www.360degreesunlimited.com

HalfA

Reaching the Other Half

If you have never heard of HalfA, or are confused as to what the hell that even means, do not feel bad. You are in great company, considering that only a small handful of people in the northwest know who HalfA is. Let me spare you the anticipation, HalfA, whose real name is Tyler Monk, is a hip hop artist from Portland OR. No, you did not read that wrong, yes I said hip hop, and yes Portland OR. You mix a location with poor support for almost all things urban, with an artists unwillingness to be and sound like everyone else, and you wind up with something similar to that rock and a hard place analogy. Of course there are always variables, and in HalfA’s case its his determination, confidence in his craft, and learning that he MUST build a strong network that can help him get heard outside of what he considers the hip hop purgatory, Portland OR. With his third effort, Intermission on the horizon, and the single “Who Knew” ready to hit the airwaves HalfA hopes to launch his career from local MC, that nobody knows, to superstardom (with realist goals of just being heard by a larger demographic of people, and letting his music work for him).

HalfA, the name would be very fitting in his rhymes, as he has a tendency to often use double entrendres. He received the stage name HalfA as a nickname while attending junior college by his peers for being bi-racial, half black and half white.(Apparently to them, being from New York, a black and white mix was unheard of. The initially thought that he was Puerto Rican). You could also say that HalfA is only Half of a rapper, seeing that he is a learning assistant program coordinator at a middle school by day. Unfortunately when you are an unknown musician, getting paid for the music you make is out of the question. So while HalfA rocks the stage at night as a rapper, his students literally get a chance to see his other Half.

HalfA’s background in rapping began in high school when he would freestyle, and battle his peers at lunchtime. With the witty metaphors he would deliver, he always impressed the crowds that watched. After defeating peer after peer, he was deemed a lunchtime legend at Benson High School. Wasted talent it would seem, because at this time hip hop was nothing more than a hobby, the only extracurricular activity that he took serious was basketball. Upon graduation from high school, he went on to Cal State Bakersfield junior college to play basketball. After two years at Cal State, he came back to Portland with intentions to transfer to Portland State University. A unexpected change in the coaching staff negatively altered his plans.

It was at this time when some old friends from high school, who had already established a rap group, invited HalfA to join up with them. He did, and was featured throughout the groups second mixtape. He was outstanding in his recording debut, especially considering that he never fully committed to being a rapper. See, the topics of which he was rapping on weren’t necessarily topics of his choice. In addition to that, his heart was still set on playing basketball. Because he couldn’t play that year at Portland State, never meant he had lost his passion to play basketball, it also meant that he still had two years of eligibility left. So he decided to leave the group, and what would seem like hip hop all together to finish up school on a basketball scholarship.

When HalfA earned his degree at Central Washington University, he returned back to Portland. Back home and amongst friends, it was suggested that he get back into music, and take it more seriously. He was hesitant at first, but after writing a few songs, he found his passion, and has been all in ever since. The friend who suggested that HalfA should rap again was a member of a local clothing line MynORity Apparel & Co. So it made perfect sense for HalfA to use MynORity as an outlet to reach a broader base of fans. He started out by recording spoken word videos that he posted on youtube in weekly segments called Food 4 Thought. That earned him a decent buzz, and soon after he was ready to get his music out to the public. In the summer of 2010 he released his first mixtape as a solo artist, “Half-A Mixtape”. Eager to get more music out, and heighten his buzz he followed up in January with his second effort entitled “Sounds of the First Half – Play till Intermission”. This project was a prelude to his upcoming Mixtape, “Intermission”. Unlike his first two mixtapes, Intermission as HalfA boasts gives him a chance to show off his diversity. With all but one song being an original beat he really got a chance to find the artist within, as opposed to just rapping. HalfA will be releasing Intermission on August 20th. The lead single for the Mixtape “Who Knew” produced by Bay Area’s 6fingers, which was featured on 107.5 Northwest breakout show is now available for download.