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Mania Music Group artist profile: Kane Mayfield
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A fitting glamorous photo of Kane by David Barreiro
As some of you may remember, October was Mania Music Group's 'Month of Mania,' during which a ton of music was available for download, free of charge, from the upstart hip hop label's website. While the label is doing all that it can to get the word out about its music, I thought I would do my part to help out by introducing fans of the local hip hop scene to MMG's artists, one at a time.
First up for introduction is Kane Mayfield, the MMG artist most likely to 'party in your face' if you give him the chance. From Amityville, Long Island, Kane actually started out wanting to DJ before his cousin suggested that he try his hand at rapping, prompting him to pen his first rhyme, "I am the captain, like planet, the man of steel, and yes yes y'all, these raps is for real." He recalls those lines with a laugh, and acknowledges that his skills have come a long way since those days. He says it was his friends from home – whom he lovingly refers to as "nitpickers and jerks" – that are responsible for forcing him to write lyrics that are what he calls, "break down ready." He explains that, "if a line didn't sound write, or was about something I had no personal experience with, I was forced to explain myself to a corner full of guys calling me corny."
Kane got involved with MMG at its inception when he met Dwayne 'Headphones' Lawson on the local scene a little over a year ago. It was Headphones that recommended Kane check out Brandon "BeaLack" Lackey's studio as a place to record his songs, and one day after a spontaneous five-hour jam session, Mania Music Group was well on its way to being born. At present, Kane is one of three artists signed to Mania, a label that prides itself on originality, creativity, and substance in the music that it releases.
To this effect, Kane cites two of his personal favorites from his own repertoire of originals as "Dealer," and "The Code." He believes the message in both songs is that it's "okay to be yourself," going on to say that, "Neither one of those songs is focused on shooting or killing. Neither of those songs is degrading to women. The art form is so much more to me than all that stuff, but at the same time I really try to be as entertaining as possible." This mixture of entertainment value and substance produces what Kane aptly describes as "creativity laced with lyrical schizophrenia."
Having begun his career in the same area as acts like De La Soul, EPMD, Methodman, Prodigy, Rakim, and others, Kane Mayfield knows that he has his work cut out for him if he ever wants to be on par with the best. He says, "as you start working and perfecting your craft, your goal is to prove that the blood hasn't gone thin on your watch. I have to be every bit as good as my predecessors, if not better. It won't be easy though. The bigger the legend, the bigger the shadow I'll have to climb out of. But I'm confident." Paired with the production value that Mania Music Group has made a necessary component of all their artist's new releases, Kane has good reason to feel sure of himself, as he is quickly establishing himself as one of Baltimore's best hip hop artists.
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