212651

There are many words to describe this young Indiana native. 'Uncommon' comes to mind, followed by 'Exciting' and 'Adaptive'; but one has always stuck out amongst others: Necessary. Once an aspiring drummer, music caught the eye of James Conley at an early age when he began playing drums for local churches of his native Kokomo, Indiana. It wasn't until he heard his cousins rap on Fridays against other kids after school that he took interest in lyricism and thus, TAZ the rapper was born.

Every rapper needs beats, and TAZ didn't know many producers so for the time, he focused on producing his own music as well as writing his own lyrics. He formed a rap group with his relatives called Black Magic that gained popularity around his high school and around the city but the death of a friend would cause him to break away from the group and almost give up on music all together. While on hiatus he had a vision, a vision that included the friend he lost before. The following week, TAZ switched schools, switched goals and returned to music once more.

While attending Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Indiana; he released "Organs on the Table", which was widely accepted throughout the midwest and was huge in creating a solo name for TAZ, as well as "Space Camp". Both mixtapes documented the sometimes reckless nights of TAZ's high school life and had the fire of a hungry, young & ambitious Individual. Things only got better for him when he linked up with local Djs, party promoters, and party hosts "Marvel-Us Ent." who booked him shows, hosted mixtapes and got him the exposure he needed. They quickly built an enormous buzz across Indiana and are now known by a great deal of the midwest.

On February 22, 2012, TAZ released the "REALNXGGASONLY" mixtape. This totally different sound from TAZ was a coming out of his new persona. With deeper, more ambient production, richer lyrics and no foul language, this new project documented his life journey up this point. From the stresses of adjusting to a new lifestyle to the heartbreak brought on by falling in and out of love constantly; the mixtape touched on everything relevant the past year in TAZ's life. The mixtape was met with warm reception on several online blog sites due to its mixture of conscious content, real life satire and catchy production. Talking about real life situations seemed to resonate with people listening to the music, listeners could actually relate to what he was talking about. TAZ has opened for artists like Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Lil Will, Logic, and Hoodie Allen on separate occasions and has been featured on numerous blog sites online.
With TAZ's upcoming mixtape "No Promises" dropping this winter and a soon to be announced EP, he is expected to be a breath of fresh air representing not only Indiana, but new era hip hop as a whole. He hopes to be a part of the new hip hop scene and connect with other new up-and-coming and established artists as well as fans around the world.