Pizon

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Pizon
Background information
Birth name	Michael Scala
Born	December 2, 1982 (1982-12-02) (age 25)
Origin	Birthplace: Queens, New York, United States Ethnicity: Italian-American
Genre(s)	Hip Hop / Rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Record Producer
Years active	2000 – Present
Label(s)	La Scala Entertainment Rawkus Records
Website	www.pizonishiphop.com

Michael Scala (born December 2, 1982), also known as Pizon, is an Italian-American rapper and record producer from New York City. He is the son of the late actor Michael Scala (aka Mikey "Shades" Scala), who played Sally Gaga in Martin Scorsese's first feature film Who's That Knocking at My Door?. To distinguish himself from his father, Pizon often uses the nickname Mike Scala in instances where his full name is required. The Pizon alias is derived from the Italian word paesano, which literally translates to countryman.

Contents 1 Career 2 Controversy with other artists 3 Releases 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

Born December 2, 1982, in Rosedale, Queens, Pizon initially broke into showbusiness acting in plays alongside his father. His interest in Hip Hop peaked upon listening to rap music in the dollar van on his daily commute to Cardozo High School. By the time he graduated in 2000, his focus shifted to pursuing Hip Hop as a full time career. Though he went on to attend college and become the first member of his immediate family to earn a degree, music remained his top priority.

Eager to establish himself independently, Pizon founded his own record label La Scala Entertainment (named after the famous opera house in Milan) and signed himself as the flagship artist. In 2000, he recorded the single "Dozo Dawgs" with three of his high school classmates and used it as a springboard to release the first full-length project on his label, 2001's Battle Mode compilation. In 2002, the follow-up compilation XIV:XIX was released on La Scala Entertainment/Third Visional Records. Pizon executive-produced and appeared as a performer on both albums. His first solo project, The Growing Pains EP was released in 2002 and featured guest performers Timid and Killah, artists he met while producing the aforementioned compilations. Pizon, Timid, and Killah went on to release The Lost EP in 2003, a joint effort that included seven collaborations and one solo track from each artist. The trio decided to use the project as a promotional tool and made the entire album available as a free download. It included the now famous Pizon solo track "Angel Wings" (a remastered version of the song would later appear as a bonus track on his 2006 full-length solo debut) and an introduction from Hip Hop legend Jaz-O. That year also saw the release of The Fam Mixtape, a project conceived by Pizon protégé EJ that featured previously released and exclusive new songs and freestyles from Pizon, Timid, Killah, EJ, Analyze, and Da 27th Element, who collectively called themselves The Fam. The success of these releases led to Pizon securing outside work as a producer, and the Pizon-produced "Funky Nassau" by Mr. Fayce received national airplay in his native Bahamas (Pizon also produced "Danesha" and "You Don't Know Me" on Mr. Fayce's 2003 release).

In 2004, Pizon and Timid began co-hosting OneTwoOneTwo Radio on the online network HipHopFundaMentalz (iHHF) after receiving on-air training by WNYU. In addition to playing a mix of mainstream and independent Hip Hop, the weekly show featured discussions on current events, commentary, interviews, and more, and included the controversial "Ticklish Thug" segment which poked fun at the vast amount of homophobia in Hip Hop. Guests on the show's initial run included Jin, Slim Thug, Brooke Valentine, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Rob Swift, OC, Q-Unique, and others. Despite rumors that the show was making the jump to satellite radio, it went on indefinite hiatus in March 2006 as Pizon and Timid decided to focus on completing their solo albums. The show returned on August 28 of that year with a special edition called "The Masturbatory Hour" (in which Pizon and Timid welcomed special guests Pizon and Timid to the studio) on Psychopathic Radio.^[1]

On December 2, 2006, Pizon held his album release party and birthday bash in his hometown of Queens, New York. His debut full-length solo album I Am Hip Hop was sold for the first time at that event and subsequently released internationally via his own La Scala Entertainment label. The album features production by Domingo (Big Pun, Fat Joe, Eminem, G-Unit, KRS-One, Rakim), Kno (CunninLynguists, Lil Scrappy, Jay-Z's White Albulum), Versatile Music Productions (Cam'Ron, Jim Jones, Fabolous, Young Jeezy), and Pizon himself, and boasts guest appearances by Deacon the Villain, Timid, EJ, Aday, and others. It is a concept album that tackles many subjects and details Pizon's personal progression, using karma as a recurring theme to tie the songs together. The song "Streets Never Change" was first leaked as an early buzz track off the album in 2005 and received notable play on college radio throughout the country.^[2] Closer to the album's release, Pizon sent "Four Letters" to radio and it quickly picked up momentum despite limited circulation. "Drastic Measures" was later introduced as the third radio song for the album, however "Four Letters" continued to receive more spins. Due to its prolonged success, it was named the official single and a video for the song was announced.^[3] The I Am Hip Hop DVD, featuring concert footage from the album release party, is currently being offered for free with donations to Pizon's initiative to fight domestic violence, Hip Hop Is Not the Enemy.^[4]

In March 2007, Pizon signed a deal with the legendary Rawkus Records, who recognized him as "one of the 50 next important Hip Hop artists,"^[5] for their Rawkus 50 campaign. In September 2007, Pizon appeared in XXL Magazine for the first time as a result of this deal. On November 27, 2007, I Am Hip Hop was officially re-released worldwide by Rawkus and is now available from major retailers such as Amazon^[6] and Virgin Megastore.^[7] The iTunes Store would later honor the Rawkus 50 as one of the best independent Hip Hop projects of 2007.^[8] Pizon also received accolades in 2007 for his appearance on Random's 20th anniversary Mega Man album Mega Ran, which made waves in both the Hip Hop and video game worlds and was named one of the best underground Hip Hop albums of the year.^[9]

Since October 2007, Pizon has been co-hosting the syndicated Pi and I show which airs on cable television in the Washington, DC area.^[10] According to the show's official site, the program is "formatted like a radio show, but structured like a TV show [which allows it] to be syndicated on radio as well as television networks."^[11] It is essentially an enhanced radio broadcast, using visuals such as photographs, scrolling text, and video footage to supplement the audio. Episodes of the show are also being streamed online.

On December 1, 2007, at his Family Reunion 2007 concert featuring fellow Fam members Timid and EJ and other members of the Rawkus 50, Pizon announced his new project, And Then There Was One. It is a digital-only release on his own label, La Scala Entertainment. According to Pizon, much of the project was recorded in complete isolation and focuses on his coping with the losses in his life detailed on his debut album. Originally made available via Snocap on December 11, its official release would come one month later, debuting on iTunes on January 11, 2008. It is also currently being offered via other key online retailers.^[12] Lyrics from the song "Low Gravity" would later be referenced by Chris Brown on the Jordin Sparks hit "No Air."^[13]

Pizon has performed in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Long Island, Buffalo, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, and Maryland, and has appeared as a special guest on Internet, college, and mainstream radio stations. His music has received local and national airplay in the United States and overseas. He also rapped at the 2006 and 2007 New York City Marathon and made several cameo appearances in the second season of MTV's Yo Momma.^[14]

[edit] Controversy with other artists

Though not known as a confrontational rapper, Pizon has been involved in disputes with other artists.

After meeting established Houston rapper Aday through mutual friend EJ, Pizon collaborated with both on a song for his album called "Give It Up."^[15] Aday flew to New York to perform at Pizon's album release party in December 2006 and was slated to be part of the reformed Fam crew. He even recorded a track with The Fam called "Long Hard Road" while in New York. Upon his return to Houston, Pizon discovered that Aday had been selling mixtapes containing his "Give It Up" verse prior to Pizon's album release, which he was asked not to do. Infuriated that part of his album was being bootlegged by someone in his own crew, Pizon severed ties with Aday and The Fam's roster was cut back down to Pizon, EJ, and Timid.

In October 2007, Pizon and EJ discovered that another former affiliate, Bam Bam, was trying to pass off an entire Masta Ace verse as his own freestyle on a video. They decided to produce their own video exposing Bam Bam as a fraud. The exposing video received honors for being one of the most viewed videos on YouTube the day it was released,^[16] and the backlash it created against Bam Bam forced him to offer a public apology, which he opted to do in the form of another video.^[17] Because he took responsibility for his actions, the beef was squashed but Pizon and EJ vowed to never work with Bam Bam again.

On "Don't Know Where to Lie" off the And Then There Was One project, Pizon makes reference to a "local bum" who used to run in his crew and beg to do music with his friends but later managed to have the number one song in America. It is rumored that he is talking about Mims, whom Pizon disses by name on the mixtape track "Bodied," however Pizon has not confirmed this.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Releases

• The Growing Pains EP (2002)
• The Lost EP (with Timid and Killah) (2003)
• The Fam Mixtape (2003)
• I Am Hip Hop LP (2006)
• Rawkus 50 presents I Am Hip Hop (re-release) (2007)
• And Then There Was One (2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Pizon at MySpace
• My.Rawkus
• Pizon interview in Street Masters Magazine