Grandmaster Caz truly loves hip-hop. The Bronx born native lives and breathes the culture of hip-hop in all its elements and has done so for almost every year of its four full decade lifespan. Grandmaster Caz is also a most humble guy. He has to be considering that, despite the fact he is one of the most influential and important pioneering figures in hip-hop, the average music fan doesn't really know much about Caz or the importance of his place in hip-hop history. Of course the fact that his legendary crew The Cold Crush Brothers, who introduced to the most via their appearances in the landmark 1983 Charlie Ahearn directed hip-hop movie Wild Style, never released an official album or the fact that Caz never got credited for the verses of his that Big Bank Hank borrowed for the Sugarhill Gang's breakout megahit rap single "Rapper's Delight." Maybe this was all for a reason: something to test Caz's commitment to hip-hop. If so he has passed that test with flying colors and, unlike so many figures in the history of hip-hop who fall off or fade away after a few years, decade after decade Grandmaster Caz has been a consistent contributor been to the culture that defines him and that he, in turn, helps define.

The recently published Bronx Biannual Issue No. 2 (Akashic Books) is the sophomore publication in the ongoing new ten-part black literary series that was founded and is edited by Bronx born and bred hip-hop journalist//author Miles Marshall Lewis. The 230-page collection boasts over a dozen talented hip-hop generation writers, both known and unknown, all carefully selected by Lewis, who began his hip-hop journalism career back in the early nineties working on the first edition of Vibe magazine as an intern. From there, he worked his way up to become that magazine's editor. He has also been editor at XXL and written for numerous publications including LA Weekly, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and Essence.

A few years ago he published his first book, Scars of the Soul Are Why Kids Wear Bandages When They Don't Have Bruises, and last year kicked off the Bronx Biannual literary series.

I recently caught up with Miles, who splits his time between New York and Paris these days. I also caught up with one of Bronx Biannual's contributors -- noted hip-hop journalist and author Michael A. Gonzales, who co-wrote the groundbreaking hip-hop book Bring the Noise: A Guide: A Guide to Rap Music and Hip-Hop Culture (Crown, 1991) and has written stories and reviews for Spin, High Times, Mode, XXL, The Village Voice and Entertainment Weekly. He penned the piece "Blues For Sister Rose" in Bronx Biannual No. 2.