Trenton Emcee Ray Strife & DKFG Producer iLL-Omega Unveil Part 1 of Go for The Gusto Series Preface: I Will Never Be Beautiful EP (The Witzard Premiere)

Trenton, NJ

-based rapper

Raymond "Ray" Strife

recently reached out to me, via email after seeing my write-up on

JE DOUBLE F

's

HUMAN RITES

teaser single,

"JAGGED EDGE."

I believe I actually got in touch with

Jeff

due in part to (or maybe even because of) my recent work with fellow

East Coast

emcees

Height Keech

and

Darko The Super

affiliates,

STATIC BROTHERS

.

Ray Strife & JE DOUBLE F

are both founding members of

Trenton

-bred

Rap

crew

DKFG

, which additionally includes

Kahlil Ali

, RayRayBeats,

Luis

, Roebus One,

Wade Wilson

, Cody Jones,

Dready Mercury

, Ill-Omega, and

Cornelius The Third

. "

Raymond Strife

used to play in

Punk

bands, until the

iPod

was invented and replaced musicians. Strife isn't actually his last name. Reads lots of comic books, but gets laid more than most nerds who read lots of comic books,"

Ray Strife

's rather brief, yet fitting

Bandcamp

description details; included within for FREE or

Name-Your-Price

download are

Ray Strife

's latest solo albums

I'm Sorry, I'm Broken

(2013) and

Self-Loathing Egomaniac

(2010) along with two releases from his recently reunited

"Pizza Hustle" Hardcore Punk

band

Crack Filler

, 2014's

Get Drunk & Let Bad Things Happen EP

and

Crack Filler... It's What's for Lunch! EP

(2005.) Strife's most recent release was November 2016's interestingly named

Gretchen On Acid Telling Her Mom to Shut The F**k Up

with

DKFG

producer

RayRayBeats

, which was actually based on a real-life experience with a recent ex-girlfriend. In addition to

DKFG

and

Crack Filler

,

Ray Strife

is also a member of of comic book-referencing

Hip-Hop

group

Dreadpool Parker

with

Wade Wilson

and

Dready Mercury

,

Tabasco Cats

with

Roebus One

, and very recently-formed

Negative Hardcore

band called

Dad D*ck

—although, its name is likely to change prior to their first show in May—with "a few other aging

Punks

from

Trenton

."

"

Preface: I Will Never Be Beautiful EP

is the warm-up for the full-length,

Go for The Gusto

coming out this summer. Both are the product of

Raymond Strife

(lyrics and vocals) and

Cap City Ent.

founder

Ill-Omega

(production).

[Go for The] Gusto

serves as sort of a narrative for the rapper going through a huge transitional period of his life and

[Preface: I Will Never Be] Beautiful

represents the range of variety of

[Go for The] Gusto

on a much smaller scale,"

Ray Strife

recently wrote within a text messaged statement.

Preface: I Will Never Be Beautiful EP

, part 1 of a proposed 3-part series, fully embodies

Ray

's go-to

lyrical themes

of "low self-esteem, addiction, relationships,

Punk

shows, and comic books;" although,

Ray Strife

tells me he's newly-sober, as of just eight months ago and now, spends the majority of his time rapping, riding his bike with other "clown bike punx," and trying to be as actively and positively involved in his city as he can. Strife's lyrical has been previously compared to artists as broadly-ranging as

Snoop Dogg

and self-destructive

Punk/Shock Rock

cult figure

G.G. Allin

, both of which, you can surprisingly, hear echoed throughout

Preface: I Will Never Be Beautiful EP

. Across its contained 5-track span,

DKFG

producer

Ill-Omega

lays out a rather interesting

Blues

, Jazz, and

G-Funk

-evoking soundbed for

Ray Strife

to rhyme over, which at times, sounds something like

Asher Roth

spitting over an imagined collaboration between

Wu-Tang Clan

founder

RZA

and

The Chronic

-era

Dr. Dre

. "The next thing I have of note is this Saturday [April 15th,] I will be guest hosting the

Live from The Dining Room

podcast.

Go for The Gusto

will be out this summer and I'm doing an E

ast Coast

, South, and

Midwest

tour with

Lt Headtrip

and

[The] Karma Kids

out of

NYC

late June and early July,”

Ray Strife

said, in closing.