A3C Hip Hop Festival Blog

2010 A3C Artist Spotlight: Punchline

Written by Mike Walbert | Sep 30

Punchline is performing on Thursday, Oct 7th

Few artists await their solo debut after already being featured on a certified gold album, and lyricist Rashaan “Punchline” Truell is by far not a newcomer to this industry. Being surrounded by the conscious hip-hop scene, Punchline first found his calling in high school, writing rhymes in the back of class. From there, he formed the three member group, Uprising. After losing one member of the group, Punchline met up with upcoming rapper Wordsworth. After losing another original member of Uprising, Punchline and Wordsworth continued to work together and became the duo Punch ‘N’ Words.

Punch ‘N’ Words began making the rounds on the national underground Hip Hop open mic circuit. Audiences immediately responded to their conversational chemistry and the duo rapidly developed a loyal fan base. Punchline managed to meet with the Trackmasters and immediately provided them a demo after an impromptu freestyle. Recognizing Punchline’s talent, the Trackmasters signed Punchline and Wordsworth to their label under the Sony imprint. Punchline’s love for hip-hop made him an instant studio rat. Punch sat in on sessions with Kool G Rap, Noreaga, Nas, Heavy D, and more. While Noreaga was doing a video interview for the Shades of Hip Hop DVD, a freestyle session sparked between Punchline, Noreaga, 50 cent, and Consequence. After seeing the DVD, Kid Capri then enlisted Punchline to feature on “One on One,” a single which Capri featured on his album Soundtrack to the Streets...
...When it comes down to it Punchline is a lyricist through and through.