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Event
Del The Funky Homosapien
Doors at 9pm. Tickets $15 at the door. 21+ with valid ID required.
WSG/ Fess Grandiose, Dezert Eez, Matt Black and MC Friendly.
Del The Funky Homosapien:
Music career[edit] Early life and beginnings: 1990-1997Born in in Oakland, California, he is the cousin of seminal west coast rapper Ice Cube, and began his career writing lyrics for Ice Cube's band, Da Lench Mob.[2] In 1991, with the help of Ice Cube, Del released his first solo album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here,[2] at the age of 18. The album was a commercial success largely due to the popularity of the hit single, "Mistadobalina". Ultimately Del, who was not pleased with the limited musical range of the album, severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, No Need for Alarm.
No Need for Alarm saw the introduction of the Oakland clique Hieroglyphics,[2] whose original members included Souls of Mischief (Opio, A-Plus, Phesto and Tajai) Casual, Pep Love, Del, and producer Domino. No Need for Alarm helped to expose both the regional Oakland sound of hip hop, as well as the freestyle based, "golden era 90's" style of hip hop being expanded at the time.
[edit] Middle era: 1998-2006Due to touring, mundane activities, and frequent psychedelic drug use, Del would not produce another album for five years. About a month before the release of his third album, Future Development, Del received a letter from his label, Elektra, stating that his contract had been terminated.[2][dead link]
Future Development became available in 1998. The album was only available on the Hieroglyphics website in tape form, but was re-released in 2002 under the Hieroglyphics Imperium label. Del also released another collaborative work with the Hieroglyphics crew in 1998, which was also the Hieroglyphics crew's first album: 3rd Eye Vision.
Del performing in Red Deer, Alberta in 2006Two years later, Del released his fourth solo album, Both Sides of the Brain, as well as Deltron 3030 which was a collaborative work with artists Dan the Automator and Kid Koala. With Nakamura and Koala, Del was also a guest performer for Gorillaz' 2001 eponymous album Gorillaz. He appeared on the singles "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House" (see Collaborations). 2003 saw the release of Full Circle, the second full-length album from the Hieroglyphics crew.
In 2004 Elektra released The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years without the approval of Del. The CD only includes songs from his first two albums, along with a handful of b-sides from that era. Del was not pleased and advised people to not buy the CD, saying it was just Elektra trying to make money off of him due to his newfound fame.
Together with his crew, Del established his own independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings, which primarily consists of an expanded Hieroglyphics roster and a few other artists with whom the group collaborates regularly.
[edit] Recent years: 2006-presentOn March 11, 2008 Del released Eleventh Hour through Definitive Jux. On March 31, 2009 Del's next album Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) was made available for free download on the internet. The album is available at his page on Bandcamp,[3] though he gave away some hard copies on his supporting Funk Man tour. A new video for the first single, "Get It Right Now", is on YouTube. In September of the same year, he released a new album, Automatik Statik, for an unfixed rate with a minimum of $3.
Del released his next album It Ain't Illegal Yet on August 6, 2010. There is no fixed price for the album, allowing listeners to pay whatever they wish for the album. Paying certain prices for the album will give certain incentives.
Del released his latest album, Golden Era, on April 19, 2011 in a three disc set including Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) and Automatik Statik.
[edit] In other mediaDel's songs have seen frequent use in various forms of media including video games, film soundtracks, as well as skateboarding, rollerblading and snowboarding videos. In 2000 the song "Catch All This" from Both Sides of the Brain was featured in the game Street Sk8er 2, "Jaw Gymnastics", featuring Casual, was featured in Knockout Kings, and "Positive Contact" from Deltron 3030 was featured in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. In 2001, "If You Must" was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. In 2003, "Positive Contact" from Deltron 3030 was featured in Tony Hawk's Underground and "The Izm" was featured in Rolling. In 2005, "At the Helm" featuring Hieroglyphics was featured in Tony Hawk's Project 8. In 2006, "Catch A Bad One" was featured in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. The Hieroglyphics song "Soweto" is featured on NBA 2K5 (the Hieroglyphics crew is unlockable as a bonus team). The Hieroglyphics song "Don't Hate the Player" was also featured in NBA 2K7. Del's song "Burnt" was featured in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. "Teamwork" is featured on PlayStation Home.
In 2006 his song "Dr. Bombay" was used in the movie Beerfest and more recently a Hieroglyphics song "At the Helm" was featured in commercials for and is used in Tony Hawk's Project 8.
Del has had many songs featured in snowboarding movies. "Press Rewind" was the song for Eero Ettala's part in the film White Balance and "If You Must" was featured in DC Mountain Lab.
Del collaborated with John King of the Dust Brothers and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo to produce the original score for Skate 3, released in May 2010.
[edit] CollaborationsIn 1993, Del collaborated with the band, Dinosaur Jr., to create the song, "Missing Link", featured on the Judgment Night (soundtrack). In 1999-2000, Del collaborated with Kid Koala and Dan The Automator as the supergroup Deltron 3030 whose debut self-titled album was released in May 2000. Exposure from the 3030 project helped to expand Del's fan basethe 3030 project worked well as a marketing move because the CD capitalized on the growing interest of computer technology, incorporating motifs of science fiction, telling stories about life and hip hop based in the year 3030, and infusing much of the popular internet terminology and culture in circulation at the time. A follow up album is set to be released in 2012.[4]
Del collaborated with virtual trip-hop group Gorillaz for two songs on their debut album, "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House", both of which became singles and videos and achieved chart success. For the purposes of the music videos and the Gorillaz storyline canon, Del performed under the identity of "Del the Ghost Rapper", who was said to be a spirit that was hiding from death within the band's drummer, Russel Hobbs. Del later commented in an interview on the success of "Clint Eastwood" by saying that he actually wrote the song with the book How to Write a Hit Song, a book that he bought with a coupon his mother gave him. After the song went platinum he gave the plaque to his mother.[5] As part of Russel Hobbs' back-story, the character of Del was one of Russel's friends that was gunned down in a drive-by shooting, whose ghost possessed Russel.[6]
Fess Grandiose
In an industry that prizes pigeonholes, Fess Grandiose brings something new to the industry: versatility. Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, he began as a MC at 17. Now Fess is a triple threat: an MC, DJ, and producer. From the lyrics, to production, down to the scratching, Fess holds complete control of his music. He prides himself on passionately staying true to hip-hop while soulfull...y adding his own personal inspirations--classic rock, funk, electronica. DJing his own set while performing along side live drums and keys are just part of the repertoire that sets him apart. Booking Fess in not just another rap performance; it's a grandiose event, where new school Hip-Hop meets vintage vibes. You'll be wondering what comes next...
Dezert Eez
Dezert Eez: "A Rugged, Up-close Look At Street & Global Affairs" Dezert Eez formed at Western Michigan University, located in Kalamazoo, Mi. All three members had known each other since 2003, but O'nill (Jerron Mosley) and 5-Star (Mike Williams) were the only 2 members of the group at the time. They performed on a local hip-hop circuit for a year before adding Mike's cousin Nivek (Kevin Williams) to the team in 2004. The trio worked together, during a watered down rap era, with a common goal of the resurgence of underground hip hop.
The name Dezert Eez (Desert Eagle) is symbolic of a weapon created in Israel and then later brought to the states to be manufactured much like the Original Man. Their first recording together was "Declaration of War," a rugged, up-close look at street and global affairs, which set the tone for much of their early material.
Over the next few months, they developed enough of a repertoire to start performing live outside the area, and quickly earned a following. When the group made its music available for download on the Internet, a substantial buzz built outside of Michigan, and it eventually earned them a opening slot for Wu Tang's Capadonna tour in 2004.
In early 2005, Dezert Eez released its first mixtape, The Realness, which won widespread critical praise that focused especially on the group's lyrics. The buzz helped them earn a raft of high-profile outside gigs, including shows with KRS-1, Dead Prez, Slum Village and a mini tour with Wu Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck.
Dezert Eez leapt to a bigger stage in 2008 when 5-Star teamed up with C-Rayz Walz, Killah Priest (Wu Tang), and Bronze Nazareth (also Wu Tang) on Indie heavyweight Babygrande Records to form The Almighty. The album also featured hip hop legends Canibus, Keith Murray, and Planet Asia. In late 2009, as Dezert Eez was finishing up their next release, Ghettobox, they joined up with N-cendiary/SRI/Universal and is set to drop their long awaited major debut.
Since then, the group has released two mixtapes; First, "Call of Duty: The Black Ops" featuring the likes of Nas, Raekwon, Killah Priest, La the Darkman, Bronze Nazareth, among others. The mixtape will also find the group rocking beats from the likes of One Be Lo, Khrome and fellow member of the Almighty Bronze Nazareth. Next, "We Own the Summer" hosted features with One.Be.Lo, Mike Posner, Mos Def, and a remix the the 2011 Summer jam by Miguel, Sure Thing. Both mixtapes received an overwhelmingly positive street and internet response to lyrics, beats, and artwork.
Currently, Dezert Eez is just stepping out of the studio and mastering their upcoming 2012 album entitled, "Life Illustrated" also being released through N-cendiary/SRI/Universal. In addition, you can look forward to upcoming shows with Black Milk, Bronze Nazareth, and Talib Kweli in 2012...stay tuned!
Matt Black & MC Friendly
A collaborative effort between artists MC Friendly & Matt Black for Young Heavy Souls Records.
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LocationShakespeare's Lower Level (View)
241 E Kalamazoo Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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