Cassidy 'BARS' album

This story begins in Philadelphia, PA, where Barry Adrian Reese p/k/a Cassidy made a name for himself by outrhyming the competition so much that he scored his first record deal by the 10th grade. An album never manifested with Ruff Ryders Records, but the affiliation connected the lyrical prodigy with a young, hungry producer named Swizz Beatz, who signed the fire spittin’ MC to his fledgling Full Surface label. While an infamous freestyle showdown with Freeway cemented his battle rhyme legend, the entire world learned of Cassidy’s talents when his subsequent debut, 2004’s Split Personality, solidified him as an all around artist.

“I was always used to spittin’ bars, coming up with the hottest punchlines, I was doing that forever,” says Cassidy of the battle exploits that first garnered him rap recognition. “But there are a lot of other things I had to learn as far as the business is concerned to be a successful artist.”

Business is good, as Cassidy is now set to release his third album, B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrien Reese Story (J Records/Full Surface), his most personal and musically compelling album to date. But getting to this point in his life’s tale has been a calamity filled ride.

Flying out the gate— thanks to Split Personality’s R, Kelly assisted hit single “Hotel”—in Hip-Hop circles means exponential pressure to top that triumph the next time around. Undeterred, Cassidy was poised to do so when in the spring of 2005, the lead single, “I’m a Hustla,” to his sophomore album I’m A Hustla literally blew up, heard in the streets everywhere and resulted in over a million in ringtone sales of the single.

But during the run up to his second album’s release, fate dealt Cassidy a tragic hand.

In June 2005 he was charged with and arrested for attempted murder for an incident that happened in April. Cassidy posted bail expecting to go home and deal with the trial at a later date, but due to Pennsylvania’s state law, he was forced to remain in jail. Without the ability to promote his album, I’m A Hustla stalled.

Fortunately Cassidy was able to beat the case—he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter—and was paroled in March 2006. Back on the grind and recording, tragedy struck again when in October 2006, on his way to the studio, the vehicle he was traveling in was sideswiped by a truck. The car accident left him with broken bones in his skull, face and jaw. Despite the injuries leaving him in a coma and with partial memory loss, Cassidy was able to fully recover, to his, his family and his legion of fan’s benefit.

“The fans that are familiar with my work, they know that I always go hard,” says Cassidy. “Aside from the stories that I told before I went through those incidents, I now have a story to tell that everybody actually experienced with me. They read about it in the newspapers, seen it on the news, so they know that it’s the truth first hand.”

His life finally back on track, B.A.R.S. finds Cassidy truly mastering his craft and willing to deliver the details of his trials and tribulations. While most rappers rely on glorifying their observations, everything Cassidy relays to his listeners is fact, not fiction. The lead single is the celebratory, club motivating “My Drink N’ My Two Step” that hears Cassidy asserting, “They said I could have been brain dead in the wheelchair/But I’m standing the booth and the skills are still here/Yeah, the hustla home, the hustla home!”

You can’t help but delve further into Cassidy’s reality with songs like the introspective “Me, Myself & I” where over beautiful keys and sturdy drums he waxes philosophical about his self worth or “I Can’t Take It No More” where he details life’s dramas over a bluesy wah wah guitar with a vocal help out from Wish Bone. Meanwhile, the soul stirring, Swizz Beatz produced “Leanin’ On The Lord,” where he recounts how he coped with being imprisoned is pure street gospel. Throughout B.A.R.S. Cassidy is candid about how his faith guided him through the many tribulations of the last two years.

“I’m real with it,” explains Cassidy. “I’ve never been afraid to talk about anything on record, or in a conversation. Every rapper should try to bring more to the table than just a negative message. Life is positive and negative. Try to bring something conscious, something positive to the table too. The Lord gave me the opportunity to be able to rap again, period. Because I was a celebrity, the money, the people I was connected with, none of that could help me when I was in the hospital. If they would have given me the death penalty or life, if I would have lost my case, none of that would have been able to help me.”

Helping makes sure his message is heard by providing the melodic doorway into the rapper’s world are the album’s scorching producers including Swizz Beatz, Neo Da Matrix, Bink! and Hi-Tek, among others. Cassidy also gets hands on since he produced the aforementioned “Me, Myself & I.” “I was around Neo and Swizz for so many years watching them do it, so it was pretty easy for me to figure out what to do, what to play, what I want to hear and get it done,” says Cassidy.

Of course, songs showcasing his skills with the word and verbs are still on display. On the Hi-Tek produced “Cash Rules” he rocks a speed flow alongside Eve and Bone, Thugs & Harmony while on “U Already Know” he gets busy (“And my fist a little crystally/My watch on freeze I got more cheese than Little Italy”) over tumbling drums with Beanie Sigel and Fabolous. The swelling synth, grandiose horns and razor sharp claps of the Don Cannon produced “It Is What It Is” not only puts his wordplay on display but takes times to give proper due to his Hip-Hop peers. Says Cassidy, “A lot of people tend to do dis songs and criticized other rappers and try to bring other rappers down. There’re not enough songs bigging people up.”

In the past it was songs like Biz Markie’s “The Vapors”, Special Ed’s “I Got It Made” and Eric B & Rakim’s “Microphone Fiend” that inspired him, now he’s got his own crew, Larsiny Family (Shiz Lansky, Akbar, A.R-ab, Pretty Flaco), and with the passion, moxie and creativity he’s put behind B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story, suspect Hip-Hop music can no longer get a free pass.

“It doesn’t seem like people are trying to be creative or original anymore. You can still sell records if you are being creative,” explains Cassidy. “But people don’t really want to do that no more. That’s what I miss man. I miss the original look.” If that’s the case, Barry Adrian Reese’s musical autobiography is sure to be a best seller.

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Cassidy - BARS