Socially conscious and a skilled freestyler, underground rapper C-Rayz Walz had been participating in open mics around New York City before hooking with the Stronghold collective. Walz's earliest appearances include mixtapes, an AWOL magazine compilation, and Single Minded Pros' Session 2 EP. A demo-filled first album, The Prelude, appeared on his own Sun Cycle Entertainment imprint in late 2001 and soon caught the attention of the folks at Definitive Jux. A guest feature on Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein with fellow Stronghold member L.I.F.E. and an appearance on Aesop Rock's Labor Days kicked off his relationship with the label. Definitive Jux released Walz's proper debut, Ravipops, in 2003. The EP We Live: The Black Samurai appeared in 2004. Walz took a break after the EP's release and spent most of his time off in seclusion. Burning his old rhyme books was a cathartic act that freed the rapper's creativity for his next album. The full-length Year of the Beast hit the streets in 2005 with El-P, Jean Grae, Aesop Rock, and Rob Sonic all making guest appearances. Though the death of his brother sidetracked him somewhat, he still released a set of new material, 1975: Return of the Beast, on Draft Records the following year.