Conscious Thought was born in California and raised in Toronto. He always had a love for Hip Hop and Basketball. He is proud of his father, a veteran of the Vietnam war. The discipline with which Conscious was raised served him well as he exceled in Basketball, winning the Dunk Competition 5 years in a row at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. He began freestyling on the street’s of Toronto with fellow MC Frankenstein at age 16. As he matured his concept tracks like ALL OUT and 60 SECONDS garnered him critical acclaim. His tracks were played on Project Bounce and his name became synonimous with dope rhymes, raw content and razor sharp delivery.
Fortunato was born and raised in the West end of Toronto. His brother first exposed him to hip hop in the early eighties by bringing him to rehearsals for his break dancing crew. Fortunato followed in his brothers footsteps and took to breakdancing on cardboard sheets in alley ways and street corners. He always had a love for visual arts, but it was the lyrical format of Rap that unleashed the poetry inside of him. He penned his first song in grade nine and continues to work and evolve as an artist.
Ill Da Shystee was the youngest of the group and was born and raised in Aurora Ontario. He was mentored for a year by Conscious Thought and quickly became a force to reckon with on the battle fields of Hip Hop. His flows and wordplay were razor sharp and his battle raps were vicious. He battled in cars and on camcorders, serving anyone who got in front of him. Although he found himself homeless at the age of 17, he found himself even more hungry to acheive stardom as a Rap artist. On the morning of May 6 2002, the body of Luke Marson AKA Ill Da Shystee, was found behind a row of trees at Mussleman’s Lake in Stouffville, Ontario. He was shot to death, right before his 21st birthday. The crime has never been solved.
Conscious Thought and Fortunato have released the ANGER MANAGEMENT EP with in-house producer, GAMSHOOTER which was included in the Top 10 Rap Albums for 2007 in EXCLAIM MAGAZINE. Their track YOU AND ME is a tribute to the friendship behind the music and has been played from coast to coast and overseas. The Group has also released their first official music video directed by The Sharpshooter entitled DEAR DAD. The video debuted on MUCHVIBE with heavy rotation and also received regular rotation on MUCHMUSIC and PUNCHMUCH. The group has also released their first album entitled REBELLION which is currently available through Itunes, Amazon.com Rhapshody and Napster. They have been nominated for Best Live Performance at the Toronto Independent Music Awards and have just wrapped up shooting for their second music video also directed by The Sharpshooter entitled STOP FRONTIN’. Look for them live this year as part of the NXNE film and music festivities and on their upcoming West Coast tour this summer.