Bio

On the tiptoes of expectation, Bones Brigante knows that time is an issue that he can ill afford to take for granted. As an emcee that’s battled against many under the public eye and scrutinized by some, his hunger for triumph spews in a writing format on paper, consumed as mental thoughts and later unleashed in a wrath of gripping bars. Bones Brigante is here, his time is now but the arrival is something you haven’t seen yet – but it’s coming.

He grew up knowing that a good offense always meant having an even greater defense. It was under the dark solstice sky in Englewood, NJ about 8 miles away from The Bronx – a young Brigante would be on his way to see his father in The Bronx. His pop’s a native New Yorker, knew the streets and shared stories with lessons for his young son. The knowledge along with a individual desire to march to the beat of his own drum meant that he would face some challenges before the person that we see today would become to be. “Growing up I used to be a skinny dude and there was this girl from my building that used to call me bones, so I just took that and I broke it down to business orientated and educated it in the streets.” One of his favorite movies – Carlitos Way had the main character named Carlito Brigante. He took the Brigante part and out of that came Mr. Bones Brigante. “I used to also be called Mr. Bones before that and the Brigante was like a lil’ alias. You hear me say it every now and then in a rhyme. Everybody else stopped saying Mr. Bones, so I guess I stopped saying it too and it was just Bones Brigante.” The Brigante was his take on how back in the day when you had the Wu-Gambinos and Wu members like Meth would take gangster names, Other artists jumped in on this idea too. For example Nas was Nas Escobar, Big L was Big Carleon and Cormega whose one of his favorite rappers was Mega Montana.

He spent part of his youth in Baltimore, MD before going off to Philly. “My wonder years were spent in Maryland and while there I played basketball up against some talented dudes. I played against Joe Forte that went to North Carolina, Keith Bogans and Carmelo Anthony.” As a kid he admits to not having discipline and I was kinda a knucklehead that really had potential to do a lot more. “I was good at basketball, but I never took it seriously. When I finally went hard with rapping though, it worked out. It worked out more than anything else I’ve ever tried and I stuck with it. After Baltimore he moved to Philadelphia. “I was in Philadelphia for the past 8 years, so that’s why when you always saw me on 106 I used to say ‘Philly I’m not from there, I just get it done there.” After auditioning for 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday, making the cut and winning the competition, the experience turned into more than he had initially expected. “Every week I got on there I had more incentive to win. I saw a lot of dudes that came on 106 and get star struck, like they couldn’t believe they here. Me… I felt like I belonged there. During my second week was the only time that I was nervous. I choked, but I pulled it through on the second round. I was so close to losing off that choke. I said to myself I don’t never want to have to feel like I almost lost again.” “When we first discovered Bones, he was undoubtedly the highlight of the auditions,” says Pat Charles, Senior Show Writer of 106 & Park. “He was hungry, marketable and also quite brilliant with his cadence and delivery! We knew instantly that all he needed was a chance to shine. It was a good call, because he also brought us very good ratings week after week. Bones Brigante’s final battle, at the time, became the 2nd highest rated Friday of all time on 106 & Park. Right now, that battle still remains in the top-4 most-watched ‘Friday’ episodes of all time on 106 & Park.”

The exposure brought him further exposure and a place to be apart of the 2010 BET HipHop Awards Cipha alongside Yelawolf, Wiz Khalifa and Raekwon. Theirs was arguably one of the better sessions. Battle and cipha rhyming are elements that represent just how broad Hip-Hop is once again. Both situations were great opportunities for Bones Brigante to show his roots and versatility, but be clear – he’s an emcee that can write and lay a song down with the best of them. His newest mixtape project entitled The Arrival will be a fine testament to that. “A good friend once gave me some inspiring words. He said, ‘be ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ I’m ready. This mixtape is me – Bones Brigante, a kid from all walks of life who takes his life experiences and comes up with prevalent and witty shit. This is for the fans and for the doubters to let them know that I’m here.”