FTO Free The Optimus LIVE @ Salvage Station 3-31-2018
Free The Optimus is an Asheville, North Carolina based hip hop collective focused on bringing improvisational lyricism to jazz influenced boom bap soundscapes. C.Shreve defines Free the Optimus as “a call to action—to set free our optimal ability & our optimistic perspective, and to transform the world around us.”
In live performance form, FTO consists of C.Shreve the Professor and Mike L!VE on vocals, DJ Jet on the turntables, and a rotating selection of guest MCs & musicians. The jazz / hip hop mindset of free form improvisation and collaboration is a vital component to the FTO live experience, as songs and structure are often tossed aside in favor of the energy and groove of the moment.
Free The Optimus has toured and shared stages with The Hieroglyphics, Cannibal Ox, Nappy Roots, Talib Kweli, DJ Enuff, Big K.R.I.T., Three 6 Mafia, Guilty Simpson, BJ the Chicago Kid, Planet Asia, Blueprint, The Palmer Squares, Tanya Morgan, Illogic, Rapper Big Pooh, and many more. FTO has performed at Hopscotch Music Festival, Blue Plum Festival, Beats and Bars Festival, Harvest Boone, Hidden In The Hollow, DURM Hip Hop Summit, Boone in Blossom, Raleigh Fall Music Festival, and GURP Fest.
C.Shreve’s new project “Daddy Love To Rap” released December 2017 as did “The Lost Files”. Both are available on all outlets.
Awards
2017 Carolina Music Award finalist: Best Hip Hop Group
2016 Carolina Music Award: Best Hip Hop Group
2016 Carolina Music Award finalist: Best DJ (DJ Jet)
2015 Carolina Music Award: Best Hip Hop Group
2015 Carolina Music Award finalist: Best DJ (DJ Jet)
2015 Carolina Music Award finalist: Best Video (The Feast)
Catacombs; Asheville Music Awards
Greatness On My Mind / Fade Away; Asheville Music Awards
Crews’ Corpses: Finalist, Best Cinematography; Asheville Music Video Awards
Summer Ransom / What It Do: Finalist, Western Carolina Music Awards
