Artist Biography: Cheap Cologne (Minneapolis)
By Kandis Knight
Midwestern producer, Cheap Cologne While growing up, to become one of The Midwest’s most prolific hip-hop producers, Cheap Cologne’s young musical tastes were molded by groups such as, Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, BDP, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, whom he enjoyed breakdancing to as a kid.
Always a lover of fine music yet still too young to be able to stay up late, Cheap Cologne would set his tape player to record late night hip-hop shows so he could listen to them the next day.
In the 80’s and early 90’s Cheap Cologne would branch off to enjoy other genres of music only to add more depth to his growing musical repertoire. In high school, he listened to bands like Metallica, KISS, Motley Crue, and Slayer. He soon was beckoned back to hip-hop music when groups like Tribe Called Quest, House of Pain and Pharcyde broke onto the scene in the mid 90’s.
In 1991, Cheap Cologne began making mix tapes and DJ’ing house parties across the Midwest. His ascent was slowed when he was involved in a serious car crash in 1997. While on the road to recovery, he bought a MPC 2000 and never looked back.
To date, Cheap Cologne has produced and recorded tracks with The Lordz Of Brooklyn featuring Busta Rhymes, Slug, I Self Devine & Musab from Rhymesayers, Z-Man, Slim Kid Tre (Pharcyde) DJ Quest, The Shapeshifters, Pigeon John, Braille, DJ T-Rock to name a few.
Cheap Cologne has played festivals such as Canada's North By Northeast (NXNE), VANS Warped Tour, Bomb Hip-Hop’s “Return of The DJ Tour” and released his debut album "Just A Little Sample" on the California based Bomb Hip-Hop label.
In 2004, Cheap Cologne was pulled into the RIAA witchhunt for hip-hop producers using “pirated samples” along with New York producer Dangermouse. That experience thrust Cologne into the national spotlight. He received national media exposure from many publications including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.
Cheap Cologne’s brand of production, infusing the best of rock and hip-hop in his production, is as organic to Minneapolis as Prince who infused Rock with blues, funk and r & b in the early 80’s. Cheap Cologne’s unique production will make him an industry icon representing the rich musical city of Minneapolis for years to come.
Cheap Cologne is the quintessential poster boy of hip-hop/rock fusion. Listening to his music gives you a taste of what can happen when rock music meets hip-hop then explodes at the seams, something industry insiders have been predicting for years. He may well be one of the first in waves of true hip-hop/rock producers to come along who will redefine hip-hop through rock music, he is master of both genres.
Midwestern producer, Cheap Cologne While growing up, to become one of The Midwest’s most prolific hip-hop producers, Cheap Cologne’s young musical tastes were molded by groups such as, Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, BDP, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, whom he enjoyed breakdancing to as a kid.
Always a lover of fine music yet still too young to be able to stay up late, Cheap Cologne would set his tape player to record late night hip-hop shows so he could listen to them the next day.
In the 80’s and early 90’s Cheap Cologne would branch off to enjoy other genres of music only to add more depth to his growing musical repertoire. In high school, he listened to bands like Metallica, KISS, Motley Crue, and Slayer. He soon was beckoned back to hip-hop music when groups like Tribe Called Quest, House of Pain and Pharcyde broke onto the scene in the mid 90’s.
In 1991, Cheap Cologne began making mix tapes and DJ’ing house parties across the Midwest. His ascent was slowed when he was involved in a serious car crash in 1997. While on the road to recovery, he bought a MPC 2000 and never looked back.
To date, Cheap Cologne has produced and recorded tracks with The Lordz Of Brooklyn featuring Busta Rhymes, Slug, I Self Devine & Musab from Rhymesayers, Z-Man, Slim Kid Tre (Pharcyde) DJ Quest, The Shapeshifters, Pigeon John, Braille, DJ T-Rock to name a few.
Cheap Cologne has played festivals such as Canada's North By Northeast (NXNE), VANS Warped Tour, Bomb Hip-Hop’s “Return of The DJ Tour” and released his debut album "Just A Little Sample" on the California based Bomb Hip-Hop label.
In 2004, Cheap Cologne was pulled into the RIAA witchhunt for hip-hop producers using “pirated samples” along with New York producer Dangermouse. That experience thrust Cologne into the national spotlight. He received national media exposure from many publications including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.
Cheap Cologne’s brand of production, infusing the best of rock and hip-hop in his production, is as organic to Minneapolis as Prince who infused Rock with blues, funk and r & b in the early 80’s. Cheap Cologne’s unique production will make him an industry icon representing the rich musical city of Minneapolis for years to come.
Cheap Cologne is the quintessential poster boy of hip-hop/rock fusion. Listening to his music gives you a taste of what can happen when rock music meets hip-hop then explodes at the seams, something industry insiders have been predicting for years. He may well be one of the first in waves of true hip-hop/rock producers to come along who will redefine hip-hop through rock music, he is master of both genres.
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