The Breax
Hip-hop for the soul
Matt Lewis
Issue date: 2/17/09 Section: Faces & Places
On February 11 at 6 p.m., a Christian Hip-Hop show hosted by a group called The Breax performed at the Clarke Field House.
The Breax is made up of three artists: Ruslan Karaoglanov, the emcee and a CSUSM student, Beleaf, the DJ from Baltimore, Maryland, and Mic B, the drummer who is from Oceanside. The event included local artists like Heavenly Host from Oceanside, and a Portland, Oregon native artist called Braille.
This event marked the beginning of the "Broken Television" tour for The Breax, which will take them to New York City, Maryland, and Los Angeles. The idea of the concert was to let The Breax and the local artists express themselves and their beliefs through both Hip-Hop music and spoken word poetry.
"Hip-Hop is a powerful medium, and it is important to support artists you enjoy as well as local rising Hip-Hop artists," said CSUSM student Rajah Gainey to the crowd shortly before the show.
The performance opened with songs from local artists, including one from Oceanside called Heavenly Host. Although he only played a few songs, his powerful instrumentals and thoughtful lyrics made him a crowd favorite.
Next was Braille, a.k.a Bryan Winchester, from Portland, who incorporated a lot more dancing into his songs and had a much longer set than the first two artists. He definitely had much more experience with stage presence, and was able to use humor and enthusiastic showmanship to get the crowd ready for the main event. Although he will not be touring with The Breax, he will be playing local venues in the near future (go to www.braillehiphop.com for more information).
The Breax themselves commanded the audience's attention most out of all the groups. The fact that they use a live drum set (played by Mic B) and used turntables made their songs much easier for the audience to get into. Their sound is reminiscent of the People under the Stairs and Dilated Peoples, with obvious influences from groups like The Roots and Common.
In addition to entertaining the crowd with audience-influenced freestyles and spoken word monologues from all the members, the group conveyed how their beliefs have had a positive effect on both their music and their lives.
"It's good to see groups conveying a positive message through Hip-Hop, instead of the typical stuff you see on TV," said Anthony Carlson, a junior at CSUSM. "It seems much harder to promote a positive message through your beliefs than to give into societal pressure."
For more information on The Breax including upcoming tour dates, go to www.myspace.com/thebreax.
The Breax is made up of three artists: Ruslan Karaoglanov, the emcee and a CSUSM student, Beleaf, the DJ from Baltimore, Maryland, and Mic B, the drummer who is from Oceanside. The event included local artists like Heavenly Host from Oceanside, and a Portland, Oregon native artist called Braille.
This event marked the beginning of the "Broken Television" tour for The Breax, which will take them to New York City, Maryland, and Los Angeles. The idea of the concert was to let The Breax and the local artists express themselves and their beliefs through both Hip-Hop music and spoken word poetry.
"Hip-Hop is a powerful medium, and it is important to support artists you enjoy as well as local rising Hip-Hop artists," said CSUSM student Rajah Gainey to the crowd shortly before the show.
The performance opened with songs from local artists, including one from Oceanside called Heavenly Host. Although he only played a few songs, his powerful instrumentals and thoughtful lyrics made him a crowd favorite.
Next was Braille, a.k.a Bryan Winchester, from Portland, who incorporated a lot more dancing into his songs and had a much longer set than the first two artists. He definitely had much more experience with stage presence, and was able to use humor and enthusiastic showmanship to get the crowd ready for the main event. Although he will not be touring with The Breax, he will be playing local venues in the near future (go to www.braillehiphop.com for more information).
The Breax themselves commanded the audience's attention most out of all the groups. The fact that they use a live drum set (played by Mic B) and used turntables made their songs much easier for the audience to get into. Their sound is reminiscent of the People under the Stairs and Dilated Peoples, with obvious influences from groups like The Roots and Common.
In addition to entertaining the crowd with audience-influenced freestyles and spoken word monologues from all the members, the group conveyed how their beliefs have had a positive effect on both their music and their lives.
"It's good to see groups conveying a positive message through Hip-Hop, instead of the typical stuff you see on TV," said Anthony Carlson, a junior at CSUSM. "It seems much harder to promote a positive message through your beliefs than to give into societal pressure."
For more information on The Breax including upcoming tour dates, go to www.myspace.com/thebreax.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
lentynos
posted 4/08/10 @ 1:39 AM PST
I have read all your article. They good.
Heavenly Host
posted 7/27/10 @ 4:23 PM PST
I believe Heavenly Host is from Escondido, CA. and not Oceanside, CA. :)
Sacramento movers
posted 8/31/10 @ 12:25 PM PST
They seem pretty cool. I hope I'll get a chance to see Breax sometime.
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