Birthname: Andre Barnes
Birthdate: August 6th, 1969
Residence: Bronx, NY
Occupation: MC
Stagename: A.G.
Affiliations: D.I.T.C, Showbiz & A.G., GD
Credentials: Runaway Slave, Goodfellas, Full Scale, The Dirty Version, Get Dirty Radio.

Growing up in the South Bronx’s infamous Patterson projects, AG was exposed to both street life and hip-hop at an early age. He remembers excitedly watching parties thrown by the likes of Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, and the Cold Crush brothers, and being introduced to freestyling by his cousin, LB (currently a graffiti artist and graphic designer with his own clothing line.) While in high school he battled metaphor/punchline master Lord Finesse; the two hit it off, and after meeting producer/DJ Showbiz, he became a full-fledged member of DITC, along with Show, Big L (R.I.P.), Finesse, Buckwild, Diamond D, Fat Joe, and OC. Show and AG’s first EP came out in 1990; an LP, Runaway Slave, followed in 1992; both are hailed as Golden Age gems which currently demand a pretty penny on eBay.

Unfortunately, Show & AG’s 1995 album Goodfellaz got caught up in industry politics after their then-label Payday was bought by Universal. “The people in charge didn’t know anything about music,” A.G. explains. “They didn’t do music, they didn’t live in the clubs.” Despite the setback, which cooled their momentum considerably, AG and his brethren continued to make records. 1998’s independently-released DITC album, Full Scale, moved a reported 30,000 units on vinyl and was hailed by the Source as one of the top underground albums of that year; in 1999, AG dropped his first solo album, The Dirty Version. Since then, the rapper has been sought out for guest verses on records by Dilated Peoples, Blacksheep, DJ Greyboy, Casual, and Handsome Boy Modeling School. He’s also toured numerous countries, including Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, and Japan. “I’ve been overseas a lot,” he says, noting that he’s been embraced by international audiences who appreciate hip-hop culture beyond just the current fad or trend. “They keep the real movement alive.”

In 2002, AG came across DJ Design backstage at a show in Germany. This was the first time the two reunited since 1994, when Design promoted a show in Seattle headlined by none other than Show & AG. The two discussed working together on an AG solo album, and soon after that, the rapper flew out to San Francisco to write what would become Get Dirty Radio, staying in a condo rented by Look Records, and getting inspiration from the change of scenery and California’s celebrated greenery. “It ain’t no dirt weed out there,” he says with a smile.

Initially skeptical about working with new producers, AG has come to realize that even veteran MCs have to remain relevant and contemporary. The cutout bins are littered with scores of albums by formerly great rappers who fell off or just couldn’t adapt to the current state of the hip-hop artform. Yet that’s not likely to happen with Get Dirty Radio, an album which deserves to be seen as a modern-day classic by a classic artist.

Showbiz & A.G. just released a new EP named "The Show & A Experience: Live Hard" The EP is filled with 12 bangers, recordings and instrumentals; it was released in late 2007. Other than that, A.G. is planning to drop another solo record, currently untitled. Ontop of that he is doing a album with fellow DITC member as a duo, the legendary O.C. which the album also remains untitled for now, the news about that collab-album were brought to the people by A.G. & O.C. themselfs at a concert.