MOVING ON UP

To the West Coast and beyond

By Sonya Tomlinson

Last time we heard from local rhymer Poverty, aka Tommy Ferris, he was busy defending himself against assault accusations. Prior to that, he was having a little brush with fame when he opened for national rap act Cappadonna, of the Wu-Tang Clan at the State Theater back in May.

Since then, Ferris has made moves, literally. Ferris is currently living in Los Angeles with Shifty Shellshock, lead singer of rap/hardcore outfit Crazy Town. You may know them from their popular single, “Butterfly,” played (some might say overplayed — especially those who listen to “alternative rock” radio) on stations across the country. Crazy Town is currently composing their sophomore album, to follow their debut, Gift of Game, which sold four million copies for Columbia records.

Yes, with Crazy Town, Poverty has found himself a home. “Ferris will be appearing on Crazy Town’s upcoming song, “Deja-Vu” as well as co-writing several others,” according to manager Chip Sullivan of Loophole Management. (Yes, also a member of my band kNOw Complex. He wears many hats.)

So how did Poverty go from rags (we’re talking literally here) to riches (not so literally) overnight? With the persistence of a determined manager and an album in hand, Ferris began rubbing elbows with all the right people. A trip to New York City in August landed Ferris meetings with record label owner Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, and producers Sean “Puffy” Combs and Jermaine Dupri. But the real break was matrimonial. Turns out Sullivan’s (I call him Chip) family is connected to one of the guys in Crazy Town, and the band wasn’t averse to a couch surfer from Portland hanging ten with them. And though Crazy Town’s writing talents are obviously prodigious, there was no reason why they couldn’t let Ferris help out a little.

Ferris is also weighing some possible options after talking to several labels, including Universal, Columbia, Priority, and Artist Direct, just to name(drop) a few. “Rick Rubin, producer of the Beastie Boys and Crazy Town, has said that he likes Ferris’s stuff,” says Sullivan.

Granted, nothing is set in platinum yet, but with a handful of leads, Ferris is working towards putting himself as a Maine hip-hop artist on the mainstream map. Maybe he’ll have to change his name. How about middle-class?