If the Grim Reaper had to sing, he would probably sing about death. Cage, the New York-bred rapper and indie-rocker may not meet the reaper’s demise in song but gives him a run for his money in a fashion reminiscent of Charlie Daniels’ Johnny in “The Devil Went To Georgia.” In such a case, the Reaper should have been at BB King in New York City this past Friday for the “Depart From Me Round 2″ tour.  With Shinobi Ninja and Tame One setting the stage, Cage’s appearance was met by fans who were eager for his story-driven lyrical journeys. Backed by DJ Chauncey, he spewed over beats in the familiar form that garnered acclaim in the New York underground and independent hip-hop scene. With a cult status following, the audience responded to every single jagged and jilted word in his lyrics.

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Performing as if he were caught in a stream of consciousness, Cage’s style of rapping and singing comes off as a release and expression to the character he has built up from his past. As a child,  his father would force “him to pull homemade tourniquets around his arm as he injected heroin.” At a later point, his father also threatened his family with a shotgun, leading to his arrest after a standoff with state troopers in Middletown, New York. Arrested several times himself, Cage has had some run-ins for drugs and fighting in the streets; landing him in a mental institution at the word of his mother, who convinced a judge that he was mentally unstable as recourse to keep him out of jail.

While Cage’s life story isn’t pleasant, it has added to the artist he is today. Like a dark stormy windy road with eruptions of lightning, Cage strikes on beat – whether it is once or twice in the same place, the direction depends on where the flows and tangents in his mind takes him. While his words are sadistic, dark, and in some cases, of despair, Cage sings with a sense of inadequate conveyance but performs with complete competence of music on marks of the mechanical activity and the physical mental functions of life. From crucible tragedies to girls, Cage adds an element of surprise – one that kept an eager audience rocking their bodies and responding to every word, and erupting for his track, “I Never Knew You.” Backed by live instruments, Cage took on a different sound – going from paranoia to an upbeat state that signaled some epiphany…and then, it seemed that even the worst of storms pass. With Chauncey Johnson, Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw, Head Automatica), Nick Hook (Cubic Zirconia), and Jarvis Holden (Head Automatica) on the stage to back him up, the head knocks and wavering hands didn’t stop. His live remix of “Shoot Frank” with Daryl Palumbo and DJ Chauncey included furious guitars and a keyboard.

Following the release of  The Slim Shady EP in 1997, Cage accused Eminem of ripping his style, and while similarities may be there,  Cage has changed his form over time – apparent in the evolution from his second album Hell’s Winter (2005) to his current album Depart from Me (July 2009). With ease (without the bravado), Cage portrays practice and experience. On stage, he emulates delivery with weight behind his words – because that’s when they sink in if you’re listening. He has the ability to switch up his style and tempo with ease – speeding up his words in a barrage fit for a hailstorm of bullets, yet able to slow it down to the tipping point where he captures the moment of essence in the fall of an Asphodel – the sacred flower of Hades. Simply, his form can’t be caged. He is a cage himself, trapped within with words  and expression that begs to come out – spewing to flux of form when he opens his mouth only to weave them together.

Beyond content and the context, Cage is an interesting artist with great ability to entertain and an understanding of his craft. One can’t deny that he has had quite the life…the same can go for the imagery he conveys in his music. More importantly, he is an artist who keeps growing by peeling away at the layers of his persona – having to add them on in the past. Despite it all, Cage’s visceral style at the malleability of life through the intonations of music is very unique.

Click here for photos of Cage at BB King by Richie Adomako and Kenroy George