Hyphen-One

"This is the closest vibe to the New York Underground scene you can find around (NJ)." "Daylow, an acid-jazzy, funk band is keeping hip-hop fresh."
- Peter Martinez...Daily Targum

"Hyphen-One & Daylow puts on a great show. The band is very energetic and creative with thier stage presence, often incorporating other talented people from different genres of performing arts. They have drawn well in NYC, and it has been a privilege working with them." - Michael Maietta...Creative Entertainment Group (Lions Den NYC)

One of the most exciting young hip-hop and rap artists to come out of the East Coast in years, Hyphen-One's moniker is unforgettable and the philosophy behind it speaks of a wisdom far beyond his 22 incredible years. "When we die, our tombstone will have a birth date and a death date, with our whole life represented in the middle of the two numbers by a hyphen," he says. "This is the concept behind my name. Come celebrate life with me!"
But Hyphen-One is more than simply a multi-talented, brilliantly poetic force of musical nature that bucks the usual trend by often singing his raps and creating rich harmonies with his ad-libs. His positive energy, class and generous community spirit˜which he brings to all of his artistic and charitable endeavors˜will help usher in an age when artists once again double as great role models.

Currently in studio hard at work crafting his debut album for Qwilite Entertainment with label owner, veteran songwriter/producer Quincy Patrick, the Denville, New Jersey native has just dropped "Closer," a engaging and colorful reworking of the group Surface's 1989 hit featuring a newly recorded chorus section by the original members.

The track, currently being pushed across the board to urban, R&B and pop radio, is also available on most major internet sites, including itunes. "Closer" and the feel-good "Get Up" can also be downloaded from the label's website www.qwiliteentertainment.com. He recently completed the filming of the video for "Closer," which was shot at various places around his neighborhood in New Jersey. Hyphen-One's full-length debut is scheduled for released in mid-2006.

And that's just scratching the surface, literally. In addition to being an accomplished DJ since age nine, the 22-year-old has been an independent graffiti artist since the day as a freshman in high school when he put a piece on the New Jersey state highway sound barrier. 'spray paint was the first medium I ever worked in with art," he says of his multitude of works on freights, bridges, sound barriers and other large walls throughout his home region.

Hyphen-One's first art show in August 2005 in Ocean City was a sellout, and he's currently receiving many portrait commissions. Through his local hip-hop performances, he's helped raise thousands of dollars to fund new facilities (including a basketball court) in his community, and raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

Even all these years later, he's still partial to the old school hip-hop artists whose rhymes and grooves fueled his own restless creative energy˜LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest and of course, The Beastie Boys. As a DJ, Hyphen-One's involvement in hosting community shows began after numerous parties and barbecues in his family's backyard. Something of a social outcast at school, he remembers retreating to the locker room and scribbling down the first verses he ever wrote, while cliques were gathering elsewhere.

"I started taking music seriously in 2001 when I was very successful at a high school talent show, where I freestyled about all the people in the crowd," he says. "That was my first time ever onstage. It turned out to be so well accepted that I felt this was something I could really make a career out of. From that point on, I began going to various studios, recording as many original songs as possible. After a year of being in the studio, I met some musicians who were interested in starting a live hip-hop band with me as the lead MC.

"I understood how much more energetic shows are with bands as compared to shows just with a DJ and an MC," Hyphen-One adds. "I believe that this made for a show that was comparatively more entertaining than a typical hip hop show."

Hyphen-One rocked with the band Daylow for a year, passing out demos to anyone who would listen, which ultimately included Quincy Patrick, who immediately signed the upstart artist to his new Qwilite Entertainment label. "I came to him with 35 songs, and we"ve pretty much been in the studio ever since, fine tuning my stuff and working on other joints together," he says. "I"m really excited about this project and the opportunity to share my positive vision with the world.

"Expression is really what my life is all about," Hyphen-One adds. "I think the reason I"m more about being uplifting than negative is because there's something more real about good genuine thought, and something more real about love than hate. Tying in with the inspiration for my professional name, I consider myself a celebration of life through art and creativity. As an artist, that extends to my responsibility to be involved in my community and give back in any way I can."

- Luck Media...Top 40 Charts

Tatum, also known as Hyphen-One, released his second hip-hop album, "The First Letter," on Aug. 1. The CD cover features his self-portrait, combining his two passions, hip-hop music and art. Spinning records

Tatum figures he's been listening to hip-hop music all his life. "I've loved hip-hop since I could turn on the radio, 4 years old, whatever. I was really into the idea of spinning the records, scratching those records."

When he got his own turntables at age 13, it wasn't long before he was spinning records for his older brothers and their friends at Cedar Lake Clubhouse in Denville, where everyone played community basketball and volleyball. Pretty soon disco night turned into a fundraising event and enough money poured in to refurbish the clubhouse.

In his junior year at Morris Knolls High School, Tatum performed in a talent show. "I got a pretty nice response," he recalled. "I enjoyed myself greatly." He figured he would start writing an album and worked with a Hackettstown studio. "No one has ever heard those songs and no one ever will," he says of that effort. Rules of hip hop

Two years later, while he was a student at County College of Morris, Tatum met Daylow, a hip-hop funk band who needed a lead MC, someone who can move the crowd. "Most of the time when you get MCs on stage, all they do is rap," says Tatum.

But with Tatum, you get a lot more. He sings, does a little beat boxing (making noises in rhythm), scratches to the drummer and he paints, yes paints, on large canvases.

He performs his show "Hip-Hop is not Dead" at clubs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey. And he has a definite opinion on how hip-hop should sound. It should have sampling, that is music using existing songs to create a new song or "remix," he explained.

"Just in general, the musical composition is what's missing. That's what I'm trying to change in my band," he said. He also sticks to a positive message, although profanity is sometimes used.

On his second album, he worked with producers like EZ Elpee and King Django who helped Tatum create the reggae ska number, "Lead All Over." On June 30, he backed up hip-hop icon Grand Master Flash at the Oscar Schindler Performing Arts Center in West Orange. His brother, James, works as his manager.

Art is important

Although Tatum spends hours on his music, his goal in life is to become a college art professor. With one year left at Montclair State University, he hopes to attend Pratt Institute to earn a master's degree.

His first album cover also featured a self-portrait, work that won him the highest award at the New Jersey Teen Arts Festival. Last week, he displayed and sold his canvases at the Ocean City Juried Art Fair, making it his third year at the fair.

Perhaps his most interesting "art studio" is Jersey's Finest Barbershop in Dover, where he sets up his easel inside or out on the sidewalk. "Everybody crowds around," said owner Elvin Lorenzo. "He's all-around hip hop, yeah, he's going places."

Tatum, who often gigs across the street at Murphy's Third Rail, says he wakes up every morning knowing what his goals are for the day. "I want to get people past the idea that art is not a real job, art is not important," he said. "One of the main reasons that I put the art in front of people in my gigs is because art is definitely important."

Family

Father, Allan; mother, Ardyn; brothers, Keith, 36, Chuck, 34 and James, 30. - The Star Ledger -- (Jamie Duffy )