Leaders of the Carolinas 2017 (Rapsody) carolina mag rapsody | Page 7

North Carolina rapper and Cult Rap leader Deniro Farrar presents an
unflinchingly real-life perspective delivered with a gruff rasp and old-
soul wisdom influenced as much by 2Pac and Bob Marley as Sun Tzu
and Angela Davis. His taut lyrical execution and honest accounts of
true-life issues imbue his songs with gravity and self-aware substance
akin to Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar. With his Cult Rap philosophy
that encourages balance of body and soul, Farrar promotes meditation,
physical activity, and literary discussions via his Cult Rap book club,
which examines works like The Alchemist, Are Prisons Obsolete?, and
Things Fall Apart with his audience. Born Qushawan Farrar in Charlotte,
he debuted in 2010 with the sprawling mixtape Feel This (Black Flag
Records). In 2012 he issued a pair of LPs (Destiny Altered and Kill or Be
Killed) and the Cliff of Death EP. The next year he released The
Patriarch; its sequel arrived months later. Signing with Warner Bros., he
continued his prolific output with 2014's Rebirth, which featured Child
Actor, Lunice, Denzel Curry, and DuRu tha King. Cliff of Death II was
released the year after and Mind of a Gemini in 2016. The two-part
Red Book EPs continued his reflective examinations of social issues and
hope.