Your browser may not support display of this image.Infinite (aka Dion) was born and raised in New Jersey. His hip-hop involvement was catapulted by his older brother Jamel back in the late 1980’s. His older brother was a member of the group Mad Elements, a group of neighborhood youngsters that produced, wrote and recorded their own raps. Jamel sought to introduce Infinite as the youngest feature of the group by writing his rhymes and getting him into the studio. A long way from the late 80’s, Infinite still respects the influence of his older brother as the prime source of his current efforts.
“I can remember my older brother having two turntables setup and some records. I would get on it and start trying to scratch and blend on the K-Solo record “Spellbound”! My older brother got me directly involved in hip-hop early in my life. My interest launched and I took it from there.”
And that’s what he did. From the early to mid-90’s, Infinite was a heavy hip-hop listener. Artists like Jeru, Boot Camp Clik, Wu-Tang and a host of other artists stayed in constant rotation. In 1998, at the age of 15, Infinite recorded his first song titled Living Genius. He recalls, “The funny thing about that song is that my voice still sounds the same. I still have the tape and remember the lyrics too.” And even though he was a young emcee, he had a unique style and lyrical delivery rarely heard.
Between 1998 and 2001, Infinite was engaged in ciphers, recorded 90-minute freestyle sessions on cassette tapes and laid down a few songs in the process. Freestyling, the impromptu delivery of lyrics without preparation, became one of the things to do while hanging out with friends.
In August of 2001, Infinite suffered a knee injury that led to him being out of work and unable to play basketball (his primary hobby at the time). Sitting at home, icing his knee, he decided to begin reading the book Toward Understanding Islam by Imam Mawdudi. By the time he finished reading, the book had such an impact on him that he decided to change his life focus. “I came to the definitive realization that my life was characterized by an internal struggle and not an outward struggle. It not only impacted how I began to think, it ended up affecting what I wrote about in my music. My lyrics started becoming more personal and more introspective. And although I was constantly writing, I didn’t record anything until 2004 when I laid down a collection of songs titled, Life Sentences. It was a very personal album.” Maybe it was too personal. He pretty much kept it to himself and a few others. But the album’s content was written in a very conversational style. “It was actually a self-dialogue transcribed into rhyme form. I recorded that album for the sake of the art but it also was a form of therapy”.
In October of 2006, Infinite reverted to Islam. This has led to him having a more deliberate focus on using his music to educate, inspire, and inform. His songs tend to be very conceptual and thematic. Some songs have very religious themes and messages. “After 2001, my writings have always had messages that reflected religious principles or simply made an honest assessment of the human condition in this world. My reversion to Islam has impacted the words in my music, as well as its values and themes.” His song “Peace Be Upon Them” produced by Constant Elevation is a prime example. It has an entirely Islamic message and expounds upon one of Islam’s central principles – there is only one God without partner and all of the prophets and messengers from Adam to Muhammad (saw) delivered that same message.
Ultimately, Infinite is on the mission to use the music to express himself, educate and entertain with hopes to benefit listeners. He says, “No matter the audience, I feel that everyone can connect with the issues in my music. I often discuss universal principles and self-introspective experiences that everyone can relate to. It’s all sincere and a part of my life experiences. On top of that, I’m using the art form of hip-hop for its artistic merits. The music is like my canvas.”
“I can remember my older brother having two turntables setup and some records. I would get on it and start trying to scratch and blend on the K-Solo record “Spellbound”! My older brother got me directly involved in hip-hop early in my life. My interest launched and I took it from there.”
And that’s what he did. From the early to mid-90’s, Infinite was a heavy hip-hop listener. Artists like Jeru, Boot Camp Clik, Wu-Tang and a host of other artists stayed in constant rotation. In 1998, at the age of 15, Infinite recorded his first song titled Living Genius. He recalls, “The funny thing about that song is that my voice still sounds the same. I still have the tape and remember the lyrics too.” And even though he was a young emcee, he had a unique style and lyrical delivery rarely heard.
Between 1998 and 2001, Infinite was engaged in ciphers, recorded 90-minute freestyle sessions on cassette tapes and laid down a few songs in the process. Freestyling, the impromptu delivery of lyrics without preparation, became one of the things to do while hanging out with friends.
In August of 2001, Infinite suffered a knee injury that led to him being out of work and unable to play basketball (his primary hobby at the time). Sitting at home, icing his knee, he decided to begin reading the book Toward Understanding Islam by Imam Mawdudi. By the time he finished reading, the book had such an impact on him that he decided to change his life focus. “I came to the definitive realization that my life was characterized by an internal struggle and not an outward struggle. It not only impacted how I began to think, it ended up affecting what I wrote about in my music. My lyrics started becoming more personal and more introspective. And although I was constantly writing, I didn’t record anything until 2004 when I laid down a collection of songs titled, Life Sentences. It was a very personal album.” Maybe it was too personal. He pretty much kept it to himself and a few others. But the album’s content was written in a very conversational style. “It was actually a self-dialogue transcribed into rhyme form. I recorded that album for the sake of the art but it also was a form of therapy”.
In October of 2006, Infinite reverted to Islam. This has led to him having a more deliberate focus on using his music to educate, inspire, and inform. His songs tend to be very conceptual and thematic. Some songs have very religious themes and messages. “After 2001, my writings have always had messages that reflected religious principles or simply made an honest assessment of the human condition in this world. My reversion to Islam has impacted the words in my music, as well as its values and themes.” His song “Peace Be Upon Them” produced by Constant Elevation is a prime example. It has an entirely Islamic message and expounds upon one of Islam’s central principles – there is only one God without partner and all of the prophets and messengers from Adam to Muhammad (saw) delivered that same message.
Ultimately, Infinite is on the mission to use the music to express himself, educate and entertain with hopes to benefit listeners. He says, “No matter the audience, I feel that everyone can connect with the issues in my music. I often discuss universal principles and self-introspective experiences that everyone can relate to. It’s all sincere and a part of my life experiences. On top of that, I’m using the art form of hip-hop for its artistic merits. The music is like my canvas.”
0 Response to "Infinite Biography"
Post a Comment