In the United States, California is commonly associated with the film, music, and arts industries; there are numerous world-famous Californian musicians. New genres of music, such as surf rock and third wave ska, have their origins in California.
Timothy Jerome Parker, better known by his stage name Gift of Gab, was an American rapper best known for performing in the Bay Area hip hop duo Blackalicious along with DJ Chief Xcel. He was also a member of Quannum Projects, a Bay Area hip hop crew and record label, and performed and recorded as a solo artist.
A2G is an EP by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was originally released on Quannum Projects in 1999. It peaked at number 21 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
Lateef Daumont, better known by his stage name Lateef the Truthspeaker, or mononymously as Lateef, is a hip hop artist from Oakland, California. He is a member of several hip hop groups such as Latyrx, Lateef and the Chief, and the Mighty Underdogs. He was the founding member of the Solesides collective, which became Quannum Projects.
Latyrx is an American alternative hip hop duo consisting of Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides collective at the University of California, Davis.
Lifesavas is a hip hop group from Portland, Oregon. Their style exhibits tag-team rhymes, matter-of-fact storytelling and a soulful production. The emcee's styles and song writing skills are showcased in the arrangements of a funky collection of subject matter and concepts.
Curumin is a Brazilian singer whose style incorporates elements of samba, funk, jazz, bossa nova, and hip hop. He sings in Portuguese and speaks fluent English. His first album, Achados E Perdidos, was released on September 20, 2005, on the Quannum Projects label.
SoleSides was an American underground hip hop label based in Northern California, founded in 1991. It comprised various DJs and MCs, the most notable being DJ Shadow, MC–producer Lyrics Born and duo Blackalicious. The members of Solesides all met via the radio station, KDVS, the 5000-watt community radio station of the University of California at Davis. During high school, Davis-natives DJ Shadow and The 8th Wonder used to frequent the station to support Orus Washington's hip hop show. In college, journalist and then-grad student Jeff "DJ Zen" Chang, broadcast a weekly hip hop radio show that got the attention of DJ Shadow and The 8th Wonder, freshmen Xavier Mosely, Tom Shimura and Joseph Patel (Jazzbo). They all shared a like-minded passion for hip hop that pushed beyond the sounds of mainstream commercial music.
Lateef and the Chief is an American hip hop group from California. Originally known as Maroons, it consists of rapper Lateef the Truthspeaker and producer Chief Xcel. In 2004, the duo released their debut album, Maroons: Ambush.
The Album is the first studio album by Latyrx, an American hip hop duo consisting of Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. It was released on Solesides in 1997, and it was re-released on Quannum Projects in 2002.
ApSci is an Australian video-centric avant pop duo with origins in indie hip hop. As individuals, their roots go back to punk rock and opera. The duo consists of Bronx born, New Jersey-bred Ra Lamotta and his Filipino-Australian wife Dana Diaz-Tutaan. The duo, which has been performing together since meeting in 1998, has received added attention after being signed to underground hip hop label Quannum Projects in 2004. The band name is a portmanteau of "applied science."
The Mighty Underdogs is an American hip hop supergroup from the San Francisco Bay Area. It consists of rappers Gift of Gab and Lateef the Truthspeaker and producer Headnodic.
The Jazz Mafia is a young American musical collective that incorporates smaller ensembles into a larger family. The collective is based in the Mission District of San Francisco, California where it writes, plays, and arranges jazz music while incorporating genres such as electronica, soul, funk, big band, symphonic, and hip-hop. Its founder and leader, trombonist and bass guitarist Adam Theis, participates in at least ten bands, including Realistic Orchestra, Shotgun Wedding Quintet, Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony, Jazz Mafia Horns, Supertaster, and the Joe Bagale Band.
Firewire is the debut solo studio album by American hip hop artist Lateef the Truthspeaker. It was released via Quannum Projects on November 8, 2011. Recorded over the course of four months in Oakland, California, it includes contributions from DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Del the Funky Homosapien, and Dan the Automator.
General Elektriks is the musical project of French keyboard player, composer, singer, and producer Hervé Salters. He also uses the moniker RV, a contraction of the pronunciation of his first name in French.
Joshua Paul Davis, better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, Endtroducing....., was released in 1996.
Jeff Chang is an American historian, journalist, and music critic on hip hop music and culture. His 2005 book, Can't Stop Won't Stop, which won the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award, chronicles the early hip hop scene. His writing has appeared in URB, BOMB, San Francisco Chronicle, The Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Vibe, Spin, The Nation, and Mother Jones. He has also been featured on NPR.
Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful production. The duo released four full-length albums: Nia in 1999, Blazing Arrow in 2002, The Craft in 2005, and Imani Vol. 1 in 2015. Gift of Gab died in June 2021.
Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura, better known by his stage name Lyrics Born, is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.
Rocky Rivera is a Filipino-American rapper and journalist from San Francisco, CA. She is a member of the hip-hop label, Beatrock Music, where she gained recognition for her socially conscious lyrics and advocacy for social justice. Her style can be described as "militant feminist Hip Hop." The subject matter in her music often touches on issues of sexism, racism, women empowerment, gentrification, systematic oppression, motherhood, capitalism, religion and politics.
