SongVault Artist Profile

Cayenne (real name Alton Gunner, Jr.) was born October 26, 1978 in Lafayette, La to a musical family with strong gospel roots. Cayenne began singing at age 7 in church. At this point in his life, he had a very sheltered life with both parents at home. Being that his father was in the Marine Corps, Cayenne lived in different parts of the country. After being medically discharged in 1990, his parents moved the family back to Louisiana. Moving to Louisiana brought Cayenne close to his cousins that showed him the streetlife. A young and very impressionable Cayenne was introduced to rapping by his at the time favorite cousin. Cayenne began freestyling on the block, at school, anywhere that anyone would lend a ear. Being that he lived in different areas of the country, his grammer is southern accented with a lyricism and swagger of an east coast cat. When asked why he chose the moniker "Cayenne" he states, "I represent the area of Louisiana where the way we season our food is a way of life. Louisiana Hot Sauce is bottled here in New Iberia, check your bottle. Tabasco is from Avery Island. That's a couple miles away, and besides my lyrics are just as hot." Cayenne "unofficially" released 2 mixtapes "2 Street Vols. 1&2" locally in New Iberia, La. He is currently working on his next mixtape "Lyrical Slaughter" which he hopes to release nationwide or at least regional. "Being from this area, it's hard to get heard or taken seriously no matter how good you are" Cayenne states. "If Master P, Baby, Boosie and them can get heard, I can too. I feel I can be a flagship artist, but hell, right now just let me be the 6th man. Give me some minutes, and I'll start