Eighty 4 Fly

As echoed by his slogan, "It's a Fly World, and we're riding first class," Eighty4 Fly, aka Devon Taylor, undeniably knows how to have a good time. But in the end it's all about the music—an enterprise he's been working since the tender age of 12. Constantly surrounded by musically inclined family members, from church-singing grandparents to cousins like Guinness record-holding speed-rapper NoClue, Taylor quickly progressed from tape-deck recordings to legitimate studio time. But after putting out just a single project, he hit a dark streak and spent three years behind bars. It's not an experience the MC promotes, nor one he uses to justify a crime-hardened persona on the mike. "I'm not a gangster rapper looking for street credibility," Taylor said. "I was a hard-headed kid doing stupid things with stupid people, and as awkward as it sounds, that was actually a great opportunity for me. When you're forced to sit down like that, you're either just going to get in shape and come out the same person, or you're going to learn as much as you possibly can." The records Eighty4 Fly has been releasing—from mellow cruisers like "Sunset Blvd" to hard-hitters like "Until We Bleed... more...