Cancerous Flow: Lyrical Journal - Explicit Rap Lyrics for Studio Recording, Freestyle Battles & Hip-Hop Performances

Urbalist has had his eye on the hip-hop prize ever since he was a young Jewish kid growing up in New Jersey. It s 15 years later, and the rapper still has the skills and the scars to prove it. Not even cancer could snuff out Urbalist and his passion for the game. Urbalist, aka Jesse Hershkowitz, was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1980, before his family eventually settled in NJ. As a 15 year old, he spit original rhymes into his fist and postured for hours in front of the mirror. When he turned 18, Urbalist moved to Providence, RI and linked up with a local producer and started a recording studio. It was in that studio that Urbalist began developing and refining his ear as a recording engineer. He also strengthened his writing and freestyle capabilities by joining forces with NJ rapper Moses Moe Mentum Hernandez. The two formed the group Hybrid H, which toured extensively around the Northeast. They opened for some of rap s biggest names. Urbalist later moved to Atlanta where he tirelessly promoted his music. Soon Urbalist was regarded as a force to be reckoned with on Atlanta s hip-hop scene. Life was going smoothly for Urbalist and his dreams were falling into place when he was hit hard by the news that he had cancer. In August 2006, just 7 months after arriving in Atlanta, Urbalist had to put his budding rap career on hold to fight for his life. He was 26 years old when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the bone. Although he was determined to continue on his path to be a successful rapper, Urbalist was forced to give up what he d worked so hard for. He headed back to NYC to receive intense chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. To keep his sanity and focus during treatment, Urbalist did what it seems he was born to do: He threw his head into it. Every day he pressed the pen to the paper and let his pain take shape into honest and witty rap lyrics. While other patients rested, Urbalist was restless. He was writing deft rhymes and setting them to fresh beats that he made on his computer. The result is a raw yet sharp grindstone album called Cancerous Flow: Lyrical Journal, which chronicles in candid detail the ups and downs Urbalist experienced while battling cancer. Back in NJ, Urbalist released his music on the label he began, Risk It All Records. In May 2010, Urbalist signed his first exclusive recording deal with Seany Records and entered the studio with producers 8th and Vertygo to record his debut album. The album has landed and is starting to make waves in both the cancer and rap communities. Along with Seany Records and subsequently The Seany Foundation, Urbalist is also involved with I m Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation to help spread cancer awareness. He is tapping into his talent as a fierce lyricist and intuitive musician and turning his personal goal to be a renowned hip-hop artist into a way to expand public consciousness about cancer and the need for research and cures. In fact, Urbalist has become an icon in the young adult cancer community and cancer support groups and has preformed at several American Cancer Society events. With his music, Urbalist hopes to expose how fragile life can be, while proving that anything is possible.