Riley "Special" Wallace

Special
Special performing in 2015
Special performing in 2015
Background information
Birth nameRiley Wallace
Born (1983-01-20) January 20, 1983
OriginToronto, Ontario
GenresHip hop
OccupationRapper,
Years active2007-present
LabelsJersey Sound Lab, Universal/EMI, Above Average Hip Hop
Websitetoronto.hiphop twitter.com/special

Riley Wallace, known by the stage name Special, is a Canadian rapper. He has collaborated with rappers such as Craig G, El Da Sensei and Sadat X, among others.

Career

In 2009, Special wrote the song "Get Ready To Strike",[1] which was originally intended to inspire the Communications Workers of America members during a Local 6222 rally, but word of it spread to other chapters, who shared it on the internet.[2] The song garnered thousands of views and downloads and was featured in The Wall Street Journal.[3]

As a music artist, Special released two official music videos as part of the E-Team. One, "The Bar Ain't Far Away", was in rotation on Much.[4] The other, "A Rapper's Motivation", was praised by industry insiders and urban bloggers.[5] Special, along with his crew, the E-Team, released two mixtapes (BAFA: The Art of The Remix and Art is Life: The Mixtape) and an album (Art is Life: The Album), before they signed a major label deal with Universal/EMI Canada. They released the song "T-Shirt Time" in 2011, which has over two million plays. Their subsequent release, Get Right, featuring Tasha The Amazon, was released later that same year.

As a solo artist, Special has numerous projects and has worked with artists including Sadat X, Craig G, Money B and El Da Sensei, among others. He is also closely affiliated with Jersey Sound Lab and has released a collaborative project with Internal Quest.

Discography

Singles

  • T-Shirt Time (2011)
  • "Get Right featuring Tasha The Amazon" (2012)
  • "Never Know Me" (with Lilly Mason 2014)

Collaborative albums

  • Special and Internal Quest — Engineered To Win (2012)
  • Special and Tony Blount — Special & Tony Blount EP (2014)

EPs

  • Mind's Eye (2013)
  • Oakland Masters (2014)

References

  1. ^ "Get Ready to Strike". Labor Notes. July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010.
  2. ^ Mohny, Doug (April 10, 2009). "CWA "Ready to Strike" ringtone ready for action". Fierce Telecom.
  3. ^ LaVallee, Andrew (April 10, 2009). "AT&T Workers Create "Ready to Strike" Ringtone". The Wall Street Journal.
  4. ^ "Bar Ain't Far Away Video". Much Music.
  5. ^ "Special - A Rapper's Motivation". Peace Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.