HUSH
Sometimes you have to Hush to hear a profound sound.
"I want to be able to touch people with what I say," says an introspective HUSH (real name, Daniel Carlisle). "There are fans that come up to me and say 'your words got me through a real tough time" or 'your words really helped me out.' They're at every show supporting." It's rare that a rapper is this humble, but then again, Hush is a rare kind of guy. With him, you won't find the usual all-flash-no-substance product-riddled lyrical fodder. With this Detroit-bred rapper, you get real emotion, raw energy and music unlike you've ever heard before. Hush -- it's not just a lack of sound, but instead a solo force on the hip-hop and rock front -- is a Detroit gem. A highly lauded hip-hop artist, you're likely already familiar with his work. The MC who is of Lebanese and Italian descent has been writing since he was 12 years old; and making us move since 1993. Hush first emerged on Detroit's hip-hop scene back in 1993 and together with longtime pal Uncle ILL, he formed a group called Da Ruckus, which is considered to be one of Detroit's early pioneering rap sounds. The group was signed to Federation Records after success of their indie release, "Quiet As Kept." They also released "Episode 1," which garnered the attention nationally, and placed on hiphopsite.com's Top Ten Independent albums in 1997. "I was always that one guy in the group that everybody was always like 'oh, whoa, he's got skill'. That's how Eminem and I became cool," he says.
Hush struck out on his own back in 2000, signing with DTW Records and created the bootlegged album "There Goes The neighborhood." He also linked up with longtime friend, Eminem, and has performed alongside his fellow Detroit emcee in concert long before the world knew his name. But Hush stands on his own now with a signature hybrid rap-rock sound, and is influenced by a cornucopia of entertainers, including Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, The Police and Led Zeppelin. Perhaps you've heard his music before: in 2005, he released "Hush is Coming," produced by Eminem which featured Nate Dogg, and his Geffen Records album "Bulletproof," featured an A-list lineup of guests, including Eminem and Talib Kweli as well as Phil Campbell of Motorhead. He was given Album of the Month honors in the October 2005 issue of Maxim Magazine along with the review "you'll wonder if this isn't the record Em should have made last year". He has been featured in XXL and Vanity Fair. His work also has been featured in video games like Need For Speed Most Wanted and used in popular network TV programs. Hush has opened up for everyone from Jay-Z to Usher and even 50 Cent. In 2005 he performed live on the season finale of NBC's The Contender in front of 10 million viewers. That same year he toured with Eminem's Anger Management Tour opening up the last stop in his hometown at Comerica Park in front of 20,000 fans and was direct support for Snoop Dogg in the UK & France.
Now Independent, his new album, "The Open Book" is his most revealing work yet. A much more legitimate edgy rap/rock hybrid compared to any of his prior work. "It was written over a span of two years. There's a lot of rugged, edgy material and real personal stuff that I had went through including the passing of my 2 son's mother in 2007 of cervical cancer. We broke up during her 2nd pregnancy, but she never let on to how bad it was and she lived with it for five years," he says. The loss was impacting. Hush and his fiancé' Heather of 8 years and mother of his 3rd son Anthony took his other children in and now enter into a new chapter in their lives. "It made me appreciate life and it gave me a different outlook. What's more important in life? More important to me was writing this album and writing my life and not caring what rappers thought," he says. "Now I have a band and it's just made me expand in my writing and to be more open in my thoughts and not worry about what people thought. I write for people and I write from the heart."