Quick Bio

Will Tao a.k.a "Rapper Willy" has been honing his lyrical skills since the year 2002. His music can be summed up into one word- truth. Through metaphoric verses, catchy hooks, and melodic beats he has spread rap music and his message of humanity, happiness, and understanding to hundreds of faithful fans. In the five years that he has been in the game, he has released over thirty tracks. Unlike most rappers, he has never been motivated by the money and separates his career from his hobby. He has never recorded in a studio, and has instead found ways to duplicate studio recorded sound from the premises of his own home laptop, and microphone. However, this truly underground, "regular guy" appeal has helped him develop a strong following among both friends and strangers alike. He has been the star of many shows, most notably at non-profit and charity concerts in Vancouver and Richmond. He is scheduled to play at the Asian Hip Hop Summit in Vancouver, joining the likes of past performers such as Jin tha MC. He is a big fan of the local scene, and enjoys gettin to know and work with local Hip-Hop artists and Emcees such as Violative Cause, xYl, RCV tha MC, Valentyna, and others. His main focus is to promote rap as a positive force, and as a much needed voice in today's mainstream, simplified, pop culture

The Full Deal

Rapper Willy was born in 1988 in Victoria, BC. He lived there for two years before moving to Vancouver. It is at U-Hill Elementary in Vancouver where the talent began to emerge.

He started off, like many young emcees do, writing numerous works of poetry. The poetic works he created in Rod Brown's Grade 7 class soon mixed with his love of a music, one his parents instilled in him at a young age through hours of piano. At this time, he was by also introduced to the genre of rap music by his friend Hassan Khan, and soon began to balance his love of pop music with the lyrical fire of Eminem and Dr. Dre.

In highschool, he began listening to the emotionally charged lyrics of Tupac Shakur and was immediately influenced. His rap career officially started, ironically, as a poetic tirade against a fellow classmate Stephen Chamberlain, who Willy is now on good terms with and recently performed backup vocals at a Charity event.

His first major song was "Tragedies", performed during an English presentation on Tragedies, along with Pat Heath and Sean Duke (of Duke and Heath Painters). This track then was performed at Arts night in front of a crowd of almost two hundred parents and students. The beat was created by his first producer, fellow crew member, and good friend, Jon Yang.

Later that year he wrote his second track, which became one of his biggest hits "Hit Dat." The influence came from a bus ride back from Carmannah Valley, where the two simple words, and title of a Oasis Song were printed on a girl's pants. This girl, Joey Cheng, continues to be a fan of Willy's music today.

The years of highschool were not always the easiest on Willy. Rap became his sanctuary, his diary, his voice in a time where he was struggling between parental pressure and the demands and difficulties of being "not your regular asian." He spent much of his time online, on Acidplanet, where he made connections with many producers and beatmakers such as Phresh, Mrozik, and Jay Skeez. During this time he made the bulk of his tracks, collaborating with artists such as Seaz (on a well-received Luther Vandross sampled track called "Can Heaven Wait" ), T-Gunna, 40 on a party track called "Jus Havin Fun 2Tonight, and with B-Nice on a rap love ballad called "I Just Wanna Love You." All the trials, tribulations, and hours of writing, however, have made him a stronger person and have allowed his music to take on a truth and message that have affected hundreds of people.

In grade 12, his favorite year of highschool, his music developed even further, as he began working with fellow artists in his music composition class and was hilighted by a collaboration with multi-talented singer and guitarist Kristie Yung called "Dear Mr. Rain." He also performed at Keep the Beat, in front of a crowd of about 350, rapping in his song "Life Ain't EZ" about the struggles of life for child soldiers in Africa and the need to take action.

Since graduation, Rapper Willy has shifted his focus, both educationally and musically. Educationally, he hopes to graduate with a degree in International Relations and go to law school in California. His music has also become much more personal, psychological, and political. His style is comparable to that of Immortal Technique, with extended metaphors that'll make ya both think and act. He wants all his listeners to keep track of politics, as the next century, he believes will be one of great change and potential danger. In Canadian politics he supports the Liberal Party and Stephane Dion, while in American Politics, he just hopes that the next leader will be able to bring America back into the world of global cooperation, whether it be Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, or Ron Paul. He is neither a liberal, or realist, or conservative and believes in constructivist ideas. Rapper Willy believes in God but does not align himself with any religious group.

The future looks very bright for Rapper Willy and Willy G Records. He hopes to continue to work on his lyrics and delivery, while making sure it stays a passion and never a lifestyle or a source of monetary funds. Although he is not ruling out signing a record deal, he believes that it is time to change the hip hop/rap game, into a source of motivation, empowerment, and voice for individuals rather than a source of fake entertainment.

He wants to thank his family, all his friends (at University and at home), and hopes you enjoy listening to his works of art.

Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com / Inexpendable - Image Hosting