Format: CD, Digital download
The War Within[11]
  • Released: June 25, 2013
  • Label: Strange Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
88 27 5
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Collaboration albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US US R&B US Rap
Stuck On An Island
(with ¡Mayday!)
  • Released: October 12, 2010
  • Label: Mayday Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
Take Me to Your Leader
(with ¡Mayday!)
  • Released: March 26, 2012
  • Label: Strange Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
86 18 15
Believers[12]
(with ¡Mayday!)
  • Released: July 16, 2013
  • Label: Strange Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
75 19 11
¡MursDay![13]
(with ¡Mayday! & Murs)
  • Released: June 10, 2014
  • Label: Strange Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
45 4
Future Vintage[14]
(with Mayday!)
  • Released: September 18, 2015
  • Label: Strange Music
  • Format: CD, Digital download
45 4
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with year released
Title Album details
The Chaotic Knowledge Sessions
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Atleast It's Better Than Pop Music
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Garage Sale
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Overdue Mixtape
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
The Waiting Room
  • Released: March 5, 2006
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Elevator Music
  • Released: April 4, 2007
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
D.W.D (Done Without Dialogue)
  • Released: April 27, 2007
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Lords Of The Fly
(with ¡Mayday!)
  • Released: 2009
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
Smash and Grab
(with ¡Mayday!)
  • Released: December 20, 2012
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
The Rooftops Mixtape
  • Released: January 31, 2013
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download

References

  1. "Twitter / Wrekonize: My birthday is the 5th but". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  2. "Wrekonize - A Soiree For Skeptics". 305hiphop.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Artist Biography by David Jeffries. "Wrekonize | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  4. "KodakGirl.com". KodakGirl.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  5. "Meddafore: Mr. Let 'em Know: Let 'Em Know: Wrekonize". Meddafore.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  6. "MTV Onair - Mcbattle - 2003 - Round 2 Finalists". Mtv.com. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  7. "RELEASE: Wrekonize (from ¡MAYDAY!) A Soiree For Skeptics - Lil Wayne". Zimbio. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  8. "MAYDAY Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos". Reverbnation.com. 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  9. 1 2 Smith, Bruce (2013-06-25). "Wrekonize [Mayday] - The War Within | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  10. "iTunes - Music - A Soiree For Skeptics by Wrekonize". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  11. "iTunes - Music - The War Within (Deluxe Edition) by Wrekonize". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  12. "Strange Music, Inc". Blog.strangemusicinc.com. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  13. Emmanuel C.M. (2014-04-16). "MURS And ¡Mayday!'s Joint Album Is Coming Out In June - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  14. Emmanuel C.M. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/future-vintage/id1020311471. Missing or empty |title= (help)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, December 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.