Sub-Way Stiles

Sub-Way Stiles is an art and music company, founded by awkword in 2003, that is dedicated to the proliferation of hip hop culture. Its members, awkword, Whatzisface and Voice 1, grew up on hip hop — from graffiti to breakdancing to DJing to rapping. With their eclectic blend of street anthems, old school tunes, revolutionary rants and bouncy party tracks, the Sub-Stiles emcees bring it to another level, while holding down their roots. Influenced by Nas, Guru, Eminem, Non Phixion, Immortal Technique and Atmosphere (with the intelligence to combine and improve upon them all), Sub-Way Stiles makes underground rap for the masses, and mainstream music for the rawest backpackers. Amped off a Winter 2004 Midwest tour with signed rap trio BLESTeNATION, performances with Masta Ace, Grandmaster Caz, JUICE, Quaazar, Mr. Metaphor, Pumpkinhead, Dujeous and Nuclear Family, and close to a dozen raucous 2005 performances in New York City, Chicago and Connecticut, Sub-Way Stiles is ready to blow. Together, the threesome is a force to be reckoned with. Alone, they amassed legions of fans, and impressed each other, making a life-long collaboration an inevitability.

awkword, the emcee, is the fallen angel, the bleeding heart, the impossible question, the brutal truth, the beautiful answer. awkword lives and fights hip hop. growing up an angry jew in a WASP nest, he found solace in the written word, then the recorded song, then the live show. he went from fighting with fists to forging new frameworks; and with a journalism background, his message is finally being heard. hip hop can be revolutionary, and the emcee need not preach. based on the East Coast, catch awkword freestyling with the Brooklyn homeless, rocking a "nazi punks fuck off" t-shirt to Fat Beats, or blessing a screaming, triple-digit crowd in Connecticut. awkword entered the world of hip hop as a graffiti artist and now utilizes that same raw energy, rebelliousness and vigor in his recorded and live music. with the pen-power of e.e. cummings and the persuasiveness of a politician, he raps about love and hate, drugs and alcohol, politics and pretty ladies. awkword is the good and the bad of hip hop, rethought and reworked, blended and encapsulated into one man — one mic with metaphors and stories, screaming satan or singing celestial. he has performed at clubs, radio stations and colleges throughout the U.S., and is set to take over the planet.

Emcee/Producer Whatzisface is hip hop. He was incarcerated on graffiti charges, and rapped his way through the four-month bid. Today he perseveres, without a 9-to-5, doing radio spots, rocking shows, and refining his recorded sound with self-made beats as well as guest production from the Molemen. Whatzisface says he sounds like a billy goat sniffed up on adirol — self-deprecation is but one of his chosen weapons. Fans throughout the United States love him for his dry sense of humor, quick witticisms, wordplays, and expressions of honesty and emotion. Whether he's battling, freestyling in a friendly cipher, or spitting writtens on record, Whatzisface sounds like he must be signed to… somebody. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed six-footer began his career years ago on the battle circuit, at Braggin Rites, Pro-Am, All City,
Rock Steady and Scribble Jam. Then he hit the radio, especially hard in New York City and Chicago. Whatzisface has performed for energized audiences throughout the country, such as at Project Blowed in Los Angeles, The Quest in Minneapolis, Hot House in Chicago, Southpaw in Brooklyn, Rhythm & Blues Café in Cincinnati and Garfield Artworks in Pittsburgh. In Whatzisface there are bits of Eminem, Ill Bill, Nas and Saigan — and that makes sense. Like any true hip hop head, Whatzisface was influenced by, and honors our forefathers. But he has taken their teachings on a post-modern tangent. Perverted sexual tales are mixed in with battle raps, life-story ballads and political rants. Whatzisface does double-time, sings and screams. He is hip hop, like the brave inventors of style who came before him.

Voice 1 is the silent child, until he hits the mic. He unobtrusively handles much of the hand-to-hand promotion of Sub-Way Stiles, keeping the other obnoxious artists away from the body politic. But his impact is felt greater in words, images and lessons. As he puts it: "Voice -- that’s what it all comes down to for me. Being heard after being silenced for many years, being respected after shedding shameful tears." For Voice, hip hop was a fan thing, until he met awkword and signed on as the first member of Sub-Way Stiles in 1999. He has since performed at open mics and spoken word showcases throughout the Northeast. And, he always rocks the acapellas at the Sub-Way Stiles shows. His street narratives, in rap/poetry-form, reflect a dedication to and understanding of hip hop and urban culture reminiscent of a social scholar. His true art is relaying a message without dumbing it down, repping his squad and his cu