Vast Aire

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Vast Aire bigraphy, stories - American rapper

Vast Aire : biography

February 5, 1978 –

Vast Aire (born Theodore Arrington III on February 5, 1978) is a rapper from New York City. He is one half of the New York hip hop duo Cannibal Ox, which consists of him and fellow rapper Vordul Mega. He is also a member of the rap group Atoms Family. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York, then lived in Jamaica, Queens before moving to Harlem, and became acquainted with the underground rap scene, performing in many clubs while still a teenager. He was once a part of the underground hip hop group The Weathermen.

Vast Aire’s fame increased significantly as part of Cannibal Ox with Vordul Mega. Together with producer El-P, it recorded its debut album, The Cold Vein, and released it in 2001. The album was a critical success. Since then, Vast Aire has pursued solo interests. His first solo album Look, Mom…No Hands was released in April 2004. This was followed by The Best Damn Rap Show, a collaborative effort with DJ Mighty Mi from the High and Mighty in 2005. These solo projects did not break Vast Aire from his obligations at Definitive Jux with Cannibal Ox. Vast has since gone on to work with members from the Megahertz crew, and was a member of The Weathermen alongside Copywrite, Yak Ballz, Cage, Aesop Rock, the late Camu Tao, and Tame One. However, he was kicked out of the Weathermen by Camu Tao after allegedly stealing from both Yak Ballz and Tame One. He has recently denounced the Weathermen group as a whole after the rapper and Weathermen founder Cage wrote the song "Nothing Left to Say" about Vast Aire trying to profit from Camu Tao’s death, and then called him out on his Myspace page. He is also a part of a group called LXG, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

When asked about the meaning of his name, Vast Aire explained: "I guess it means mad styles. I think it means a lot of attitude. Vast Aire. I have a very wordy type of style. Vast was given to me by a friend of mine I went to school with and the Aire pretty much came from me being a junior. My name is Theodore Arrington II. I used to spell it proper. H-E-I-R. But, in the past couple of years, I switched it to A-I-R-E."

Discography

Albums

  • The Cold Vein (with Cannibal Ox)
  • The Prequel (with Atoms Family)
  • The Conspiracy (With the Weathermen) (Eastern Conference, 2003)
  • Look, Mom…No Hands (Chocolate Industries, 2004)
  • The Best Damn Rap Show (With DJ Mighty Mi) (Eastern Conference, 2005)
  • Empire State by Mighty Joseph, a collaboration between Vast Aire & Karniege (Urchin Studios, 2007)
  • Dueces Wild (One Records, 2008)
  • OX 2010: A Street Odyssey (Man Bites Dog Records, 2011)

Extended Plays

  • A Space Iliad EP (2013)http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-space-iliad/id593608603

Singles

  • "Look Mom…No Hands" b/w "Why’sdaskyblue?" (Chocolate Industries, 2003)
  • "Elixir" b/w "Candid Cam" (Chocolate Industries, 2004)
  • "Pegasus" b/w "Red Pill" (Chocolate Industries, 2004)

Appearances

  • 2000: "Cholesterol" (from the compilation album "Inside Out Vol. 1 – A Fool Blown Compilation")
  • 2000: "Attention Span" (from the Aesop Rock album Float)
  • 2001: "We Can Build You" (from the Techno Animal album The Brotherhood of the Bomb)
  • 2002: "Nickel Plated Pockets" (from the Aesop Rock album Daylight)
  • 2002: "Dr. Hell No and the Praying Mantis" (from the El-P album Fantastic Damage)
  • 2003: "N.Y. Electric" (from the Aesop Rock album Bazooka Tooth)
  • 2003: "Big Game" (from the Diverse album One A.M.)
  • 2003: "Swing Blades" (from the Jean Grae album The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP)
  • 2004: "Time Capsule" (from the Illogic album Celestial Clockwork)
  • 2005: "Slow Blues" (from the Wu-Tang Clan album Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture)
  • 2006: "That’s Whats Up" (from the Dabrye album Two/Three)
  • 2006: "No Aire" (from the Oh No album Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms)
  • 2006: "Super Friends (Edan Remix)" (from the Adult Swim compilation album Chocolate Swim)
  • 2006: "Iconoclasts" (from the Wisemen album Wisemen Approaching)
  • 2007: "Jugar Duro" (from ToteKing’s album Un Tipo Cualquiera)
  • 2007: "Super Friendz" feat. MF DOOM (Edan remix) (from Chocolate Swim)
  • 2008: "Clipped Wings" (From the Mind over Matter album Keepin’ It Breezy)
  • 2008: "Writes Of Passage" (From the Sadistik album The Balancing Act)
  • 2008: "Vast Hope" (From the DJ Bootsie album Holidays in the Shade)
  • 2011: "Bay of Pigs" (From the Virtuoso album The Final Conflict)
  • 2012: "Bring it Back (with Stress1)
  • 2012: "Intergalactic" (From the Chasm album This Is How We Never Die)