Raised on the ground-breaking hip-hop of the mid-to-late 1980’s, Lexicon is a group that truly appreciates the music as an art-form. Consisting of two emcees who are also brothers, Oak and NickFury have a special chemistry that is very apparent when listening to their music..

But before being schooled by the emcees that paved the way, Oak and Nick were exposed to a wide variety of music by their parents and grandparents. Music was even in their blood before they knew it. Their grandfather, Paul Barry, was a very influential singer in the 1940’s and 50’s. He toured with Tommy Dorsey, sang with Frank Sinatra, and starred in movies with Mae West. And while growing up, Oak and Nick listened to all of the music that their open-minded parents did – a wide variety of stuff such as The Police, Quincy Jones, The Talking Heads, Steely Dan, Al Jarreau and Billy Joel.

All of these inspiring artists, combined with Oak and Nick’s undying love for hip-hop, led them to start making the music themselves. After honing their skills for the better part of the early 90’s, they hooked up with the The Library Crew in 1995. Oak and Nick continued to grow as lyricists and in 1997 they released their first bit of music to the public in the form of a 5-song EP with The Library Crew. They followed it up with their debut 12” single (Reference Materials b/w Two 12-Bars) in 1998. In early 1999 Lexicon released an EP entitled “Antiquity.” This release was well received by the public and continued to cement their place in the hip-hop world. A single from the EP, “Change the Times” was released as a 12” with an unreleased B-Side produced by DJ Cheapshot of Styles of Beyond fame called “Keep on Movin.” This release garnered some solid college radio play, in addition to starting a very productive relationship with Cheapshot.

Now in 2001, Lexicon has just released their debut single with SpyTech Records, which is DJ Cheapshot’s record label. The songs, “Come Up” (f. 4-Zone) and “Nikehead” were both produced by Cheapshot and have gotten some serious attention from college radio and media publications alike. In addition to charting for 4 straight weeks on Hits Magazine’s “Rap Radio Top 30,” the single has received very positive reviews from such magazines as URB, BPM Culture, Elemental, Vice, and XLR8R.

And the buzz is only beginning – Lexicon is currently in the studio working on their debut full-length “It’s the L,” which will be released by SpyTech in the fall of this year. Oak and NickFury have developed into two very polished and charismatic emcees, and this record won’t disappoint. They’ll be backed by fantastic production from Cheapshot, Thes-One of People Under the Stairs, rap veteran Count Bass-D and Vin Skully (Styles of Beyond). The lyrics, hooks, and music on “It’s the L,” will tie together all of the inspiration that Lexicon has gotten from their eclectic musical background. Keep your eyes and ears open!!