Cee

Meet The Commission
I sat down with the guys behind The Commission, a creative collective focused on advancing and empowering borough artists, to discuss the past and present status of the Staten Island hip-hop community.

The Commission contains eight members: Pernell Robinson "Buddha," Calvin Bagby "Cee," Devon Williams "Dcmbr," Martel Brooks "Mab Tel," Andrew McLin "Druw Da Characta," Jamie Joseph "Marc Joseph," Grayson Lewis "Breeze" and Morrison O'Dili "M.O."

Their collective name is a nod to the supergroup Notorious B.I.G and Jay Z were supposedly trying to create before the former's murder in 1997. Staten Island's The Commission is based in Mariners Harbor, where most of the members live.

No gimmicks, just music
"We wanted to create a group with real support system for each other," said Bagby. "We wanted to make an environment for people to create."

No ulterior motives, no gimmicks -- just support. This hip-hop collective has been prowling the borough's grounds to get their name out there for the past five years.

"Overall, we just want to bring attention to the music out here in Staten Island," said Williams. "Because I don't think it really gets as much attention as the other boroughs may get."

'It's kinda every man for themselves'
As much as the future of the borough's hip-hop community is looking up, those involved are not afraid to be critical of it.

"Its sad to say but it's kinda every man for themselves," said Williams. "It's kinda like, 'We have our own thing going and we're just gonna push that. We're not gonna worry about anyone else.'"

The stigma of the Staten Island "hip-hop scene" is the biggest shift the borough has had since the days of Wu-Tang Clan.

"Those guys [Wu-Tang] move together," said Bagby. "The made hip-hop culture shine some light on Staten Island. Lately, we as a crew see that's missing. So, we're trying to bring that back."

The reason behind the music
There are so many expressive genres of music in this world. I asked Bagby why he is drawn to hip-hop, above all else.

He responded with, "Hip-hop, the actual culture behind it, comes with so many different elements. From music making to songwriting to graffiti to dancing; it just covers art in general. It comes from those who make something out of nothing. We don't have instruments so we take a record and loop it to say words over them. We don't have music classes in school so our mother's cleaning sessions on Saturday mornings become our music class. It's a genre that comes from a struggle. Everyone has a story and I think thats why people relate to it so much." - SI Live

Brilliant Breeze, N*gga What Feat. Cee (Prod. By Cee)
Another brass-led hip-hop instrumental, this is big and bold, packed with power and charisma. Shout out to Cee, who not only produced the track, but delivers one hell of guest verse. - Howl & Echoes

Staten Island based duo "4Now & 4Eva" has been gearing up for their self-titled LP. In the meantime, they have decided to release an EP, 4NOW as they prepare for the July release of their LP. The EP is a 5 track project that displays both the duo's talents,

4Now & 4Eva - 4NOW
Follow @Cee434 @Buddahism - Broke2Dope

4Now N 4Eva – “Talk’N Shit” (Music Video) - Precise Earz

The Commission release their first video of the year in the form of Talk’N Shit, 4Now & 4Eva’s first single off of their self-titled project releasing this summer.

Cee (from Danville, VA) & Buddah (Baltimore, MD), the members of 4Now & 4Eva and founders of The Commission boast their confidence throughout this dark visual set in Staten Island, NY. - Raps & Hustles

The Hip Hop collective, The Commission is back again with a new record from the group 4Now & 4Eva.

The Duo consisting of Cee and Buddah who have already been featured here at Raps & Hustles, goes in over a MadTown Beatz that wont disappoint. - Raps & Hustles