1. The Rapper: Cage Ke… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1. The Rapper: Cage Kennylz (born Christian Palko), commonly known as Cage, is an underground rapper based in New York City, United States.
Cage's life has gone from watching his father shoot heroin, to addiction and violence and mental institutions to cutting an album for Columbia Records and being a rising star in the heyday of the NYC independent rap scene, to the final culmination and personal triumph that his most current release Hell's Winter has become. It's a brand new record from someone who has been through more extreme circumstances than most people could ever imagine, and has come out triumphant and a better person because of it, and whose artistic vision now reflects this.
18 years old, fresh out of the lodge, Cage decided to pursue his the talent he honed while in hell and try to become a professional rapper. He made a demo, got a manager and was introduced to Pete Nice of 3rd Bass fame. Pete featured Cage on his solo effort "Dust to Dust" on the song "Rich Bring 'Em Back" in 1993. This was his first appearance on a rap record.
Through Pete Nice Cage met fledgling radio personality Bobbito Garcia who had just started his soon to be legendary late night mix show with DJ Stretch Armstrong. He was invited up to the show several time, earning a rep in the emerging underground NY scene as a savage and raw new MC with an original style based on his tortured life and demented imagery
Through his connection with that show, he met and formed a strong friendship with the KMD (whose front man Zev Love X would eventually be known as MF DOOM) and formed a very strong friendship with the late great Subroc. Cage was the last person to see Subroc alive before he was killed. He also became associated with and close to: Kurious Jorge, K-Solo, Godfather Don, Artifacts, Pharoah Monch, El-P (who actually worked with Cage briefly in 1994 on a 3 song demo now lost to the world), the Juggaknots and many more.
Bobbito and Pete Nice started a label through Columbia Records called Hoppoh and were on the verge of singing Cage as one of their first releases. At this time Cage was heavily abusing drugs and every time he got into the studio he was too high to record anything that Columbia thought was worthy of a major label release.
In 1997, Cage's friend and mentor Bobbito Garcia started his own independent label Fondle 'Em Records, and offered cage a twelve inch deal. Refocused and determined to get it right this time, Cage penned the single Agent Orange b/w Radiohead. The single would go on to be one of the landmark records of the golden era of NYC underground/independent rap music and propelled Cage into cult star status.
After a few more singles with Fondle 'Em, Cage met and became friends with Philly to New York transplant rap group The High And the Mighty. He formed a group with them called the Smut Peddlers, and Rawkus (who were riding high on albums by Company Flow and Mos Def, to name a few) offered them a full length album deal through Eastern Conference’s imprint, Eastern Conference. The record sold over 50 thousand copies and solidified Cage's status as a rising rap star in the independent scene.
Cage went on to do more records with Eastern Conference including his first solo record Movies for the Blind. The record was the realization of the very character he became through his tortured early years, relying on raw, savage, often cruel, misogynistic, gritty and rebellious attitudes he had formed through his earlier years. The record struck a chord, selling 15 thousand copies in just 2 weeks, and his legion of dedicated fans grew ever bigger, attracted to his visceral and dangerous persona and music. He traveled the world several times over in support of the record and became a major draw in the independent show circuit.
Soon after he started the supergroup Weathermen, comprised of good friends Camu Tao, El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Ballz, Tame 1, Breeze of the Juggaknots and Vast Aire.
Restless with his artistic direction and feeling trapped by a persona created out of his troubled youth, he found himself at a crossroads. He felt as though he was squandering his writing abilities and catering to music with content that only scratched the surface of what he was about. He no longer wanted to project crazy for the sake of crazy and grew tired of showing the results of his past and how they reflected on his personality. Instead, he wanted to explain why he was the way he was and wanted to make a record that he could play for his daughter someday; a record that reflected the man he was now while at the same time finally shedding light on the source of his rage, pain and rebellion. It was at this point that he and El-p started to seriously talk about making an album that would truly realize his desire to take his art to another level. They cautiously talked and imagined this transformation for over a year, culminating with his signing with Definitive Jux records. Cage worked to to bring these ideas to fruition, and the result is a cathartic and radical statement of a tortured boy turned man. A detailed, imaginative and often disturbing look into the dark territory that Cage had so closely guarded from the fans that loved him.
Cage appeared at the end of the Head Automatica album Decadence on the track 'I Shot William H. Macy' - lead singer Daryl Palumbo appeared on the RJD2 produced track Shoot Frank, as well as his band being referenced throughout the album (notably on Scenester, with Cage urging the listener to "slip it in your Head Automatica folder"). Head Automatica also wrote a song called K-Horse about Cage on their new album Popaganda.
Actor Shia LaBeouf star of Transformers (July 2007) will be playing Cage in an upcoming movie about his life.
2. The Power Metal Band: (from website bio) CAGE formed in 1992 after the breakup of two outfits from San Diego, CRUSHER and NOMAD. The band has become an underground legend of sorts and are still active to this day. Their original lineup consisted of Sean Peck (Vocals), David Garcia (Guitar), Eric Horton (Guitar), Mike Giordano (Bass), and Damian Arletto (Drums).
In 2010 original bassist Mike Giordano and lead guitarist Anthony Wayne McGuiniss left the band, and new recruits bassist Steve Brogden (guitarist/vocalist for Howler) and former Brick Bath bassist Pete Stone were added on. Current lineup consists of Sean Peck(vocals), Dave Garcia(Guitar), Casey Trask(Guitar), Dwight Magic(Bass), and Sean Elg(Drums)
--------------------------------------------------
Strain
Cage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yell out "cut!" when I'm tired of flingin' matches
When no explosion happens, passion passes your gut fast
And you wake with a girl and a Robitussen mustache
I start to feel like a stalker, the curves of her drive by
And my nerves is too shot to talk to her
I don't know how to convey it, or make you see art
With no control of when our souls are depart
I wanna lay in your stain like a dog
And wear your scent like a shitty gold chain
I wanna lay in your vein like blood
And play you out like a shitty gold chain
I wanna stay in your brain, because you're sane
And that's enough for me to complain
I wanna cave into pain, but it's too late
Just tryin' to feel good is a strain
I won't be mean to you, I won't be seen with you
I have to talk to you, I wanna walk wth you
I have no right to you, I wanna fight with you
I wanna be wth you
I won't let you go if you hate me, just don't amputate me
I won't try to kill myself today as long as you save me
These drugs are for babies, I'll manipulate you crazy
Just to get you to crave me
Oxygen navigates though the blood slice to coagulate it
When a young girl in a tub opened her wrist and traded her life
Her make-up was nice, her letter bold and lead
Folded up under a candle, when opened read:
I wanna lay in your stain like a dog
And wear your scent like a shitty gold chain
I wanna lay in your vein like blood
And play you out like a shitty gold chain
I wanna stay in your brain, because you're sane
And that's enough for me to complain
I wanna cave into pain, but it's too late
Just tryin' to feel good is a strain
I won't be mean to you, I won't be seen with you
I have to talk to you, already stalkin' you
I have no right to you, I wanna fight with you
I wanna be wth you
DNA make up the break up, make up with take out
Doggy bags from the steakhouse
It's true a bloody nose will ruin a make-out session
She's breaks out, walkin' on me, can pull the left-over steaks out
My whole life is a blur
Why is it no matter how many faces switch places it's still hers?
I wish I wasn't attracted, but the mind attaches
Snuck in her parents house, stole her old mattress
So I can lay in your stain like a dog
And wear your scent like a shitty gold chain
I wanna lay in your vein like blood
And play you out like a shitty gold chain
I wanna stay in your brain, because you're sane
And that's enough for me to complain
I wanna cave into pain, but it's too late
Just tryin' to feel good is a strain
I won't be mean to you, I won't be seen with you
I have to talk to you, I wanna walk wth you
I have no right to you, I wanna fight with you
I have to be in you
The lyrics of Cage's song "Strain" describe the extreme and irrational obsession of the singer toward a woman. They paint the picture of a man who is infatuated to the point of being consumed by his desire for her. He is aware of the unhealthy nature of his feelings, but he cannot help but want to be near her constantly. The singer is aware that his passion is unreciprocated, and he feels pain and strain in trying to cope with this knowledge.
The lyrics communicate a sense of desperation and a longing for connection. The singer's attempts at communication and interaction are fraught with difficulty and awkwardness. He is consumed by his own thoughts and desires, and he cannot communicate them clearly to the woman. The lyrics reveal the dark side of unrequited love and the pain and suffering that it can cause.
Overall, the lyrics of "Strain" capture the intensity of human emotion and the struggle to find connection in a world that is often harsh and unforgiving.
Line by Line Meaning
Same movie, different actress, quite the theatrics
The singer is tired of repeating the same scenario with different women, each trying to outdo the previous in a dramatic way.
Yell out "cut!" when I'm tired of flingin' matches
The singer wants to end a relationship when it becomes too tiresome, like calling for a cut in a movie scene.
When no explosion happens, passion passes your gut fast
When the initial excitement fades, the relationship loses its appeal quickly.
And you wake with a girl and a Robitussen mustache
After a night of partying, the artist wakes up with a girl and a hangover.
I start to feel like a stalker, the curves of her drive by
The artist becomes obsessed with a woman and stalks her by driving past her house repeatedly.
And my nerves is too shot to talk to her
The singer is too anxious to approach the woman he is obsessed with.
I don't know how to convey it, or make you see art
The singer struggles to express his feelings and make the woman see what he finds compelling about her.
With no control of when our souls are depart
The artist fears that he cannot control when the relationship will end, like the eventual separation of souls in death.
I wanna lay in your stain like a dog
The artist wants to possess and be owned by the woman like a dog is owned by its owner.
And wear your scent like a shitty gold chain
The artist wants to be constantly reminded of the woman and her scent, like a tacky piece of jewelry that holds sentimental value.
I wanna lay in your vein like blood
The singer wants to be so connected with the woman that he becomes a part of her body and bloodstream.
And play you out like a shitty gold chain
The artist wants to use the woman for his own purposes, like wearing a piece of cheap jewelry until it loses its value.
I wanna stay in your brain, because you're sane
The singer wants to stay in the woman's mind because she is the only stable thing he can cling to.
And that's enough for me to complain
Even though the woman is stable, the singer is still miserable and unhappy.
I wanna cave into pain, but it's too late
The singer wants to give into the pain of his obsession, but he knows it is too late to turn back now.
Just tryin' to feel good is a strain
The act of trying to feel good by being with the woman causes too much stress and strain for the artist.
I won't let you go if you hate me, just don't amputate me
The artist is so afraid of losing the woman that he begs her not to cut him out of her life completely.
I won't try to kill myself today as long as you save me
The singer's mental state is unstable, and he is willing to do anything to stay alive as long as the woman is in his life.
These drugs are for babies, I'll manipulate you crazy
The singer is willing to use manipulation tactics to keep the woman close, even if it means playing mind games with her.
Oxygen navigates though the blood slice to coagulate it
This line is unclear and lacks context or meaning.
When a young girl in a tub opened her wrist and traded her life
The artist references a possible suicide or self-harm attempt by a young woman in a bathtub as an example of the artist's own emotional instability.
Her make-up was nice, her letter bold and lead
The artist describes the girl's suicide note as being striking due to its bold handwriting and the girl's attractive appearance.
Folded up under a candle, when opened read:
The suicide note was discovered folded up and left under a burning candle.
DNA make up the break up, make up with take out
This line is unclear and lacks context or meaning.
Doggy bags from the steakhouse
The singer is carrying leftover food from a fancy dinner date.
It's true a bloody nose will ruin a make-out session
The singer reflects on a past experience where a physical altercation ended a romantic moment.
She's breaks out, walkin' on me, can pull the left-over steaks out
The woman from the earlier romantic encounter leaves the singer without warning, leaving him to carry their dinner leftovers.
My whole life is a blur
The artist is suffering from a general feeling of disorientation and a lack of clarity in his life.
Why is it no matter how many faces switch places it's still hers?
The artist compares the similarities between different women he has dated with the woman he is currently obsessed with, wondering why he cannot escape his obsession with her.
I wish I wasn't attracted, but the mind attaches
The singer acknowledges that his feelings for the woman are irrational and unwanted, but his emotions are beyond his control.
Snuck in her parents house, stole her old mattress
The singer takes drastic measures to hold onto a physical object connected to the woman he is obsessed with, in this case, her old mattress.
I have to be in you
The artist's obsession with the woman leads him to desire complete control over her body and mind, at any cost.
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.