Freestyle Fellowship

Last updated
Freestyle Fellowship
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Years active
  • 1991–1993
  • 1998–present
Labels
Members
Past members
  • J. Sumbi
  • M.D. Himself

Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. [1] The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blowed collective. [2]

Contents

History

While in high school in the late 1980s, Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter formed the short-lived MC Aces, a precursor to Freestyle Fellowship, at the Good Life Cafe in Los Angeles, California. [3] Subsequently, former high school friend P.E.A.C.E. was added to form Freestyle Fellowship. [3]

Freestyle Fellowship released the debut studio album, To Whom It May Concern... , in 1991. [4] In 1993, the group released the second studio album, Innercity Griots . [5]

Freestyle Fellowship went on hiatus due to the incarceration of Self Jupiter. [6] In 1998, the group reunited to record the Shockadoom EP, which would be released in 2002. [7] The group released Temptations in 2001, [8] and The Promise in 2011. [9]

Style and influences

According to Los Angeles Times , Freestyle Fellowship incorporates "jazz rhythms into its raps, which have the improvisational ebb and flow and the random explosiveness of a jazz solo." [10] In a 1993 interview with Los Angeles Times, the group's member Myka 9 said, "What we are is liberators, liberating rap from its R&B/funk structures--that 4/4 (time) prison." [10]

The group has been described by LA Weekly as "the astral jazz-cracked geniuses of sherm-strafed South Central, rapping with caged bird cadences about sleeping on park benches, biblical books, and gangsta rap carpetbaggers." [11]

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

Mixtapes

EPs

Singles

Guest appearances

Compilation appearances

Related Research Articles

Jazz rap is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter." The rhythm was rooted in hip hop over which were placed repetitive phrases of jazz instrumentation: trumpet, double bass, etc. Groups involved in the formation of jazz rap included A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, The Roots, Jungle Brothers, and Dream Warriors.

Freestyle is a style of hip hop where an artist improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure. It is similar to other improvisational music, such as jazz, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat. Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s. It is now mainly associated with hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya Jupiter</span> Musical artist

Melissha Martinez, better known by her stage name Maya Jupiter, is a Mexican-born Australian rapper, songwriter, MC and radio personality. She released her debut album, Today, in 2003. She was a member of hip-hop group, Foreign Heights, with MC Trey and DJ Nick Toth, which released a self-titled album in 2007. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2007 the trio was nominated for 'Best Urban Release' for "Get Yours (Remix)". From 2004 to 2008, Jupiter hosted the national radio station, Triple J's weekly Hip-Hop Show. Thereafter she pursued her solo career based in Los Angeles and released her second album, Maya Jupiter, in December 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aceyalone</span> American rapper

Edwin Maximilian "Eddie" Hayes, Jr., better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California, United States. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team. He is also a co-founder of Project Blowed. Aceyalone is best known for his role in evolving left-field hip-hop on the West Coast at a time when the West Coast was dominated by gangsta rap.

Aaron Pointer, better known by his stage name Abstract Rude, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California.

Project Blowed is an open-mic workshop, its affiliated underground hip hop crew and record label based in Los Angeles, California at 3333 Leimert. This hip hop function started in 1994 and features many music groups, emcees, dancers, music producers, and graffiti artists local to the Southern California area.

Haiku d'Etat is a super group rap trio featuring Aceyalone and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship and Abstract Rude of Abstract Tribe Unique. All three members are heavily affiliated with Project Blowed, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude being co-founders. The name "Haiku d'Etat" is a portmanteau of haiku and coup d'état, implying something akin to a musical revolution or a "poetic takeover" as one of their songs puts it.

<i>Innercity Griots</i> 1993 studio album by Freestyle Fellowship

Innercity Griots is the second studio album by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship. It was released on April 28, 1993 on 4th & B'way Records and distributed through Island Records.

Michael Lafayette Troy, better known by his stage name Myka 9, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku d'Etat and Magic Heart Genies. Known for years as Mikah Nine, he changed the spelling to Myka Nyne with the release of A Work in Progress in 2003. Since Magic Heart Genies' album Heartifact in 2008, he has been credited as Myka 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self Jupiter</span> American rapper

Ornette Glenn, better known by his stage name Self Jupiter, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship alongside Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Aceyalone. He is also one half of The Kleenrz alongside Kenny Segal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daddy-O (rapper)</span> American rapper

Glenn K. Bolton, widely known as Daddy-O, is an American rapper and record producer. He began his career by founding the hip-hop group Stetsasonic. He is known as an early advocate of sampling in music.

<i>Hip Hop and the World We Live In</i> 2002 studio album by Aceyalone

Hip Hop and the World We Live In is the fourth studio album by American rapper Aceyalone. Entirely produced by Elusive, it was released on Project Blowed and Decon in 2002.

Mtulazaji Davis, better known by his stage name Peace is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship along with Aceyalone, Myka 9 and Self Jupiter. He has released two solo albums.

Dino Hawkins, known by his stage name Volume 10, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He was a member of the Heavyweights crew along with Freestyle Fellowship, Ganjah K, and Medusa, among others.

Omid Walizadeh, also known as Omid or OD, is a hip hop producer based in Long Beach, California. He has produced tracks for the likes of Freestyle Fellowship, Busdriver, 2Mex, Subtitle, and Awol One.

<i>Temptations</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Freestyle Fellowship

Temptations is the third studio album by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship. It was released on Ground Control Records on October 16, 2001. Its release was delayed considerably because of Self Jupiter's incarceration.

Kenny Segal, also known as Syndakit, is an American record producer and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. In 2018, Mixmag described him as "one of the best hip-hop producers in the city." He has been a member of Team Supreme, The Kleenrz, and The Jefferson Park Boys.

<i>Shockadoom</i> 2002 EP by Freestyle Fellowship

Shockadoom is a 2002 EP by American hip hop group Freestyle Fellowship.

This is the discography of American rapper Aceyalone.

Zane Marie Reynosa, known by the stage names Zane and Zane One as well as the names Zane Valdez and Zane Marie, is an American rapper and fashion accessory designer from Whittier, California. She joined the pioneering Christian underground hip hop collective Tunnel Rats in 1993, which was formed by her brother, Dax Reynosa, and recorded three studio albums and a compilation with the group. She also founded the band Saturday Night Freestyle. She has featured on numerous songs and in 2008 released a solo studio album, L.A. Woman. She was active for years as a battle rapper in the Los Angeles scene and was featured in the 2004 documentary The Battle for L.A.: Footsoldiers, Vol. 1, directed by Darren Doane. She also created a fashion line, Zane Marie Bags, specializing in vintage handbags, luggage, wallets, and rhyme books.

References

  1. Serwer, Jesse (October 16, 2012). "35. De La Soul "Transmitting Live From Mars" (1989) / Freestyle Fellowship "Sunshine Men" (1991)". Complex . Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  2. Weiss, Jeff (December 15, 2011). "It's Your Anniversary: Underground hip-hop Project Blowed is 17". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). "Aceyalone". In Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn; Fonseca, Anthony J. (eds.). Hip Hop Around the World: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 2–3.
  4. Steiner, B.J. (October 5, 2013). "Today In Hip-Hop: Freestyle Fellowship Releases 'To Whom It May Concern...'". XXL . Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  5. Madden, Sidney (April 28, 2015). "Today in Hip-Hop: Freestyle Fellowship Drop 'Innercity Griots'". XXL . Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  6. Weiss, Jeff (June 18, 2010). "Knowledge of self: Self Jupiter talks Freestyle Fellowship reunion, returning to school, and the West Coast underground". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  7. Chennault, Sam (July 14, 2002). "Freestyle Fellowship: Shockadoom". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  8. Haywood, Brad (February 12, 2002). "Freestyle Fellowship: Temptations". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  9. Breihan, Tom (July 25, 2011). "New Release: Freestyle Fellowship: The Promise". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Hunt, Dennis (June 29, 1993). "Liberating Rap With Jazz Sound : Freestyle Fellowship Adds Riffs to Rhymes". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. Weiss, Jeff (September 27, 2011). "Having Already Influenced Every Rapper You Like, Freestyle Fellowship Are Back". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2017.