Epademik Dj Arkane Shady Records

Epademik, Dj Arkane (Shady Records)

With a distinctive voice and fresh swagger, Epademik Emcee Esq is a standout among the contemporary hip-hop community. Epademik’s relentless attitude toward the quality of his work and its continued originality and improvement has been echoed in his unstoppable rise in the hip-hop world. Epademik’s journey into the world of music began in the early 1990’s when his older brother introduced him to the hip-hop scene. Studying such legendary hip-hop pioneers as Big Daddy Kane, KRS-1, Too Short & Special Ed to name a few, Epademik’s distinctive style of expression began to take shape. After years of fine-tuning his freestyle skills, Epademik began battling other emcees and building a reputation for his often humorous rhymes. As time went on Epademik and his older brother formed a group called The Casual Crew and performed at a number of local clubs, including Sloppy Joe’s (Irvine, CA), The Block of Orange (Orange, CA), Stadium Palladium (Anaheim, CA), and Shepherds Night Club (Phoenix, AZ). After three years, two albums completed, and a significant fan base, The Casual Crew disbanded, forcing Epademik to contemplate which way to take his career.

In the void left by the breakup of The Casual Crew, Epademik honed his artist skills even more by becoming more involved in the production aspects of hip-hop, including overseeing the production of fellow artist K.O.’s album The Main Event. In 2001, Epademik decided to team up with K.O. to record the album Drinkin, Smokin, Straight Westcoastin under the name 100 Proof. Epademik spent the next year and a half promoting the 100 Proof album and networking with producers and artists throughout southern California and Arizona, whom he soon gained notoriety among for his creative songwriting skills and lyrics.

Feeling it was time to seriously pursue a solo career, Epademik virtually disappeared from the music scene for almost a year to perfect his debut album, and in the summer of 2004 Listen at Your Own Risk was released. The lead single Act Like You Know hailed the number one spot on The Open Mic Show (klbc.org, Long Beach city College) for six weeks, until being retired by another of Epademik’s songs. In 2006, Epademik’s second solo album, The Third Finger, was released nationally in stores and internationally via the Internet. Despite currently being an independent artist, Epademik’s work has received radio play nation-wide, including in the states of Massachusetts, Hawaii, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, and of course California. Such national renown continues to demonstrate Epademik’s unstoppable rise toward the very top of the hip-hop community.