Vic Shadez — New Jersey Hip Hop Artist, Producer & Multimedia Creator

Vic Shadez is a New Jersey hip hop artist, music producer, graphic designer, and video director with more than 30 years of experience creating music and visual media. His connection to music began long before hip hop became his primary creative outlet, giving him a musical foundation that stretches across genres and generations.

Growing up surrounded by music, Vic began performing at an early age as a Latin percussionist in his father's salsa band. Playing live on stage as an adolescent introduced him to musicianship, rhythm, performance, and the energy of live music firsthand. Those early experiences helped establish a lifelong passion for music and eventually led Vic toward the emerging sounds and culture of hip hop.

As his involvement in hip hop grew, Vic Shadez developed into a multifaceted independent artist capable of contributing to virtually every stage of the creative process. Rather than limiting himself to being an MC, he expanded his skills into hip hop music production, graphic design, album cover artwork, music video production, directing, and multimedia creation.

Vic became a member of the New Jersey underground hip hop group Tha Kin, alongside Kid Sin (A.F. Sin) and J-Pleezz. The group spent years writing and recording original music throughout Hoboken, Union City, and Hudson County, New Jersey, developing a sound influenced by 90s East Coast hip hop, underground rap, boom bap, and lyrical hip hop.

Tha Kin would eventually become an important part of the foundation surrounding GO-ILLA Productions, a Hudson County-based collective bringing together independent rappers, producers, DJs, designers, and other creative artists. Through his work with Tha Kin and GO-ILLA, Vic contributed to numerous albums, songs, collaborations, performances, and multimedia projects while continuing to expand his abilities behind the scenes.

Over the years, Vic Shadez has worked within both the independent and established hip hop scenes, applying his talents to music production, artwork, and video projects. His creative work has included projects involving artists such as Chris Rivers, Joell Ortiz, and Styles P, alongside numerous independent and unsigned hip hop artists.

That versatility has become one of the defining characteristics of Vic Shadez's career. Whether he is writing and recording as an MC, producing hip hop tracks, designing album artwork, or directing and creating music videos, Vic approaches hip hop as more than simply music. For him, the audio and visual sides of the culture are parts of the same creative process.

After decades of collaborating and releasing music with his Tha Kin and GO-ILLA Productions affiliates, Vic Shadez began another chapter of his career by stepping forward as a solo hip hop artist. His solo work brings together the experience accumulated through more than three decades of performing, recording, producing, designing, directing, and working within independent hip hop.

From performing Latin percussion on stage as a child to becoming a veteran of the New Jersey underground hip hop scene, Vic Shadez has built his career around creativity in all its forms. His journey through music reflects decades of dedication to the craft and a willingness to evolve without abandoning the independent roots that helped shape him.

Today, Vic Shadez continues creating hip hop as an artist, producer, designer, and video director, carrying more than 30 years of musical experience into his solo work while remaining connected to the legacy of Tha Kin, GO-ILLA Productions, and New Jersey underground hip hop.