Burke The Jurke is an emcee born and raised in South Philadelphia that made a name for himself in the local scene early on by slaughtering cyphers, open mics and any rappers that ever wanted to test his skill. Burke was know for his live shows before he even settled down in the studio. Without any albums released he has done concerts with Wu-Tang Clan, Jedi Mind Tricks, AOTP, Reef The Lost Cauze, Heltah Skeltah, and many more. "I started writing rhymes in my early teens" Burke says. "I remember getting chills from listening to emcees like Nas and Big Pun...chills. Their wordplay, content, enthusiasm, charisma. I knew I wanted to do what they did in some way." Lets not even get into Burke as an emcee, lets go with hip-hop head/music lover. If you have ever listened to any music with Burke, you know how diverse his taste is. Take a ride with Burke around the city of philly and you'll hear tunes from Nas to Dean Martin to Wu-Tang to Phill Collins back to Mobb Depp, and so on. God forbid your in a car that had satellite radio, you might get bullied into listening to classical music. " I like any music thats dope" Burke says. " Its meant to put you in a mood or make you feel somethin, it can be rage, lust, relaxation, excitement, love, pain. I mean theres alot of things music can do. I'll never understand a person who just don't incorporate music in their life, it baffles me". This is not going to be a real biography on Burke, because he told me, " Tellin' a person who you are and what your like will only go so far. If people are gona get to know you foreal, its not gona be through an interview or a bio. I've 'known' alot of people in my life who speculate on what my personality is like all the time. For instance ,I'll get to know someone really well that I was previously just aquainted with,and somewhere down the line they'll tell me, 'burke I never thought you'd be such a cool dude or stand up guy, I mean I never really knew you but I guess I just judged you wrong'. Granted, I did alot of things in my adolescent years that could have shattered my reputation, but i always thought for the most part I was a respectful fella.(laughs)" Burke does have alot of respect. He credits that to his Italian-American heritage. I've seen Burke be the "peacemaker" and break up a fight. He'd tell one guy to cool out and try to talk sense into the other guy, still being respectful to everyone. But I wouldn't get on his bad side. Cause when shit hits the fan and its time to get brutal, lets just say I wouldn't want to be in the way. I saw this guy (Burke) box and he was just messing around but torturing this guy. Now look, Burke is about 230, fast, sharp, light on his feet and hits like a Rhino. But remember, nicest guy you'll ever meet. I was at an event with Burke recently and there were guys that he spotted immediately and knew they were goin to start trouble. Sure enough one of the guys gets in a puffed-up chest screaming match with another guy at this bar. Burke, already aggravated with their demeanor from earlier goes to cool things out because it was his friends party and he could see his friend was getting involved. Some tuff-guy winds up getting smart with Burke and pulls a knife out while they're outside. The guy starts yelling, and Burke just laughs and says, " if you really wanted to fight you wouldn't be gettin held back by your buddies. Lets take a walk down the street and fight til one of us can't fight anymore." The guy just screams a little more but clearly didnt want to fight. Funny thing is he (Burke) appeared calm. But if you really looked close at his eyes, it looked like he was ready to pounce on this guy and rip him to pieces. I just find that impressive. So, enough of making you hate Burke even more if you prejudged as well. What to expect from him musc wise? Well, there are 3 upcoming projects Burke the Jurke has instore for the hip hop heads. "Jurkey Boys"A mixtape, which are compiled songs that Burke was featured on, exclusive freestyles and tracks that are not being used for the album. Its really great material. Then, for the more hardcore underground scene in hip hop (not for the faint of heart or commercial ear) we have "The Morlocks". An album with all the beats done by Strange, Burke's long time friend and insane beat brutalizer. Alot of the tracks on this project are gona bring you back a little bit. One reason is because this album should have been out in 05'. But complications with studio files and dedication to completing the project put a hold on this classic material. Last but not least "Jurke Du Soleil". Beats by Vherbal of Anno Domini. All Brand new material with a wide range of sounds, topics, and features. This album has everything that music today is missing. Its rugged and raw, passionate, intelligent, demented and fun. Its been a long time since I've been on a ride like this one, and thats an understatement. If your a real hip hop fan or even just like music, these 3 projects are a must have. Please stay tuned and look for any thing Burke the Jurke related. Wether its OPG, Vasili, O.D. or any of the other affiliations in the music world. Thank you. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.