Pedestrian (rapper)

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Pedestrian
Birth nameJames Brandon Best
Also known asThe Pedestrian
Evangelist J.B. Best
Cosmic Lovefuck
Whitefolks
OriginLos Angeles
Genres Alternative hip hop, underground hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, preacher, writer
Years active1998–present
Labels Anticon
Associated acts Sole, Jel, Telephone Jim Jesus, Yoni Wolf
Website www.anticon.com

James Brandon Best, better known by his stage name Pedestrian, is a rapper and writer from Los Angeles. He is a co-founder of Anticon. [1] He is also known as a preacher under the moniker Evangelist J.B. Best. [2]

Contents

History

In 1998, Pedestian co-founded Anticon with other indie hip hop artists. He came up with the name; it means "anti conformity" originally, but also means "ant icon." [3]

He has written several articles about hip hop for East Bay Express from 2003 to 2004. [4] [5] [6]

After being featured on other Anticon co-founders' albums such as Them and Bottle of Humans , Pedestrian released his debut solo album Volume One: UnIndian Songs on the label in 2005. [7] It was produced by Matt Chang, Jel, Why? and Alias. [8] "The Toss & Turn" b/w "Arrest the President," a single from the album, includes the track "Resurrection Morning Sermon" performed by Evangelist J.B. Best. [9]

Pedestrian toured across the United States [10] [11] and Europe [12] [13] with Sole, Dosh and Telephone Jim Jesus in promotion of the album.

He wrote an article about N.W.A for Xlr8r in 2008. [14]

Style

In a 2003 interview, Pedestrian talked about his influence and rapping style:

"I was mostly into fast rapping and freestyling, and I was really inspired too by a lot of vocalese-Annie Ross, Jon Hendricks, and Eddie Jefferson especially. Which is probably the apotheosis of voice-as-instrument. But the whole appeal of rap for me has always been its hyper-wordiness, and more than anything I want to communicate ideas." [15]

Discography

Studio albums

Pedestrian

Object Beings(Pedestrian with Doseone & Why?)

EPs, mixtapes, compilations

EPs

Mixtapes

Compilations

Singles

Guest appearances

Tracks appear on

Writing credits

Related Research Articles

Anticon

Anticon is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It is now collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manager Shaun Koplow. The original musicians signed to Anticon were once referred to as the Anticon collective.

James Timothy "Tim" Holland Jr., better known by his stage name Sole, is an American underground hip hop artist from Portland, Maine. He is one of eight co-founders of the record label Anticon. He has been a member of the groups Northern Exposure, Live Poets, Deep Puddle Dynamics, So-Called Artists, Da Babylonianz, Sole and the Skyrider Band and Waco Boyz.

David P. Madson, better known by his stage name Odd Nosdam, is an American underground hip hop producer, DJ and visual artist. He is co-founder of the record label Anticon. He has remixed tracks by a variety of bands and artists including Boards of Canada, The Notwist, and Sole.

Sixtoo was the main project of a Canadian underground hip hop DJ, producer and rapper Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996 and 2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name pursuing other directions in electronic music, with a large genre shift from experimental hip hop to deeper club sounds of various tempos. He has also released music as Speakerbruiser Rob, and Prison Garde.

Doseone

Adam Drucker, better known by his stage name Doseone, is an American rapper, producer, poet and artist. He is a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon. He has also been a member of numerous groups including Deep Puddle Dynamics, Greenthink, Clouddead, Themselves, Subtle, 13 & God, Go Dark, Nevermen, and A7pha.

Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, Them, was included on Fact's "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list.

<i>Selling Live Water</i> 2003 studio album by Sole

Selling Live Water is a solo studio album by American hip hop artist Sole. It was released on Anticon in 2003. It peaked at number 126 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart, as well as number 7 on CMJ's Hip-Hop chart.

<i>Bottle of Humans</i> 2000 studio album by Sole

Bottle of Humans is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop artist Sole. It was released on Anticon in 2000. It peaked at number 14 on CMJ's Top 25 Hip-Hop chart.

Brendon Whitney, better known by his stage name Alias, was a producer and rapper from Hollis, Maine. He was a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon.

Jeffrey James Logan, better known by his stage name Jel, is an American hip hop producer and rapper. He is co-founder of the record label Anticon. He has been a member of Presage, Themselves, Subtle, and 13 & God.

<i>Soft Money</i> (album) 2006 studio album by Jel

Soft Money is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Jel. It was released on Anticon on February 20, 2006. "WMD / All Around" was released as a single from the album.

Crowns Down is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Themselves. It was released on Anticon in 2009. A remix version of the album, Crowns Down & Company, was released in 2010.

<i>Mansbestfriend Pt. 2: No Thanks</i> 2003 studio album by Mansbestfriend

Mansbestfriend Pt. 2: No Thanks is a studio album by American hip hop artist Sole. Originally self-released in 2003, the album was repackaged and remastered with additional tracks and released by Morr Music in 2004 under the title The New Human Is Illegal, with Sole using "Mansbestfriend" as an alternate moniker.

<i>Volume One: UnIndian Songs</i> 2005 studio album by Pedestrian

Volume One: UnIndian Songs is the first studio album by American rapper and Anticon co-founder Pedestrian. It was released on Anticon in 2005. It features contributions from Doseone, Why?, Sole, and Jel, among others. In 2004, "The Toss & Turn / Arrest the President" was released as a single from the album. The album peaked at number 17 on the Dusted Top 40 Radio Chart.

Chris Greer, better known by his stage name DJ Mayonnaise, is an alternative hip hop producer and DJ from Portland, Maine. He has released two albums on Anticon.

David Bryant, better known by his stage name Passage, is an alternative hip hop rapper based in Oakland, California. He is a member of Restiform Bodies along with Bomarr and Telephone Jim Jesus.

George Chadwick, better known by his stage name Telephone Jim Jesus, is an alternative hip hop producer based in Oakland, California. He is a member of Restiform Bodies along with Passage and Bomarr.

Matt Chang, also known by his stage name Bay Blue, is an underground hip hop producer based in Oakland, California. He has collaborated with Sole, Pedestrian and Sixtoo under the alias Matth.

Yoni Wolf is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock artist based in Berkeley, California. His discography consists of twelve studio albums, eight EPs, three compilations of demos, one compilation album, four live albums, numerous physical singles, and many production and remix credits and guest appearances on other artists' tracks.

Late Pass is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Jel. It was released on Anticon on August 20, 2013. Music videos were created for "Look Up", "Breathe", and "Steady".

References

  1. ↑ McAllister, Lulu (November 19, 2008). "Anticon Celebrates Tenth Birthday in NYC". XLR8R.
  2. ↑ "Spotlight on: Becoming Weather by Chris Martin". Coffee House Press.
  3. ↑ Gulliford, Tristan (September 26, 2007). "Sole Survivor: An Interview with Sole". Reality Sandwich.
  4. ↑ Best, James (May 28, 2003). "Hip-Hop's Cadaver Capitalism". East Bay Express.
  5. ↑ Best, James (September 3, 2003). "Black Like Me". East Bay Express.
  6. ↑ Best, James (February 25, 2004). "You Failed Hip-Hop". East Bay Express.
  7. ↑ Diver, Mike (January 12, 2005). "pedestrian Volume One: unIndian Songs". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Volume One: UnIndian Songs". Discogs.
  9. ↑ "The Toss & Turn". Discogs.
  10. ↑ D.X. Ferris (April 6, 2005). "Sole/Pedestrian". Cleveland Scene.
  11. ↑ Lovell, Jarret. "Anticon Collective Declares "War on Self"". KUCI.
  12. ↑ "Sole & Pedestrian – 'Arrest the President' – Live". Delarge.
  13. ↑ Bora (June 21, 2005). "Anticon's 'War on Self Tour'". OPJESMOEL.
  14. ↑ Best, Brandon (February 27, 2008). "Pedestrian Dissects N.W.A." XLR8R.
  15. ↑ Spill (November 11, 2003). "The Pedestrian". Urban Smarts.
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