Rising of the Phoenix by Ragz Mo' Rocka

Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network & Disney soon secured Diaz's talents to assist them with their respective projects. Def Jam recordings had Diaz create their first web site, which went on to win an AOL award for "best new website" that year. Diaz was also responsible for creating the independent 4 part comic book mini-series "OAK" in the mid 90's, which did well among the comic book circuit & it's fans.

Ish Allen is the musical catalyst of Ragz & producer. Ish Allen's production credits include work playing with artists such as Trumystic, Jimmy Cliff, Black-Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, Talvin Singh, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Roni Size, Jungle Brothers, and The Roots.

Mike Santoro, is Ragz' lead guitarist & guest co-vocalist for the band. He has played with artists such as KiddusI, Ivan Kral (Patti smith, Iggy Pop & Eastern Bloc), and Ron Wood.

Rising of the Phoenix also showcases other guest talent such as spoken word artist, Josh "Maestro" Vasquez & vocal veteran Kirsty Rock of "Trumystic"(#22 in CMJ Raggae charts with their latest 2 disc set, album "Dub Power") currently, Brian Scott plays drums for the band.

Kevin Altieri, the latest addition to the band, handling all of the animation direction & live show visuals for Ragz. Kevin was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998 for Pearl Jam's animated video "Do the Evolution" via Todd McFarlane Studios. Kevin has directed several animated movies & animated series (Striperella, Batman, Gen13, etc.) in the past and is currently in development with the music video portion for Ragz.

Prior to all the focus on Ragz Mo' Rocka, Diaz was part of a rap group known as "Da Woodchukas", produced by Ish Allen. They performed at the Apollo Theater, the Uptown Comedy Cellar, among many other venues, and as fate would have it, DJ Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito the Barber had them perform on their top rated underground radio show on WKCR.

After the "Da Woodchuckas" parted ways, Diaz continued to shape his music skills by learning to play several instruments and working on a broad range of new ecclectic songs, much different than what his original rap group had been writing & performing. Al continued to work with his partner, Ish Allen & formed The Ragz Unit (T.R.U.) - The Real Us.

Ragz Mo' Rocka, the cartoon characters, are compelling personas of their own. As struggling band members working the music circuit, Sir Reel, Big Dub, Flu, Grayscale, Lil' Russ and Doozy seek recognition and respect from the rest of us in the human world. While facing strong opposition in the midst of merging the surreal to the real, they use music to break the barrier between our imagination and their reality, the NoZone Layer. The characters are wonderful creations by Diaz, and the visuals enhance the (sur) realness of the unique identities of the members of Ragz Mo Rocka.

Musically, the album is an interesting composition, broad in range and style. Ranging from hard-hitting hip hop, to Latin lounge sounds, to introspective soundscapes, rock and roll, and blends of all & none of the above, Ragz Mo' Rocka will have you asking the age old question, "Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?"

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