Case Bargé

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland hip-hop musician’s Case Bargé new album, “Transcend,” makes its debut today. The project has been a few years in the making, but Bargé said it was a key period of growth for both him and the team at his label, Alls Lost Outside Our Fantasy (ALOOF Records).

“I’m excited to share the energy that we’ve been creating,” Bargé said. “I’m pretty sure it’ll make everyone feel as good as it makes us feel when we listen to it.”

“Transcend” tells Bargé’s life story through each of the 12 songs’ varying themes. “Transitions” explores Bargé’s growth over the years, both musically and personally. His song “You & I” digs into a period of depression that Bargé went through in his life, and “Manifest” criticizes media and political issues from Bargé’s point of view.

In the middle of the album, the rapper shifts his tone and gets joyous on the upbeat, catchy songs “Gratitude” and “Nirvana.”

“I felt like I’d grown a lot and I feel like when you listen to music you should enjoy it and feel good afterward,” Bargé said. “That was one of the big goals I had when I sat down to finish this project…. A piece of art everyone could live with, grow with, and just enjoy.”

The album is released on ALOOF Records, and is available online today. Listen below.

The musician’s last release, “Insanity,” came out two years ago. That gap of time saw a busy travel schedule between Cleveland and Los Angeles and the birth of Bargé’s son.

“We’re here today with ‘Trasncend,’” he said. “This is a big chapter in the book. It’s a story, and I feel like people will understand me more and I feel like this is an imprint in the sound -- when you hear this sound, you’ll think of Case Bargé or you’ll think of ALOOF Records.”

Bargé hopes his music can help other people communicate and express themselves, the way it has helped him to do the same. Bargé has been vocal about his struggles with depression in the past, and has even hosted panel discussions about mental health and hip-hop.

“I feel like that is one of my purposes overall, is to help and to guide people that have been through the same things as me, as far as dealing with depression and not being so comfortable with yourself, to express yourself,” he said.

Though Bargé doesn’t have any concerts booked yet, he plans to perform shows to celebrate the release of “Transcend.” You can find more information about Bargé’s performances and music at ALOOF’s website. - Cleveland.com

In 2017, local rapper Case Bargé issued a music video for “Manifest,” a tune that addresses issues such as politics, religion and “today’s media.” Last year, he followed it up with a music video for the equally profound “You & I.”

Now, he’s just released yet another ambitious music video. This one is for the track "Ascension.” Clevelander Santino M Cash shot the video in Los Angeles.

In it, Bargé heads out to the desert on a spiritual journey to a tree where he meditates. The video ends with a clip of Bargé's baby boy walking on the beach.

Next month, Bargé will perform as part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's 50th anniversary celebration that takes place on Feb. 9. He'll also perform on Feb. 23 at Brite Winter Fest with local musicians Jul Big Green and Niko serving as his backing band. - Cleveland Scene

Local rapper Case Bargé makes music that’s conscious, passionate and determined; he’s even drawn comparisons to acts such as Andre 3000, Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar.

Last year, he issued a music video for “Manifest,” a tune that addresses issues such as politics, religion and “today’s media.”

Now, he’s just issued “You & I,” a new music video that’s just as profound. At nearly ten minutes, it’s practically a short film.

“The song came from a time in my life when I was depressed and at a lower state,” he explains. “I reminded myself that no matter what I’m going through, I’m not alone. I wanted to put that in a song so everyone can relate to it. No matter what stage you’re in, you need to continue to strive.”

Shortly after he wrote the song, he started thinking of the concept for the music video idea and even penned a script for it.

“I went deeper into the writing and there will be more to come feeding off that visual. The idea is the same thing,” he says. “It’s about not getting down on yourself and beating yourself up but rather embracing your surroundings and appreciating the people who are there. With the three friend idea in the video, I use my personal life and play off that. It’s about how kids who suffer with mental depression and illness, turn to drugs and turn to things outside of themselves and their inner circle. [The film's lead character] Chloe is still trying to find herself but feels there is something wrong with her and she’s searching outside of herself to fulfill herself.”

Bargé directed it as well, and Bolo handled the editing.

“Bolo is an old friend of mine, and we shot some other things that didn’t work, but I trusted him on this project and at the end of it, I was very pleased, and it came to life exactly as I imagined it,” he says.

The founder of Alls Lost Outside Our Fantasy (ALOOF Recs), a creative collective and independent music label, Bargé aims to “inspire and raise levels of consciousness through his creations by guiding those who are distracted by what is sold and exploited in today's mainstream music and media.” W

Bargé is currently in the studio prepping the EP Transcend, which will include “You&I,” and serve as a rollout to the three-part project, Mind, Body, Soul. - Cleveland Scene

Material: Case Bargé is a hip-hop artist, formerly from Cleveland, who has moved to Los Angeles to make it big. He is the owner and co-founder of Aloof Records. His songs are enveloped in background music that Reasor provides while Bargé floridly chimes the lyrics, which are extremely poetic, but with little structure to them.

Musicianship: Slam Poetry-style rap comes to mind as the listener is driven down the back streets of Ohio where Bargé grew up. It’s more about the lyrics than about how they are placed within the music. Bargé has strong and confident vocals and he delivers clever flows—at one point he blurts out “wrong track, wrong track” at the end of a song. Part of the song? Who knows.

Performance: An experienced live act, Bargé has played a number of venues, such as Los Globos, paying his dues and lighting up the local scene. It’s little wonder then that performance is his strongest suit. He not only engages the audience with good eye contact, but he’s a natural performer who exhibits a keen sensitivity. He knows how to get his audience involved, rapping to them as if he’s telling their story on a one-on-one basis.

Summary: There was a sense of positive vibes as the set started out, but it transitioned to aggression and malice. There were clandestine messages that made you curious at first, but then F-bombs were dropped during “Affliction” and “Letem Live” that made you re-evaluate the artist in general.

Though it amounted to an inconsistent performance, Case Bargé is an artist who shows a lot of potential and, with a bit more rehearsing and polishing, the possibility of getting to the next level in his career.

The Players: Case Bargé, vocals; Anthony Reasor, DJ.

Venue: Art Share LA
City: Los Angeles, CA
Contact: alexis@allsxlost.com
Web: CaseBarge.com - Music Connection Magazinee

"Like a dark dream shot through with sharp-as-a-knife clarity, Bargé’s music blends ambient tones and synthy, electronic landscape sounds with rhymes so deftly spat you get the sense they must be red hot. It’s top class hip hop with more than enough food for thought for a feast." - youbloom

I picked up numerous influences from all kinds of music, in terms of flow, topic choice, rhyme scheme and overall feeling, including: Travis Scott, Kendrick, Kanye, Sir Michael Rocks (Cool Kids), Flatbush Zombies, Robb Bank$, E-40, Kilo Kish (especially moving onto 'Insanity' I hear a LOT of Kendrick, Pro Era and Outkast, maybe some Ab-Soul?) - Kourtney Ari

“Insanity” is the newest and latest project from Cleveland artist Case Bargé. The 22 year old co-founder of ALOOF Recordings brings together his all for his debut album. Keeping the project mostly to himself to show his talent and skill he only has 4 features which include Tezo, Phrazes from the rap group collective Common Ave, MC, and Chela.

Case flows endlessly over each beat with ease and puts his heart into each of the 11 tracks… Where do I start about the production on this album??? Some of the instrumentals are spacey/ have a floating presence while others like the song “Taboo” have such a nice choice of sampling!! Phrazes also has production credits along with rising producer WillFlame, Blockhead Johnny, and Boca. Check out more info about Insanity Cases website (www.casebarge.com) and purchase the full project on iTunes linked below.

Purchase Insanity on iTunes here – Case Bargé

“I titled this project INSANITY, mainly because of what I was feeling at the time– insane and misunderstood, on top of everything going on in the world.” – Case Bargé - imfromcleveland

Case Bargé, self-made ALOOF Recordings artist releases his first short film, ‘Affliction,’ off of his upcoming project to be released at the end of October, ‘INSANITY.’

‘Affliction’ is based on a striving artist stuck between living an inner-city lifestyle to survive. Striving for what he wants out of life, he’s in for a turn for the worst, while following the path that’s lead and designed by greed.

Personal note from Bargé:

“There was a lot more to the script than what was used for the visual. Being mindful and a realist of my resources at the time, I had to summarize the storyline and just get straight to the point. This record is not just about people living a hard inner-city life, but for the people who feel trapped in an environment around closed minds.”

‘Affliction’ is the first single released from, ‘INSANITY’ and Bargé pours his soul over the melodic drum rhythms and deep bass. The once struggling, homeless artist knows about feeling trapped, living an inner-city life all too well; making ends meet when possible, Bargé walked around the grimy streets of Cleveland, Ohio day and night as he recited lines with every step. Bargé managed to stay afloat after his close encounter with death; getting robbed at gun point, then having to battle a hernia in the brain and having to learn to walk again.

Directed by: @casebarge | Shot and edited by: @SceneAmatiX

Instead of running away from his past challenges, Bargé has taken his story and created something with it with the goal to inspire and touch the lives going through their own struggles.

Website: casebarge.com
Twitter/IG: @casebarge
Facebook: facebook.com/casebargemusic
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/casebarge - Breal.tv

Personal struggles aren't anything new to Cleveland's Case Bargè. He's managed to overcome adversities that ranged from homelessness to being robbed to having a hernia in his brain and subsequently learning to walk again. His music is conscious, passionate and determined and has drawn comparisons to contemporaries such as Andre 3000, Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar, among a few others. His previous project, Ghost, was received well, but it is Barge's latest work, Insanity, that's destined to take him over the top and be his most personal project yet. "I titled this project Insanity, mainly because of what I was feeling at the time," he says. "Insane and misunderstood, on top of everything going on in the world." Production on the album is handled by the likes of Phrazes, Blokhead Johnny, Will and Boca. He collaborated with Tezo on the single "Yax" and dropped a short film for "Affliction" prior to the album's release. "Before writing ['Affliction'], I was about to give up on everything," he says. "Just the feeling of neglect, not being appreciated, and being misunderstood can kill a soul. Throughout the process of creating and just my day-to-day, I've grown to learn more about myself and life in general. A lot of low times through the process of Insanity, but I feel like I had to go through it all to be where I am today and I appreciate every moment and soul involved." - Cleveland Scene