Vast Aire’s illusive career in Hip-hop should be studied, analyzed and extolled. He began his career before Hip-Hop was a culture… a force... a multi-billion dollar industry. Before the web and prior to smart phone addictions; Vast Aire was spitting into the mic making a name for himself in the Hip-Hop scene. 

In 2001, Cannibal Ox debuted a full-length LP. The Cold Vein was the fire that ignited the launch of El-P’s Def Jux Records imprint. The record garnered the group immediate notoriety and was hailed by the critics as one of the best new albums of the year and best indie hip hop albums of all-time.

In 2004, Vast stepped out of his role as chief Ox man and unleashed his solo debut album entitled Look Mom... No Hands. Vast’s solo-debut featured a wide range of guest emcees including: MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X and Vordul Mega. The album also included a who’s who list of underground producers such as: Madlib, RJD2, Blueprint, Ayatollah and Da Beatminerz. The conglomerate combined to craft Vast’s unmistakable lyrical styling that was previously untapped. 

Vast remained creatively active and in 2007 he joined forces with childhood friend Karniege under the pseudonym Mighty Joseph they released Empire State, which featured production from Madlib and J-Zone as well as a guest appearance from Murs. 

In the summer of 2008, Vast Aire released his second solo LP, Dueces Wild which showcased production from Brotherhood and Pete Rock as well as guest appearances from Camp Lo’s Geechi Suede and Copywrite. XXL Magazine named Dueces Wild one of The Top 10 Albums of the year. They said, “Vast Aire, for his part, reminds you that he played as much of a role in making that album a classic as anyone.”

OX 2010: A Street Odyssey released in 2011, was Vast’s last highly praised album before the release of 2015’s critically acclaimed Blade of the Ronin album.

 

The producer COSMIQ  got his break with the Harlem outfit, when he picked up a lead-producer gig for the Iron Galaxy Clik imprint. That same year, COSMIQ produced Cannibal Ox’s “Blade of the Ronin” album with talented features like Elzhi, MF Doom, The Artifacts, U-God (of Wu-tang Clan) and Black Milk. COSMIQ’s production is diverse and cinematic, helping to bring a new sonic vision to life.

The next phase of Cannibal Ox’s story is focused on Vast Aire and COSMIQ innovating the sound and collaborating together to deliver new music on the Live from the Aireport EP and the full length Cannibal Ox follow-up, Aireplane.