Caesar Lopez

The kid is an altogether different breed of musician then what you might be used to. Caesar Lopez is like a young prizefighter from a classic era: ferocious, hungry as hell and prepared to work as hard as necessary for his shot at the title. He is a 20 year old local street dweller who you'd be equally likely to encounter freestyling at your friend's house party or at your local bar/club performing in his jazz quartet, lovingly picking the guitar or making his trombone sing. Caesar is a student of music in the truest sense, constantly in the gym sparring or hitting the bags. He's studied and performed salsa/Latin jazz with the young prodigal pianist Wesley Reynoso, (Marc Anthony, 440) straight-ahead jazz and bebop with Tim Otto, (Firewater, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ron Carter) and Theory/Harmony with Paul Everett (New York Philharmonic). When the kid is not performing or composing music it is a safe bet that he is listening to some and in doing so pursuing the development of his sense for song structure and arrangement. In his crates you'll find works by artists like Gladys Knight, Wu Tang Clan, George Benson, Joni Mitchell, Ibrahim Ferrer, Cannonball Adderly, Bad Brains, Elvis Costello, Nas and Black Uhuru all of whom have played a considerable role in shaping Caesar's unique sound and approach to composition. A studio savvy multi-instrumentalist, (Caesar is facile and able to improvise on Guitar, Drum kit, Electric & Upright basses, Trombone, and Saxophone. He is also able to play Trumpet, Clarinet and Piano) Caesar's writing process begins with idea, continues on at the piano or guitar, and reaches fruition in his Pro Tools based laboratory. Through tireless over dubbing and skillful mixing the result manifests as an entirely professional demo of a given composition utilizing strictly REAL instruments. Right now, Caesar's philosophy behind songwriting is to keep it soulful, honest and energetic. The vibe is at once retro and futuristic as well as impossible to contain as he embraces everything from Squarepusher to Beethoven. As an MC the boy is malicious. Caesar can ride over any tempo, but put the beat at 80-90 beats per minute and he'll touch you with his reggae inflected blazing fast flow, which in the year since his last recording has only gotten more breakneck. He comes from the New York City park bench, playground cipher, wall bombing era of hip-hop (Pops actually grew up in the Bronx during the period of it's inception) and his style pays homage to the heroes of this epoch: DJ Premier, Mobb Deep, Nas, Smiff & Wesson, and the Wu Tang.

Caesar's Top 10 Records:
1. Elvis Costello - Armed Forces
2. Nas - Illmatic
3. Lou Rawls & David Axelrod - Too Much
4. Wes Montgomery - Verve Sessions
5. Fishbone - The Reality of My Surroundings
6. Joni Mitchell - Blue
7. Raekwon - Cuban Linx
8. Sizzla - Black Woman and Child
9. Bobby Womack - Score From Across 110th St.
10. Pixies - Trompe Le Monde