“Cornbread was the one who first approached me about recording,” he says. “I had gotten some buzz doing freestyle cyphers and battles at house parties in town. I wasn’t sure I was ready, but I guess he saw the talent there and convinced me to take it to the next level. At the time, Cornbread had an album called The Adventures of 00Negro, like kind of a twist off of 007, James Bond, y’know? So he was Secret Agent 00Negro. That’s kind of where my name came from, ’cause Cornbread said, ‘if you wanna be my partner in crime…’ and we both kinda said, right at the same time, ‘Agent Orange.’ It just kinda clicked, what with me being the ginger that I am, with the orange hair. It just made sense and it stuck.”

This dynamic duo put out a spy-themed recording in 2006, the cleverly named MI-6 Tape, followed by Agent Orange’s first fullfledged solo release, The Real McCoy (offered by the artist for free download at agento.bandcamp.com), which in turn led to Agent Orange’s eventual excursion to 106 and Park. All of which begs the question: how are you gonna keep Agent O down on the metaphorical farm in Springfield when he’s already tasted the fruits of national exposure on BET?

Short answer: You’re not. “No disrespect to where I grew up, where I was born, where I was raised, to the town that’s made me the man that I am today,” Zach explains, “but there are bigger and better things out there for me and I need to go seize those.” He’s been keeping a low profile of late, working hard on his new record, to be titled Nightmare in the Field of Dreams. Once that drops, more likely than not, Agent Orange will head out to try his skills in greener pastures.

Given the rambunctious spirit of competition embodied by Agent Orange, along with the fact that hip-hop is, at its base, rebellious and street-oriented music, it isn’t surprising that things can sometimes threaten to get out of hand on Tuesday nights. Thus, the Ten Rap Commandments.

[SOUND EFFECTS: jackhammer beat fades, replaced by a syncopated rendition of “Pomp & Circumstance,” under]

At the launch of each Torch Tuesday, the show’s Master of Ceremonies reads the Commandments over the PA, and none are negotiable.

The Ten Rap Commandments

1. Respect yourself, respect others and respect the property (ABSOLUTELY NO DROPPING THE MIC).

2. Sign yourself up. 3. No more than three tracks on a CD, no skipping songs.

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