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October 11 White Boy Hot Off The Blockyrical fire and venom the crowd and judges knew they were witnessing the birth of a new hip-hop force to be reckoned with. White Boy's incredible energy, delivery and raw, scrape-your-knees lyrics had the crowd cheering wildly. White Boy walked away with the title of 1st runner up that night and a deal with ICEE Records. However, the crowd had crowned him King of the competition. Hip-hop had a new young player that had just thrown a very big gauntlet down.
Chris "White Boy" Riley is a study of contrasts. The product of a stormy interracial union from the illtown streets of Rockford, IL, young Chris had to deal with the realities of being half this and half that, light white with a fly-away fro and the pain, suffering and loneliness that comes from being "that White Boy from 'round the way". Chris being one of millions of young street kids that learns how to survive on his own, took a ghetto nickname that could have reeked havoc on his life and made it his battle armor, his personal badge of honor for who and what he was and where he came from. White Boy was not invented; he was born and inherited the title from the streets that took him in.
His Grandmother raised him because Chris' Mother is currently serving time in jail and has been most of his life. He does not know his Father. His older brother, Quacy, down since day one, is also his best friend and his rap mentor. His 14-year-old sister, Destiny, is his heart and soul and though she's never said so he knows the bond is unbreakable. Chris humbly says of his brother Quacy "He is the real rapper to look out for. He is the one that I got the skills from". …his time is coming too…all in due time".
But right now the clock on the wall is pointed at White Boy. That's what time it is! ICEE Records signed the young protégée and is preparing to hit the rap industry hard with the as yet untitled debut album from Chris "White Boy" Riley. Scheduled for release in the spring of 2004, it is a collection of 15 songs that reflect what his young life has been represented by thus far. Glorifying the streetlife? No. Narrating his story of life on the streets. Yes. He tells of the violence, the drugs, and the sex because like so many other artists that's what he has seen and experienced. White Boy does it with a vicious and animated flow, rocking over a multitude of beats with relentless abandon, unraveling his street tales with a maturity and pace of someone way beyond his years on this earth.
Although, Chris received three academic scholarships to college and had planned to study music, his creative demons kept calling. Rather than give in to the constant temptations of the streets he focused on his rap skills. Opportunity knocked when he decided to enter the Chicago Idol competition this summer, and now, the rest is soon-to-be written music history.
When asked how he has survived through all the obstacles, he thinks of his Grandmother. He says of his Grandma, "She is happy for me, but when I graduated from High School she was really happy for me I was the first of her Grandkids to graduate from High School." Chris says proudly. Chris says that, "Rap has really changed. I have been studying it for a long time. In my generation, we look to Tupac and Biggie as the legends. There will never be anyone ever like them, ever! My biggest inspiration though is my brother, Quacy." "I want people to know everything about me," Chris says openly about his life "I want them to know about the important people in my life, my Grandma, my Mom, Quacy, my Sister, my 2 year-old Son, Tobias, everything, the streets, how I got here, all of it!" How much can "all of it " be in the life of an 18 year old? Just listen to the "reach" and "depth" of his rhymes and you will know. Chris began writing rhymes at age 14. He started rocking the crowds soon after and he has not stopped yet! For now, he wants to sharpen his rapping skills, learn all he can about the music biz and most of all be the dad to Tobias that his dad was not, " I want to take him fishing, I have never been fishing!"
ICEE Records Chris "White Boy" Riley seems destined to catch the big one and with the spring 2004 release of White Boys' definitive debut album, millions are about to get HOOKED!
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