Cigar Cypha

Cigar Cypha, A.K.A. "Punch-Line Prince", is an all around Hip-Hop artist; His ear for beats, talent for writing lyrics and diligent work ethic is getting him known by increasing numbers of underground and industry hip-hop supporters.

Cyph, born Jeffrey Holmes, has spent over a decade devoted to perfecting his flow, voice and lyrics. He says, "I want to have something on the album that everyone can feel, but I’m gonna do it my way and make it fiya". Cyph makes it known that he won’t do something just because it’s a trend. Naturally he gets his inspiration from innovative artists like Nas, 2Pac, Rakim and Big Daddy Kane. With his mentors and his own creativity Cyph has managed to perfect his use of colorful, original metaphors to bring his tales to life.

With lyrics that touch on everything from partying to homelessness, drug wars to mortality, ballin’ to job pressures, Cyph tackles issues the average listener can relate to and still have commercial tracks. In the song "Just Think" Cyph takes on the tough guy-dominated rap world, while discussing industry pressures and the desire to change the world. He says, “Sometimes I think what if I ain't here tomorrow to see the sun rise/ and what the world be like if everybody wasn’t tough guys/ thinkin' where I get material for these dumb rhymes/ and think if I could think on the spot when its crunch time.”

In the summer of 2004 Cyph met Marc “Upgrade” Rajs and Chris “Heatwork” Butterwick and formed Red Dawn Records. Since then Cyph’s career has been on a steady rise. He has an album “Worldwide” that is distributed by Super-D and is available at many major on-line and in-store retailers and has been featured on a variety of mix-tapes with artists like Jae Millz, Joe Budden, Ron Artest, Nucci Reyo, DJ Envy, Cipha Sounds and Grand Finaal.

Cyph’s live show is always entertaining and energetic. Cyph has performed at industry presented showcases all over New York and New Jersey at venues like Crash Mansion, Canal Room, Metro Loft, Remote Lounge, Brokers and Ruzzo’s Manor. Even though these were in a showcase setting, Cyph continuously been able to self promote and bring multiple fans in to the show’s and get DJ’s all over the Tri-State to have his singles in club and college radio rotation.

As for the future, Cyph plans to continue mastering the art and writing music at a pace that only he can, while working his way into the industry. With a live show that packs venues and beats from producers worldwide laying the groundwork for a variety of bangers, Cyph now has a tour in the works and with the industry banging down his door it's only a matter of time until you see Cyph on TV or at a club near you.