From his days in Moore Paine and Tafioso, Ariel Mack Paine is best known in Seattle’s hip hop community (and yes, there is one) as A-Real because he is completely real with his words and beats. If you are part of the recently indoctrinated, you know this rapper-hip hip producer as Amp, short for Amp Fire. Turn up the volume on Amp’s debut solo release Icy Heat and enter Amp’s odd but strangely cool world of music from the head and the heart.

Amp, born of a mother who was a classically trained pianist and artist and a father who was a self-proclaimed pimp, was raised by his maternal grandmother, Ida Ruth Brown, after his mother committed suicide when Amp was only eight months old. Thus began the life of hard truths for Amp Fire. Amp’s grandmother kept him on the straight path with church and good schools giving him the work ethic it takes to commit and submit to his obvious skills.

"High school at Seattle’s Garfield High was an eye-opening experience, growing up in the peak of gangs and violence yet coming originally from private school. High school put me in a world where people were judged mostly by the clothes they wore and the people they hung out with. I was able to fit in; I just didn’t follow the trends to be cool. High school taught me to be independent."

Amp’s needs to express himself artistically as an individual led him to the Central Area Youth Association Multi-Media and Performing Arts program developed and led at that time by Maurice Jones Jr., now the President of Amp’s label Very Juicy Records/interactive. "Maurice was my guru, I worked directly under him to learn all aspects of the music business, from writing, performing, and producing to behind-the-scenes work like music video editing, copyrights, and music promotion. It only made sense to sign on when Maurice started his label."

Amp will tell you that his major influences are ’80s bands like Cameo, SOS Band, Mtume, Isleys and Loose Ends. He is a studio rat who also enjoys the crowd’s reaction to his message and beats in the live realm. "My songwriting process is unique. I write after the music is made. My rap and singing revolve around the temp and vibe of the music." Amp’s music is a reflection of life in Seattle’s Central District but his eye is on world domination as an artist and producer.

"Being productive makes me happy. I love challenges and music is the critical part of who I am." Watch for Amp Fire’s debut hip hop release Icy Heat on Very Juicy Records/interactive in stores Spring 2001.

And by the way, Amp’s favorite food is Mac 'n' Cheese homemade mama style with love. "If I was stuck on a desert island and I could only have 3 CD’s, 3 movies and 3 books my picks would be: Makaveli - The 7 Day Theory, Dead Prez, and Jodeci - The Show, the movies would be American Pimp, Goodfellas, and The Matrix, and I would sit all day on the beach reading the All, Pimp-Iceberg Slim, and all the how-to books involving my career I could get my hands on as they floated onto shore."

After rewarding membership in two of Seattle’s most notable hip hop groups, Amp Fire stands to make a stand-alone career and blaze out of Seattle’s Central District.