The Break Presents: TxE

PDX has an untapped hip-hop scene worth looking into. With fellow Northwest rappers like Macklemore and Sol building their brands, this trio of MCs is on the cusp of becoming something big. Read up on TxE, who just released their excellent new album vs. PRTLAND.

Standout: "This Town (Sallie Ford)" featuring Vursatyl

Also check out: "Tetherball"

And: "Swing Set"

Name: TxE

Ages: Tope, 27; Epp, 29; G_Force, 26

Hometown: Portland, OR

We grew up listening to: Tope: Tupac, Jay Dee, The Pharcyde, Notorious B.I.G., Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Janet Jackson. Epp: The Smiths, Tribe, Big L, Biggie, Outkast, Slum Village, The Exploited, The Clash, Bad Religion, AFI, PUTS. G_Force: Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Kriss Kross, Neil Young, The Supremes.

Most people don't know we: Tope: We have 3 group projects in addition to 20+ albums and 30+ videos on YouTube as a collective, search us! G_Force: We are a trio [Laughs].

Our style's been compared to: Tope: A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, Pac Div, The Goodwill on MLK. Epp: Slum Village, Livesavas, and Tribe. G_Force: De La Soul, Sex Pistols, and Raffi.

Our standout records and/or moments to date have been: Tope: Tetherball EP. Playing Musicfest NW, PDX Pop Now!, and rapping at The (the Rose Garden) home of The Trailblazers, being recognized by Erykah Badu & Cody Chestnutt, touring with Abstract Rude & Scarub, visiting the legendary RuffHouse Records in Philly. G_Force: Playing with Macklemore for 250 people and then for 1,000. Standout records "Swing Set" and "Tetherball."

Our goal in Hip-Hop is: Tope: Make good music that stands the test of time and be able to tour the world with our best friends. Epp: To create a sound and movement that's different from others, but still rooted in soul, hip-hop, etc. G_Force: To show doing you works.

We're gonna be the next: Tope: TxE! We're too original to be the next anything, we can only be ourselves. Epp: TxE. Work good, work hard, create and go from there. G_Force: Chubby Chasers.

To check out more of our music go to: Follow us on Twitter (@TxEmusic), Facebook and our website.