Vast Aire

Vast Aire, the New York rapper, first surfaced on the East Coast underground hip-hop circuit in the late 1990s through membership in the Atoms Family collective, though wider notice arrived once he formed the duo Cannibal Ox with Vordul Megilah. Working alongside producer El-P, who also ran their Definitive Jux Records label, the offbeat pair issued their debut The Cold Vein in 2001. Its combination of forceful rhythms, raw street delivery, and drifting, almost hallucinatory atmospheres prompted comparisons to Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest alike, underscoring the duo’s knack for merging divergent influences. Although Cannibal Ox never formally disbanded, Vast Aire soon shifted focus to solo pursuits, beginning with the independently circulated mixtape Dirty Magazine. His first full-length solo project, 2004’s Look Mom... No Hands, included appearances by Megilah, Madlib, MF Doom, and Aesop Rock, among others. In contrast, his follow-up, 2005’s The Best Damn Rap Show, shared production credit with Mighty Mi yet contained no additional guest contributions. That release preceded Cannibal Ox’s 2005 live album Return of the Ox, recorded at the CMJ Music Marathon, after which Vast Aire resumed solo activity with Deuces Wild in 2008. Teaming with Raekwon and Guilty Simpson, among others, he delivered the 2011 project Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey.