Riley "Special" Wallace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Special | |
|---|---|
 Special performing in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Riley Wallace January 20, 1983 |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation | Rapper, |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Labels | Jersey Sound Lab, Universal/EMI, Above Average Hip Hop |
| Website | toronto |
Riley Wallace, known by the stage name Special, is a Canadian rapper. He has collaborated with rappers such as Craig G, El Da Sensei and Sadat X, among others.
In 2009, Special wrote the song "Get Ready To Strike",[1] which was originally intended to inspire the Communications Workers of America members during a Local 6222 rally, but word of it spread to other chapters, who shared it on the internet.[2] The song garnered thousands of views and downloads and was featured in The Wall Street Journal.[3]
As a music artist, Special released two official music videos as part of the E-Team. One, "The Bar Ain't Far Away", was in rotation on Much.[4] The other, "A Rapper's Motivation", was praised by industry insiders and urban bloggers.[5] Special, along with his crew, the E-Team, released two mixtapes (BAFA: The Art of The Remix and Art is Life: The Mixtape) and an album (Art is Life: The Album), before they signed a major label deal with Universal/EMI Canada. They released the song "T-Shirt Time" in 2011, which has over two million plays. Their subsequent release, Get Right, featuring Tasha The Amazon, was released later that same year.
As a solo artist, Special has numerous projects and has worked with artists including Sadat X, Craig G, Money B and El Da Sensei, among others. He is also closely affiliated with Jersey Sound Lab and has released a collaborative project with Internal Quest.
