Tweaking a trend of Christian rappers reverting to their birth names for recordings and stage performances, the MC formerly known as CY will now go by CYclone – the hip hop identity he assumed shortly after his encounter with Jesus at the age of 17.
“I believe my art is like a furious funnel cloud that packs in a variety of styles and ultimately spins out something unique,” Timothy “CYclone” Gross explained.
As he began to incorporate his faith into hip hop Gross adopted the moniker CYclone but noticed it would often get abbreviated as his music began to receive nationwide attention.
After launching the Circus World Event…The Ringleader album at the 2007 Texas Holy Hip Hop Achievement Awards (where MTV personality Sway was a presenter) to critical acclaim, CYclone began to pray about the direction of its much anticipated follow-up.
Whereas The Ringleader’s concept envisioned our world as a circus with one true ringleader (God) and an imposter (Satan) who plots and schemes for the same position, High Wire Act plays off a tight rope metaphor that represents the narrow road believers in Christ must walk in order to receive eternal life. That project also carries other messages about the humility that must be maintained by those placed in lofty positions.
CYclone’s High Wire Act employed a gloomier carnival sound and explosive energy. Each song was painstakingly crafted to embody a singular theme where both the music and lyrics meld together to transport audiences to a specific time and place. A perfect example is the song “Ice Cream Truck” which takes the listener back to the youthful days of chasing after their neighborhood’s mobile, sweet treat shop. Here, CYclone is handing out a variety of lyrical ice cream bars.
It’s versatile and accessible to all listeners with guest artists like Young Joshua, Von Won, Gifted, FireJaws, D. Steele, One Dose, Kent & Shellee Coley, and tracks produced by himself, Phillip Moore, Tony Stone, Vohn Beats/Symbolyc One, Jimmy Natural and others.
So far, CYclone has four albums to his credit and has established his own Complex Melodies production company and record label.
To learn more about the artist visit dasouth.com/complex.
