We'll keep you posted on where we'll be next and whats comin' soon! just send us your name & e-mail!
or just send it to Rafaelcasal@gmail.com
Influences
Bay Area Hip Hop, 4th Avenue Jones, Lil Wayne, Amy Winehouse, Sean Carter, Timbaland, The Gorillaz, Mos Def, Eminem, Mac Dre, K-Swift, ill-literacy, The Neptunes, E-40, Amel Larrioux(spelled very wrong), Snoop dogg, Jennah Bell, Avila Brothers, DJ Quick, John Mayer, Lilly Allen, Robin Thicke, Dr. Dre, Zion-I, "Though you may drive, a great big cadillac", "Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before", "Dont kill this thing we got called love", "Low-ri-der, yeah the low rider...", "until you use me up", "backstaaaabers", "smiling faces tell lies", old Lauryn Hill, Relfection Eternal, Hi-Tek, Dion, and zapp and roger. YES, zap and roger. & p-funk son. and...I could do this for hours.I'm all over the place. Get back.
Writer, slam champion poet, recording artist, educator, and founding member of The Getback, Rafael Casal is an undeniable rising force in the performance world. A 2-time (Inter)National BNV Poetry Slam Finalist Champion and 3-Time cast member of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on HBO, Rafael has shared the stage with the likes of Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, KRS-ONE, Floetry, Kanye West, Saul Williams, Alanis Morissette, De La Sol, Dead Prez, Floetry, George Clinton, Carole King, and numerous others, and has performed in front of crowds of 30,000.
In 2008, Rafael released his full length debut LP As Good As Your Word, a collection of songs created during his apprenticeship to Bay Area producer One Drop Scott (3x crazy, Too short, Mac Dre, E-40). He was a featured writer for Handbook of Social Justice in Education by Bill Ayers, co-wrote The One Drop Rule; a hiphop theatre piece directed by GOLDIE award winner Marc Bamuthi Joseph in collaboration with San Francisco Jazz Ensemble and Alvin Ailey tap instructor Jason Samuel Smith, and has been featured on hundreds of websites, blogs and online journals across the world.
In 2009, Rafael is helping to build the first HipHop Theatre program as Creative Director at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, while pushing his newest release, THE MONSTER LP!
ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM: THE MONSTER LP
The MONSTER LP is officially here - Click the image below to download FREE!
Casal's sophomore project "Monster" is a 14-track musical production which explores ideas of monstrosity throughout the process of chasing and defining adulthood. Casal is all-encompassing, exploiting multiple meanings behind the word MONSTER, in both its literal definition as a state of abnormality, and its hiphop use as a slang term for an artist who accomplishes what others cannot. He interprets these definitions in many different capacities, without sugar-coating his convictions.
Early on in the track list is BANG OUT THE TRUNK, an ode to California car and music culture produced by Def Jam/MAYBACH MUSIC alumni JAY FAB of the Olympicks, which declares itself the unofficial single, right off the bat. A few tracks in, Rafael showcases his ability to carry some serious notes on GIANT, a concept driven cut capturing the feeling of guilt when a carrier overshadows a relationship. This project is anything but light in content, with songs like SPACESHIP, a reflective, lyric-heavy exhale narrative which details a wide net of frustrations and ironies within Casal's home cities of the Bay, spilling right into MISOGYNY, which addresses and analyses sexism in Casal's own music, and the psychology of men in the post-feminist hip hop era. Whew. The project is both playful and intense. It is Casal's declaration of his prowess within Hip Hop, demanding respect for his talent and his drive to prove himself to any and all listeners lending their ears.
OTHER GETBACK PROJECTS FOR DOWNLOAD
Rafael Casal of The Getback's Friend Space (Top 16)
hey Rafael, dude i love your "work" has opened my eyes, and helped me understand others... honestly i hope you dont stop speaking or writing, thamx for letting us pick at your complex mind:)
have to use your full name since you spit that poem two years ago in-was it marin...? [and actually, addressed an issue of mine (and yours, Luara and Chinaka), muthafucka yesterday couldnt say my last name, started callin me tuline mclean, i was bout ready to clean his face off...] but anyways, im here to let you know that i am out from the rock i was under. LA can do shit like that to you.
Bay Area Slang 101 is a refreshing joint, couldnt help but spread a smooth grin wide across my face. im about to put the whole lala land onto. keep pushin the hard line bruh bruh.
much love and peace
(oh, and also JUST read your blog about BNV last year...thank you for that-for real)
dear rafael, i would probably marry you in a heartbeat, even though i think marriage is usually a bad idea. but, alas, i adore you passionately, passionately enough even, to rethink my stance on long-term relationships.
all in all, i think you're incredible and thank you for doing what you do.
hey Rafael, 
