Slaine (La Coka Nostra)

Boston-based hardcore rapper Slaine is a solo recording artist yet is also affiliated with the groups Special Teamz and La Coka Nostra. He made his solo recording debut in 2006 with the EP Rich Man, Poor Man and the full-length album The White Man Is the Devil (the "white man" a drug rather than racial reference), followed by The White Man Is the Devil, Vol. 2: Citizen Caine in 2007. Comprised of Slaine, Edo G, and Jaysaun, Special Teamz made their recording debut in 2007 with the full-length album Stereotypez on Duck Down Records. The other group with whom Slaine is affiliated, La Coka Nostra, is a fairly loose collective also featuring Everlast, Danny Boy, and DJ Lethal (i.e., the trio formerly known as House of Pain) along with Ill Bill (formerly of Non Phixion), Big Left, and Mister Kaves. A World with No Skies 2.0 would follow in 2011, the “2.0” a reference to Slaine’s re-recording of many tracks due to a problem clearing samples. © Jason Birchmeier /TiVo