Cage to Close National Tour in NYC

Marjana Jaidi / December 07, 2009

Next Friday (December 18), Cage will conclude his US tour with a hometown show at B.B. King’s Blues Club. This has been a big year for Cage, who became the first artist to release an EP through MTV. The five-song EP can be downloaded gratis via MTV’s Subterranean Blog.

Born Chris Palko, the rapper’s visceral lyrics may reflect a childhood riddled with drugs, violence and abuse, but Cage is a prime example of how music can be used as an outlet to overcome adversity. Cage made his first appearance on a record for Pete Nice in 1993, but it wasn’t until 1997 that he recorded his breakthrough song, “Agent Orange”, produced by Necro. The song later appeared on his debut album, Movies for the Blind (2002).

In a surprising move, Cage selected Shia LaBeouf to direct the video for his EP’s title track, “I Never Knew You”. The video, which features actor Dan Byrd, draws influence from Cage’s troubled past. “Everything is from personal experience,” Cage said in an interview with MTV, “it’s depression, heartache, falling on your face, getting up, falling down again – just like a lot of common stuff people go through”. He also noted that his overall message has taken a positive turn, “that was what was what was important to me as a kid, finding some sort of escape through music. So if I can do that for somebody else, that’s great.”

Over the course of the last 15+ years, Cage has worked with Aesop Rock, RJD2, DJ Shadow, and other legendary artists. In addition to his recent gig opening for Less than Jake, Cage will headline his own tour, backed by former Hatebreed guitarist Sean Martin.

Check out the video for “I Never Knew You” after the jump, and click here to buy tickets to his live show on December 18th.

Cage – “I Never Knew You” (Directed by Shia LaBeouf)