Souleye (hip hop artist)

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Mario Treadway, better known by his stage name, Souleye, is an American rapper and hip hop artist. Based in Los Angeles, he has independently released 7 albums and will release his eighth, Shapeshifting, in October 2015. Among others, he has performed and recorded with Bassnectar, BLVD and his wife, Alanis Morissette.

Early life and education

Treadway was born and raised in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Influenced by artists including Buckshot, Biggie Smalls, 2Pac, Living Legends and the Hieroglyphics, he began rapping, writing and freestyling when he was 14. He graduated from Tantasqua Regional High School in 1999 and attended Western New England College on a basketball scholarship.

Career

Treadway left college after a year. "I wasn't learning what I wanted, and I really just wanted to grasp my passions," he said in a 2005 interview. He spent the next several years on the road. In 2001 he began writing, performing and traveling with a loosely knit collective of conscious hip hop artists called the Transcendental Alliance; in 2003, he released an album titled Soul Sessions with underground hip hop artist Campaign.