Barry Adrian Reese, better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first garnered attention for his freestyles and competitions as a battle rapper in the late 1990s, and formed the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective Larsiny Family by the end of the decade. American record producer Swizz Beatz discovered the group in 2000 and signed Cassidy to his newly-established label Full Surface Records, through a joint venture with J Records. He adopted a commercially-oriented approach for his 2003 debut single "Hotel" and its follow-up, "Get No Better" ; the former peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 while both preceded the release of his debut studio album, Split Personality (2004).
Cassidy in 2005
Battle rap is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and disses. Battle rap is often performed, or freestyled, spontaneously in live battles known as Rap battles, where participants will compete on the same stage to see who has the better verses.
1979 Bronx rap battle flier. Design: Buddy Esquire. Image courtesy of Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
