Oct-17-2010 In the indie rap world, Michael "Eyedea" Larsen was seen by some as the underground Eminem. The talented Midwestern rapper and turntablist, who recorded under the name Eyedea for the Rhymesayers label, died suddenly over the weekend at his St. Paul, Minnesota, home at age 28. His mother announced Larsen's passing — a cause of death was not given at press time — writing on the MC's Facebook page, "It is with great pain and sadness that I tell you my son Mikey (Eyedea) has passed away ... At this time we kindly request your respect and our privacy as we process this devastating loss. We do, however, welcome your kind words, memories, and positive thoughts." The family has set up a PayPal account for donations to pay for the cost of funeral services. Known for his rapid-fire delivery and freestyle skills, like Eminem, Larsen cut his teeth by impressing fellow hip-hop heads in lyrical battles while still in his teens. He took the top prize at 1999's Scribble Jam in Cincinnati and went on to win 2000's Blaze Battle in Chicago as well, releasing his debut album, First Born, in 2001 in collaboration with his longtime musical partner DJ Abilities. Together they were known as Eyedea and Abilities and recorded for the hometown Rhymesayers record label, home to such fellow underground faves as Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Grayskul, Mr. Dibbs and Slug. The duo often collaborated with their Rhymesayers brethren, recording songs with Atmosphere as well as other like-minded acts like Aesop Rock, Sage Francis and Blueprint. For 2006's This Is Where We Were, released on his own Face Candy label, Larsen was backed by a live jazz group of the same name, recorded during a four-year hiatus from releasing Eyedea and Abilities music. The duo returned, however, in late 2007 for a tour and again in 2009 as part of the Rock the Bells outing. The pair issued their final joint album, By the Throat, last year. His mom said Larsen had finished a new Face Candy album before his death, as well as a book of poetry, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death. Larsen was reportedly in good spirits on Friday night when he hung out at Minneapolis' First Avenue & 7th Street Entry to watch a show featuring Abilities and L.A. rapper Pigeon John. /end for those of you heads that have been bumpin eyedea for the past decade this shit is horrible news. eyedea has been in my headphones since i was a freshman in highschool up untill now my 3rd year of college..his lyrics are filled with passionitly mind bending thought provoking flows straight from the heart to the mic. this dude got me though some tough times with his emotion to help me feel and find my own. i have such a strong sentimental bond to his album " first born " i cant belive that he is gone. RIP EYEDEA king of blazebattles, scribble jam, rhymesayers entertainment. Some of my fav freestyles: Eyedea & Slug on TheWakeUpShow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40MA0pl7Oa0 Eyedea VS Brother Ali http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obZj6nEWdj8&feature=related Eyedea VS PEACE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjmAPoqpwLE&feature=related Eyedea VS Shells @ Blazebattles2001 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IwUDWVaiu4&feature=related Eyedea VS RK @ Blazebattles2001 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_qMbzfF31k&feature=related eyedea rips apart everyone single person hes battled. pure talent and heart Some of my favorite written songs: Even Shadows have Shadows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-8GUXaRig8 Smile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4axTMDZysHc&feature=related Spin cycle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVR17FPNv9I&feature=related Blindly Firing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beyfC5znDOY Forget Me Ft. Slug http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgE7Y1ONn7g this is just a shortshortshort list of some of his best. if you aint heard of eyedea i suggest you hop to your local recordshop and grab a few ablums cuz theyll change your life for the best.
Its sad alot of these people who pass away arent spoken about until their gone, but its a damn shame specially when you lose such a talented artist RIP EYEDEA
Damnnn, yo'. Eyedea really brought me through some tough times..... I've only been bumping his shit since 09', but I've definitely had his shit in HEAVY rotation since I've stumbled upon his music. I managed to get my hands on the FaceCandy Album, and his super rare "freestyle jams" CD, and his super rare "When in rome, kill the king" CD. i also have his other records such as: First Born, E&A, How Eye Won The Write Too Think, and By The Throat(The album that I have been listening to since Summer 09'). Too many fucking classics with this guy. It's a shame. He was (still is) my favorite favorite rapper, and for him to just vanish like that is really fucked. I'll put up some of my favorites that weren't already posted on here. Eyedea & Abilities- Junk Eyedea & Abilities- Music Music Eyedea & Abilities- Void (Internal Theory) Oliver Hart (Eyedea)- How Eye Won The Write Too Think Oliver Hart (Eyedea)- Walking Oliver Hart (Eyedea)- Soundtrack Of a Romance Oliver Hart (Eyedea)- Motormouth's Anonymous There are just way too many, I might have to update this list later on because I just don't have the time to add all of my favorite Eyedea tracks. View attachment 589178 I was planning on purchasing one of these shirts months ago. Eyedea actually dying is kind of giving me incentive to buy one the these shirts.
hes not dead he forever lives in HIP HOP culture E&A's first born album is my favirote album from them. i wish eyedea won the battle with brother ali cause then he would of went up against sage francis OHHHHHHH that would of been INSANE!!!! peace to his physical frame but as long as i keep listening to his albums hes never dead. THE ORPHANAGE- HOLD MINE THE ORPHANAGE- OBSOLETE most of the songs i love have been posted so theres them jems THE ORPHANAGE freestyle part 1 THE ORPHANAGE freestylepart 2
http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/vi...At-Rock-The-Bells--Columbia-MD--71209&ID=1260 this is a recent interveiw with eyedea. its amazing how much hes changed both mentally and physically since his blazebattle days
[Broken External Image]:http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/29993953/Eyedea++Abilities.jpg legend. rip
seen him last year at the el mocobo in TO fuckin amazing show prob about 40 ppl tops bass was pumping so hard your clothes would move.... un real show seeing him give er to his full extent .. he starting screaming during one of his songs and like falling into the wall singing..... un real show
that interview is really funny^ dude was nothing short of a genius though, i'd listened to him for awhile then sorta stopped but with his recent death i've been listening again and been realizing he was a really fucking smart, funny, cool dude literally one of the best battle rappers to ever live he'll be missed cause of death is especially a shame but shit happens. Rest in Peace really wish he would have been around long enough to write a autobiography, i wouldve bought that shit in a second