Young Emcee Flame on a Mission To Put Buffalo, NY on the Map

Young Emcee Flame On A Mission To Put Buffalo, NY
On The Map

Upstate Upstart Collaborates with Slim Thug and
Stat Quo on “Putcha Hands Up”

 

Daniel
Rouse, aka Flame, is a young emcee that has been proving that New York City
isn’t the only place in the state that has talent; Flame is from Buffalo, New
York and has been giving the NYC hip-hop scene a run for its money.

At
only 20 years of age, Flame already boasts an impressive resume; features in The
Source, URB, Yellow Rat Bastard, and Fader Magazine; inclusion of two of his tracks used in the HBO series
Unscripted; a resounding
victory in NYC’s infamous live MC battle Fight Klub. Most recently, Flame teamed up with Stat Quo and Slim Thug on the street anthem “Putcha Hands Up.” While Flame can mix
it up with anyone in the street hip-hop game, he has an emotional maturity and
understanding of the game that is rare for someone his age.

So
far, 2006 has been a busy year for Flame. He’s been courted by labels,
recording songs in Buffalo and NYC, and trying to keep everything in
perspective. “I’m just trying to make good music that will stand the test
of time. I’m only 20 and a lotta my people didn’t make it to 18. I gotta make
the right moves for me, my fam, the memory of them and put my town on the
map.” Expect to hear a lot more from Flame very soon…

“While his hard edge
style is perfectly suited for the streets, the conscious rap that the MC grew
up on strongly permeates his work…” – URB Magazine

With passion, hard hitting lyrics, and a unique vocal
style and presence to match, this versatile 20-year-old phenomenon is destined
for success and stardom. Coming from the Buffalo, NY bred duo named Flagrant, Flame, aka Daniel Rouse, is now at
the forefront of this movement as a solo MC.

“It’s coming back to the street. It’s coming
back to Official Street Hip-Hop music.” As the youngster of the group, Flame is now poised to carry Flagrant and
the Buffalo/Upstate NY music movement on his back. Growing up in a single
parent household, “Young” Daniel shuffled back and forth between
Buffalo and Philadelphia.

It was in Philly where he began rapping as a youth;
however it wasn’t until his family settled in Buffalo, NY when Flame began to
hone his skills. By the time he was in junior high school, he had established
a reputation as a skilled MC. “Writing has always come easy to me, I
just wanted to keep establishing myself…I’m not just a rapper, I got songs, I
can do the punch line thing, I can get on a serious track as well as freestyle…at
an early age it was important for me to be well rounded.” It was his drive and skills that earned him
schoolyard and street credibility; it was his lyrics and battling prowess that
garnered him his nickname “Flame.” “I was just known for
having that fire, being a spitter…when I was young I’d listen to NWA, PE, A
Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mobb Deep, LOX…I just took the best elements of all
that music and mesh that into my thing…our thing, Gangsta Religion”

Flame’s “spit game” got him recognized by his
mentor and partner in the Flagrant movement, Sonny Vega$. “I met Vega$
through his cousin…I was a shorty that looked up to this cat…but he took me
in and helped me get my song game tight.” It was this bond that formed the group Flagrant.

“Flagrant was originally a trio…it was me, P
Child and Sonny Vega$…” Each
individual brought their respected style to the table, which in turn, made
Flagrant a dangerous and well-rounded group. They quickly made a name for
themselves releasing group and collaborative projects throughout western NY.
It was 2004’s “Street Runners”
and “Veteran’s Day’s”
mixtapes that solidified Flame as a solo & integral artist in the
Buffalo/Western NY hip-hop movement. Flame/Flagrant’s music began to create a
strong buzz on the streets, internet and other mixtapes and CD’s across the
country. The sheer potency of these projects garnered Flame/Flagrant
face-to-face meetings with Andy Hilfiger (Tommy’s brother) CEO of AH
Entertainment, Michael “Blue” Williams, CEO of Family Tree
Entertainment and Outkast’s manager and former VP A&R Def Jam, Tina Davis
(Chris Brown’s manager). However, for one reason or another, certain hurdles
or obstacles were not cleared. “Everything happens for a
reason…” Flame says with a chuckle. “We went to these meetings,
ripped it down, earned, and in some cases took these people respect…it just
wasn’t our time.”

In the beginning of 2005, the dynamics of Flagrant
began to change; they went from being a trio to a duo consisting of just Flame
and Sonny Vega$, but Flame found himself recording a lot more solo material. “As
far as the group goes, it wasn’t any beef or anything but we recorded so much
music together…the Flagrant movement was going to get recognize regardless,
but as people, we all start doing our own thing…not just rap, but life
stuff…” Their recognition
finally came when Flame’s material made it’s way to the desk of the music
supervisor of Section 8 Productions; George Clooney and Steven Soderberg’s
joint venture company. This resulted in getting two of his songs on their HBO
Original Series “Unscripted”
in April 2005.

Soon, others began to take notice of Flagrant and
Flame’s work ethic. They recorded songs with noted producers Jim
Jonsin/Unusual Suspects (Jamie Foxx’s
“Unpredictable”, Twista, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, Pink, etc), Miami’s DJ
Papa Smirf and other up and coming
producers. Some of this material appeared on Flame/Flagrant’s national
breakthrough Traffikin’.
Soon after release, articles about Flame began to pop up; a mention in The
Source Magazine’s Unsigned Hype
column; an interview in Fader Magazine,
a buzz worthy mention in Hits Magazine, and a host of interviews on various websites including
HipHop-Magazine.com and Hiphopgame.com. With his name making a buzzing in the NYC, Flame was
invited to participate in the infamous MC battling format, Fight Klub. Flame felt he finally came full circle. “I
just wanted to do the Fight Klub to get it outta my system. Everyone kept
telling me to do it…this was the measuring stick…and I had to go in there
and bite some heads off,” he says
with a chuckle. “I had to do it to see if I was ready for the prime
time. After I did my thing, they asked me to come back…but I don’t want to be
known as a battle rapper.”

Finishing out 2005 strong, Flame had interviews and
placement in BRE and YRB Magazine’s.
Through an exclusive marketing agreement with select Dr. Jay’s stores and
Santana’s Town in NYC, Music Depot in Houston, outlets in Buffalo, the internet
and other various mom & pop stores “Traffikin'” moved over 20k. “When we put this one
together we didn’t want to do the typical mixtape thing…that market is
over-saturated, we moved and worked the Traffikin’ project like the album and
that how its has been accepted.”

In the start of 2006, Flame recorded tracks with the
Ether Man himself, producer Ron Brown (Nas, Ludacris and 50 Cent) and producer
Icey Blue resulting in the underground street anthems “Putcha Hands
Up” featuring Slim Thug and Stat
Quo and “Fallback (The Uh-Oh Boyz).” In March 2006 he was featured in URB Magazine’s B-Side
Section; “While his hard edge
style is perfectly suited for the streets, the conscious rap that the MC grew
up on strongly permeates in his work.”

“Man
I just trying to make good music that will stand the test of time and
last…I’m only 20. A lotta my people didn’t make it to 18. I gotta make the
right moves for me, my fam, in memory of them and put my town on the map.” In 2006, he is poised and patient to do just
that.