Eighty4 Fly

about

IT’S A FLY WORLD—AND WE’RE FLYING FIRST CLASS It was around age 12 when Eighty4 Fly, aka Devon Taylor, started making music. He followed the example of a handful of brothers and cousins who rapped recreationally, but in reality music has been near omnipresent since his early childhood. With grandparents singing in the church, a vocalist sister and a cousin, NoClue, who holds the Guinness Record as the fastest rapper in the world, it’s arguable that musical talent runs in the family—Eighty4 Fly just picked it up. Eighty4 Fly was born and raised in Seattle, from his early days in the south end’s Rainier Vista to formative years in the north end that followed a move with his mother at age 9. He started out recording from one tape deck to another, then upgraded to so-called studios in friends basements. The first time he ever got in a real studio, the budding emcee was 16 years old and ended up in a booth with West Coast producer Funk Daddy (Sir Mix-a-Lot, E-40). But after putting out a single short project, Eighty4 Fly was incarcerated and spent 2002-2005 behind bars. He doesn’t advertise that fact, nor use it as a claim to some sort of gangsta street cred; instead, it was a chance for a hardheaded kid to read, soul search and reinvent himself. As counterintuitive as it might sound, the experience was a good one. Instead of choosing to come out the same person, he took the time reflect and learn as much as he possibly could. After his release, real life superseded rap life;