Cassidy

20岁的Cassidy原名Barry Reese，绰号“Da Problem”或“Tha Problem”，他是一名纯粹成长于城市街头的说唱歌手，在他生活过的城市，无论是费城还是纽约，他都是那种典型的街头黑人少年，除了打街头篮球就是练嘴皮子。从初中开始，Cassidy就开始真正认真的对待自己的说唱音乐发展。1996年，在Cassidy还在上初中的时候，他就通过自己的说唱来养活自己，随后不久就开始在费城的电台里的说唱节目中一次又一次的胜出，这让Cassidy的名字渐渐在一定范围里得到吹捧，并且让他得到了录制自己音乐的机会。Cassidy通过录制自己的一些磁带和小唱片，在费城的名气渐渐的大了起来，并且进入真正规范的唱片公司发展。 但是初到唱片公司，仍然是高中生年龄的Cassidy并没有得到更多的发展机会，他曾经先后编入一些有名无实的说唱乐团，但始终没有任何特别的表现，不过他也先后得到了为一些知名说唱歌手创作歌词以及参与唱片录制的机会，好在这种生活并没有持续太久。两年之后，Cassidy得到了很有影响的Ruff Ryders说唱乐团中的歌手兼制作人Swizz Beatz的赏识，Swizz Beatz把他吸收到了自己新开办的J-Records唱片公司的下属公司Full Service之中，Cassidy这名成长于地下说唱的歌手终于走上了主流市场。 2003年，Swizz Beatz为Cassidy录制了第一首真正意义的说唱单曲《Hotel》，并且拉来了金牌的说唱歌手兼制作人R. Kelly来参与了单曲的录制和演唱，此举果然效果显著，随着这首单曲的音乐录影带在各大音乐电视台的播出，使这首单曲在单曲榜上节节的胜利，Cassidy也更有名了，于是他的新专辑发行计划就在孕育之中了。2004年3月16日，Cassidy的首张个人专辑《Split Personality》正式发行。

by Andy Kellman
The first MC of significance to be supported by Swizz Beatz's J-affiliated Full Surface label, Cassidy is a fresh-faced Philadelphian who gained a lot of attention as a battle rapper -- with a successful bout against Freeway as one of the first feathers in his cap. People who had been following him through several mixtape appearances were more than a little surprised by the angle taken on his first solo single, "Hotel." Rather than build on his street credibility, Cassidy used the song -- with vocal hooks courtesy of R. Kelly -- to establish himself as an MC who could just deliver a fluffy chart-aimed hit with equal ease. "Hotel" more or less piggybacked Chingy's "Holidae In" as a like-themed tune into the upper reaches of the singles charts, all the while being as light musically as the same rapper's "One Call Away." Split Personality, Cassidy's debut album, arrived just as "Hotel" was peaking, in March of 2004, and debuted at the number two spot on the Billboard album chart. The following year, the MC returned with the harder I'm a Hustla, which was released roughly two weeks after he was charged with a murder that took place in his Philadelphia neighborhood. The extra attention had no negative effect on his career, with 2007's B.A.R.S.: The Barry Adrian Reese Story bowing in the Top Ten of the Billboard album chart; its lead single, "My Drink 'N My Two Step" (also produced by Swizz Beatz), peaked at number 11 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart.