Standing 6 feet tall, weighing 260 pounds Cheron McKinnon, known in the music industry as In Ya Face hip hop recording artist Big Work, blends old school R&B with his raw street edge.
Work, who uses his old block name for his musical moniker, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, where he developed a passion for the music game through hearing the sounds of such 90’s artists as Heavy D, Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and Smif-N-Wessun, among others. But then, like many other dudes, Big Work found himself getting into “trouble,” and wound up serving two three-year stints in prison. Once he finished parole, he moved to California where he pursued a career in music. “I didn’t want to get into trouble anymore. Since I always loved music, I got involved with an independent situation, and through that situation, I met Howard Misle, CEO of In Ya Face Records. He signed me, I was given some projects to do and I have been busy for the past year working on my album.”
Since then, things have been looking up. Through a relationship Wyclef Jean forged with In Ya Face Records, Big Work was able to collaborate with the Fugees’ founder on one of his songs, ‘Streets Ain’t Hollywood,’ which is a song giving listeners the inside track on Work’s former hometown, Hartford. “Hartford isn’t much different than New Orleans, Newark or Baltimore, but since the city is smaller, everybody knows about everything that happens. Every street corner is like a block…it’s bad. There’s nothing for kids to do, and there’s not enough jobs for people who actually live there; most of the jobs go to people who are outside of the community. So, everybody’s hustling.”
The music collabo between Wyclef and Work developed into a more extensive musical alliance, and in recent months, Work has spend significant time recording product in Wyclef’s Platinum Sounds Studio in New York. A musical mentor to Work, Wyclef has encouraged this new artist to express his creativity in the studio. “It was an honor to have Wyclef involved with my project. After all, he’s sold millions of albums. We’ve developed a good vibe,” Work goes on to say. “Wyclef is down to earth. He took the time to really work with me and taught me a lot. I really listen to him, especially since he could be doing something other than working with me.”
Presently living in Sacramento, not too far from the In Ya Face Records location in Palo Alto, California, Work is putting the finishing touches on his forthcoming CD, Big Dreams And Ambitions. Among the songs that have been recorded are one of his favorites, “Take Your Time,” which is a throwback to the popular R&B classic ”Mama Used To Say (Take Your Time Young Man)” released by Junior in 1982. Both Ne-Yo and the late Tupac Shakur are sampled on the hook through the creative efforts of the song’s producer and beatmaker. Another standout cut, “Purple,” is Work’s tongue-in-cheek weed anthem. He laughs, “Everybody thought it was about a girl because in the lyrics I say, ‘I never felt this way about you.’ Once you hear the song again, you’ll say, ‘oh, s---t! He’s talking about weed!’” Another one of his favorite cuts, “The Streets Goin’ Drive Me Crazy,” is bananas. “It’s kind of like my life story and about how hard I’m working in the streets.”
He also recorded, “Like B.I.G., ” a humorous testimonial in memory of Notorious B.I.G., to whom he’s often compared. “I hear this comparison all the time, but we are really two different people. I don’t think I sound like Biggie; I sound ore like Guerilla Black than I do Biggie. I think that Shyne actually sounds more like Biggie.”
Although Big Work has a strong work ethic leftover from his hustling days (“I work day and night and my girl always says, ‘can you just chill?’”), he plays Scrabble and trains pit bulls when the opportunity permits. But even when he knows he should be resting, he’s always tempted to go back into the studio, where he has amassed a collection of 100 songs which can be used on future projects, including mixtapes local DJ’s beg him to put together. He also loves listening to music on the radio even though “radio’s brainwashed these days. But I could listen to R&B all day long. A lot of rap is whack--- it’s too watered down. I want to hear 15 bangers.”
In addition to carving his niche in the record business, Big Work plans to become an entrepreneur. The gifted lyricist has big dreams and ambitions that he plans to pursue and he doesn’t plan to ever stop workin’. I’m in the studio night and day just like when I hustled.” Hustle never sleeps, does it?
