Anthony Brown, better known as Eazy The Block Captain has been climbing up the battle rap rankings for the past two years and has solidified himself as one of the top performers in the URL Battle Rap League. Eazy was born in Philadelphia, PA., in Germantown, but raised in North Philly, “I’m just a regular dude who has been through a lot of things.”
Although Eazy is enjoying success in this great art form. Life hasn’t always been easy for the highly acclaimed Battle Rapper. A couple of jail stints would put a halt to his career. I asked him where the name Eazy the Block Captain came from, “I was raised with my two brothers and was slick at how I maneuvered. I was always able to slip out of my mother’s whippings. People would say I got out of that easy. The name the Block captain came when I got older and started selling drugs on the block.”
Eazy didn’t start to take rap seriously till about the age of 19. He never had structure, “My first song was garbage. I remember I went to my dad’s house and told him I’m going to rap now, and my dad told me my song was trash.”
As he got a little older, he and his brother created their first music project. He felt it was kind of light, but was proud of his accomplishment. Eazy developed his love of music playing trumpet in the school band. So he was always able to read and write music, he just had to master the physical art of speaking rhythmic rhymes over beats.
Some of the artists that influenced him as he honed his craft were the artists on the Bad Boys Soundtrack, Raekwon Purple Tape, Will Smith, and LL Cool J. He also attributed R&B as a vital part of his growth in music, “I was a big-time R&B fan. I like the way stories are told through the R&B genre.”
As Eazy dived deeper into music, success was not happening for him at the pace he wanted. He saw rappers on TV receiving chains and money. He knew he was talented but began to get frustrated because he wasn’t getting the looks he felt he deserved.
After his first jail bid, he came home and started watching battle rap. The first battle he watched was E Ness vs Hollowman. He was so intrigued by this that he started watching more battle rap videos. For the next year, he spent his time studying the art form. Easy set out to cement himself in the battle rap world.
After gaining a buzz on the circuit, a roadblock would stall Eazy once again as he was arrested on a drug charge, “I remember telling myself that I needed to get myself together…my people got their own life, they don’t have time to keep watching me go to jail.” He continues, “I had to learn every mistake I made is on me. I had to grow up mentally. I told myself it’s time to focus and be accountable to myself and my family.” After spending five and a half years in jail, Eazy set out to embark on a new mission. He hopped in the URL Ultimate Madness Battle Rap Tournament. Although he didn’t win the tournament, he found renewed respect from the fans. His name began to climb up the ranks as he would separate himself from the majority of battle rappers, “My lyrical content is mentally different. My lyrics are from my experiences. I rap about my struggles and pain. I rap from what I’ve seen. I’m not a punchline comic.”
A challenge that he has faced in battle rap is being from Philly, “No one was paying attention to us as we tried to get into the URL. Sometimes it’s not about talents; it’s about who you know. That’s why I don’t play with an opportunity. The love you get today may not be the love you get tomorrow. I treat every battle like I can fall off.” His greatest accomplishment has been his two year run that he has been on in the URL, “It’s a blessing in disguise. I could be in jail but the world gave me another chance so I must do my best.” He just had the battle of the year on Summer Madness 11 against battle rapper Chess and was slated to battle Murda Mook later this month on the big Till Death Do Us Part event produced by mega superstar rapper Drake. Unfortunately his opponent backed out of the battle.
Eazy is a phenom in the battle rap culture and his name and popularity continues to grow with each battle he takes. Outside of battle rap, he wants to act, get a song on the charts, and believes there are endless possibilities for him, “I would like people to consider me one of the best; I want to be amongst the greats in battle rap period.”