vigoronline

Kantana is a wordsmith from York. Photo from artist's archives.

Back in the day—20 years ago to be exact—celebrity rapper Kwamé Holland changed the game with his polka dot gear and radio-friendly debut album, Kwamé the Boy Genius Featuring a New Beginning. (Kwamé even performed at Harrisburg’s Forum back then.) Today, a local rapper with the same moniker is also making his own lane in the rap game. Kwame Kantana’s swagger is Mick Jagger. On top of that, the rapper, who reps York, dropped his bangin’ mixtape, I Just Wanna Be Heard in January 2009.

Kantana is also one of Liana Renee’s favorite local rappers. What’s Kantana up to these days? Aside from working on I Just Wanna Be Heard Vol. II, he’s preparing to open up for the Fabolous and Trey Songz concert on Dec. 20. When vigoronline.com hit him on the cell a few weeks ago, the college junior, who studies business marketing at Millersville University, was also getting ready for final exams. “My workload is crazy,” the rapper affirms. On I Just Wanna Be Heard, Kantana shows why he ranks high on the list of top Central Pa. lyricists. The mixtape is replete with a reputable rap delivery and tight production/engineering by Windstar, who also hails from York. Peep this video of Kantana, Phene (another York rapper) and City Haze (rapper from New York).