WWE Champion John Cena Steps Outside The Ring With Debut Album You Can't See Me

NEW YORK (Columbia Records) - World Wrestling Entertainment champion John Cena has come a long way from the beatings he used to take in junior high school for his love of hip-hop. Columbia Records gives the wrestler props with YOU CAN'T SEE ME, his debut album available in stores May 10.

Recorded in 2004 at Chaos and Order Basscamp Studios during Cena's rare breaks from the ring, YOU CAN'T SEE ME features 17 original tracks. Paying tribute to the classic two-man rhyming crews of the past, Cena and Tha Trademarc (Marc Predka) nimbly trade verses throughout the album. "You almost never hear a rap crew today working like EPMD or 3rd Bass," says Cena. "I wanted to bring that style back a little and get away from one MC up there doing his thing. Working this way let us attack a song from different directions and create a more dynamic flow."

The album's first single, "Bad, Bad Man," is backed by Chaos' insistent beat and respected rap legend Freddie Foxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles), who created the song's chest-pounding chorus. The new video for "Bad, Bad Man" is a parody of the old A-Team show, featuring modern special effects stars: John Cena as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, Bumpy Knuckles as Sgt. Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus, Tha Trademarc as Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, also a cameo with Different Strokes star Gary Coleman.

With "Beantown," Cena combines a bluesy guitar riff and funky backbeat to fuel a tribute to his Boston roots. Giving shout outs to everything from Fenway Park's "Green Monster" and the Tobin Bridge to Carl Yastrzemski's bushy sideburns (circa 1973) and the Boston Tea Party, Cena paints a vivid picture of the place he still calls home. "Yo, we fresh, y'all a little bit stale, and we about to make it ugly like Kevin McHale."

The tables have turned these days and Cena is the one administering the smackdowns, but as he prepares to release his debut, YOU CAN'T SEE ME, he's still fighting against those old perceptions. "I know what I'm up against. I know people are going to dismiss me as a hip-hop artist out of hand because they think there is no way a white wrestler could rap," he says. "I busted my ass for three years writing songs and improving my skills to prove those people wrong. Whether you love or hate this record, I don't think you can deny its authenticity."