Pagan : 1st Movement 1968

The pendulum of art swings to extremes. It can be overtly public or complexly personal. Striking a balance between the two can be difficult to do and even when it's achieved, very few do it as well as Conscious. Rising from the ashes of an artistic world bent on quick success and prepackaged formulaic fodder, this multi-faceted renaissance man is exactly what that name evokes: a revival of intellectual and artistic growth with a vigor and passion that's unmatched. Never boastful, Conscious moves with quiet force; building his audience, expanding his ventures and linking with like minded individuals to make sure there are alternatives for the masses. He doesn't complain that things aren't changing; he makes his own route, daring others to do the same. Making sure the community is growing just as he is, Conscious has dedicated not only his time, but also his talents to prison outreach performances, as a hip-hop business instructor, a computer instructor at Harlem's Jericho Learning Center and opening for Beatboxer Entertainment and Scot Ritner for the 9/11 commission. He performs at venues such as The Bowery Poetry Club, the Nuyorican Poet's Café, the Schomberg Theatre, The Sae Institute's Hotel Remix and Wheaton College to name a few and he's built a solid reputation as both a poet and an emcee. As founder of the Eklektic Gardens label, he's released multiple collections of progressive, innovative music including Neo Retro Spectro Graphiks Vol.1, Journal: An Eklektik Journey, Pagan: 1st Movement 1968, and Vinyl Destination. Conscious isn't content to have his hand in only the writing and recording worlds. He's an experienced actor with credits under his belt in films like Little Man and Take the A Train, television shows such as MTV's "The Shop", the documentary "To Thine Own Self Be True" and on the DVD "Beatboxing & The Art of Spoken Word". He's even appeared as a model for Jask Clothing. He maintains multiple websites like www.freehiphopnow.com, www.consciousbootleggers.com and his blog www.consciousme.blogspot.com. He's a painter, a photographer, a producer, a force to reckoned with. True growth for art comes through those involved stepping outside of the box and breaking the mold of what's come before. It's finding a new angle and expanding on it until the world opens up. It's sparking your own personal renaissance every time you pick up a pen, a mic or a brush. It's what Conscious does, what he lives, what he is.