by Jaz Bowens
photo courtesy of Ceez
City life and hip hop go together like a horse and carriage. You can’t separate the two. No matter the city, there is a certain energy, vibrancy, and culture that facilitates such a unique expressions of self and circumstances. That Music Magazine got a glimpse inside Newark, New Jersey’s legendary underground hip hop culture by reaching out to Cesar Augusto Rosado aka Ceez; a Puerto Rican rapper who has had a dynamic career spanning over 20 years.
“I use to DJ. I started out in the ’90s, had some Technics and I’d do all the parties around the way,” Ceez says of his early days in Newark. “In high school everyone in the hood would use halls to have parties and that’s where we started rhyming.”
Thoroughly entrenched in Newark’s “old school” underground battle rapping, he knew from the beginning that you had to come with true talent to be respected and taken seriously. “When I was coming up you had to be good, had to freestyle and be good,” Ceez says. “When I was coming up in the hood there were no pale MCs. Eminem wasn’t out yet so you had to prove yourself. Even if I bust somebody’s ass we just had to fight.”
His current mixtape, Dat MC Ceez Vol II, stays true to his sound and what his definition of real hip hop is. “Nowadays everybody sounds the same,” he says. His music and beats are made how they once were when hip hop was real and the gimmicks weren’t as prevalent. One man who has been able to keep Ceez’s music as fresh and true to its roots is his cherished producer K-Def. “He’s like the only person left that makes beats the way that he does. Nowadays raps are only like four bars and the beats sound like they’re made on cell phones. We cut with vinyl. He makes real beats.”
His mixtape has various local and national DJs, and producers on it too. Besides K-Def, other notables include DJ 730, Abuse, and DJ Husky. He also has a feature with Junclassic and K-Sise.
Rap has always been a part of his life, it may not be full time, but that doesn’t make his passion for the art form any less. He’s no longer DJing house parties and his love of music has taken him all around the world performing for hip hip lovers from as far as you can imagine. His ear is still to the streets and he hasn’t strayed from the underground hip hop scene, from his hood and others. “I like to perform sometimes just to stay fresh,” he explains. “I’m still connected to the underground.”
He still keeps in contact with members of various crews he grew up with one being Manifest Destiny and another crew in particular, The Body Catching Crew, which gave him inspiration for the title of his record label Triple Deuce Entertainment. “Back when we were running the streets with beepers our code was 222,” Ceez laughs. “From then on, everything important came in twos. It’s tatted on me and a few other people.”
With a strong sense of community and camaraderie, Ceez has put out a lot of music and after years of rapping he contributed to Manifest Destiny’s EP A Lot Like No One (2000). “I’m rhyming about different things things now,” Ceez says. “ I was more revolutionary, I was more of an MC. As I got older life started to happen and my music went from idealistic to real. Real life is real.”
His current mixtape is making the rounds and receiving great reviews. His next album will be titled Ceize Da World. That’s already set and almost ready to go, but he’s looking to the future and thinking about his next mixtape as well which, will be near and dear to his heart. It will be dedicated to his first cousin, Nut Nillz, who unfortunately passed away December 2, 2015.
With such a extensive roster of music throughout the year, Ceez shared with us a song that might catch first time listeners up to who Ceez is. “A song that represents my sound and who I’am is ‘Moving On’,” says Ceez. “It is the song that is my life. Life sucks pretty much. Everyone has to move on from something and its usually not good, but you have to make it through.”
The end is nowhere in sight for Ceez. Although he has been in the business for a while he is just getting started because his music is ever evolving all the while staying true to himself. If you like to hear music that has a nostalgic flow with a high quality sound and production, check out Ceez. He might be your new favorite. Download his current mixtape on Datpiff, Check out the video for “Moving On” on YouTube, and make sure to follow, like and everything in between on his social media accounts. Twitter: @Ceez222, IG: @datmc222, and facebook.com/Ceez222
