Calvin James Howard (October 4, 1978 – April 16, 2012), better known as Viro the Virus, was an underground hip hop artist based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Despite only some commercial success, Viro became well known on the underground hip hop circuit, with his most notable appearance being on the track ''"Starlight"'' from the

Snowgoons History Snowgoons is a German underground hip hop production team composed of DJ Illegal (Manuu Rückert) and Det Gunner (D. Keller). In 2011, producers Sicknature (Jeppe Andersen) from Denmark and J.S. Kuster (Johann Sebastian Kuster) from Ger ...

' album ''Black Snow''.

Career

In his lifetime, Viro the Virus released seven albums, five of which were solo efforts. His debut, ''Future Trauma'', was released in 2002 under the NODRECORDS. record label and has since been made available on iTunes. It would be three years until his next solo album, during which time he collaborated with producer Caliph-NOW on the album ''Arz Nova'' in 2003 and rapper Slim DSM on ''420'' in 2004. It was in 2005 that Viro released the album ''OutBreak'' spawning the popular track ''"Top Dog"''. Due to Viro's growing popularity in the later stages of his career, the album was re-released on iTunes in 2009. The entire album (save for the track ''"Primetime"'') was produced by Caliph-NOW. 2007 saw ''Jersey's Finest'', Viro's third solo album. He described the album on the Philadelphia Weekly blogger as "my most upbeat album to date", a definite change from his previous, darker themes. The album also saw Viro collaborate with other well known underground rappers such as Philly locals

Reef the Lost Cauze Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an underground hip hop artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 2000 ...

and

Side Effect In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

. In 2008, Viro released his fourth album, ''The Sharpest Blade''. It was around this time that Viro performed on the

track ''"Starlight"'' which garnered significant popularity, going viral and reaching over 300,000 views on YouTube. He would also appear on the tracks ''"The Limit"'' (from the 2009

album '' The Trojan Horse'') and ''"All in Your Mind"'' from ''A Fist in the Thought'', another 2009 release by the

. ''Bud, Sex, and Beers, Vol. 1'', released in 2009, would prove to be Viro's final album before his death in April 2012. The title of this final album implies that further albums under the ''Bud, Sex, and Beers'' moniker were planned. In 2011, the

released ''Virohazard'' (Remix EP), which, as the title suggests, was a remix of many of Viro's most notable songs, including a remix of the song ''"Starlight"''. Viro also produced the entrance theme for professional wrestler Chris Hero during his first stint with Ring of Honor, which, since its creation, became Hero's main entrance theme on independent wrestling shows.

Fade into obscurity and death

Following the release of his 2009 album ''Bud, Sex, and Beers, Vol. 1'', little was heard from Viro. Between 2009 and 2012, no new projects were announced. On April 15, 2012,

posted an announcement of Viro's death on Twitter. He was reported to have died in Tucson, Arizona. His funeral was held at the New Jerusalem House of God church in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

Legacy

Since Viro's passing, members of the hip hop community have paid their respects to him through their music. Not long after his death, MC Burke the Jurke recorded ''No Antidote'', a two-minute track dedicated to Viro. In 2013, the Snowgoons, who previously worked with Viro on a number of occasions, placed the track ''Rear Naked Choke'' on their album ''Snowgoons Dynasty'', originally a track from the EP ''Virohazard''. Upon release of their latest album, ''Black Snow 2'', they released the song ''Dizzy Dreams'' which is a remix of the song ''Dizzy Dreams'' that came out in 2003. There has also been confirmation that in April 2014, long-time producer and friend of Viro, Caliph-NOW, will be releasing a remixed version of the classic album ''Arz Nova'', with the help of numerous guest producers.

Discography

Studio Releases

*''Future Trauma'' (2002) *''Arz Nova: The Longest EP Ever'' (with Caliph-NOW) (2003) *''420'' (with Slim DSM & Caliph-NOW) (2004) *''OutBreak'' (2005) *''Jersey's Finest'' (2006) *''The Sharpest Blade'' (2008) *''Bud, Sex and Beers, Vol. 1 EP'' (2009) *''From Jersey To Germany'' (with

) (2019)

Remix Releases

*''Virohazard'' (Remix EP) (2011) *''Arz Nova: The Longest EP Ever Remixed'' (2014) *''420 Remixed'' (with Slim DSM) (2015) *''Outbreak Remixed'' (2016) *''Jersey's Finest Remixed'' (2017) *''The Sharpest Blade Remixed'' (2018)

As featured performer

*"Starlight" - Snowgoons Ft. Viro the Virus (2008) *"Lonely Streets" - Reef The Lost Cauze Ft. Viro the Virus (2008) *"The Limit" - Snowgoons Ft. Viro the Virus (2009) *"All in Your Mind" - Snowgoons Ft. Viro the Virus (2009) *"Chris is Awesome" - Viro the Virus (2009)RapReviews Artist Spotlight - Viro the Virus
/ref> *"The World" - The White Shadow Of Norway Ft. Viro the Virus, Sha Stimuli & Awkword (2011) *"Rear Naked Choke" - Snowgoons Ft. Viro the Virus (2012) *"Dizzy Dreams" - Snowgoons Ft. Viro the Virus (2013) *"Problem" - DJ Artz Ft. Viro the Virus (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viro the Virus American hip hop musicians 1978 births 2012 suicides Suicides in Arizona