Del tha Funkee Homosapien

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Del Tha Funky Homosapien

Del performing at Austin City Limits, 26 September 2008
Background information
Birth name Teren Delvon Jones
Also known as Del The Funkyhomosapien
Del
Deltron 3030
Deltron Zero
Deltron Z
Dr. Bombay
Del Diablo Diabolique
D-E-L
Deltron
DZL
Born August 12, 1972 (1972-08-12) (age 36)
Origin Oakland, California, U.S.
Genre(s) Hip hop
Occupation(s) MC, producer
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1990–present
Label(s) Asylum (1993–1997)
Elektra (1993–1997)
Hiero Imperium (1997–)
Definitive Jux (2007–)
Associated acts Hieroglyphics
Deltron 3030
Gorillaz
Da Lench Mob
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Ice Cube

Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972 in Oakland, California),[1] better known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien, is an alternative hip hop artist.

Contents

[edit] Music career

[edit] Early life and beginnings:1990-1997

Cousin of renowned rapper Ice Cube, Del began his career writing lyrics for Cube's backing 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, took matters into his own hands, and severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, No Need for Alarm.

No Need for Alarm also saw the introduction of the famous Oakland clique Hieroglyphics,[2] whose original members included the widely acclaimed Souls of Mischief, Domino, Casual, Snupe, and Pep Love. No Need for Alarm was a bold move on Del's part as it allowed him to develop, display, and solidify his unique style as an MC, and also helped to expose both the regional Oakland sound of hip hop, as well as the freestyle based, "golden era-97" style of hip hop being expanded at the time.

[edit] Middle era: 1998-2006

Due to touring, mundane activities, and frequent psychedelic drug use, it would be another five years before the release of his third album. About a month before the release of his third album Future Development Del received an auspicious letter from his label, Elektra, stating that his contract had been terminated.[2]

Del's third solo album Future Development became available in 1998. The album was only available on the Hieroglyphics website for download, and in tape form in Japan. Future Development was re-released in 2002 under the Hieroglyphics Imperium label. Del also released another collaborative work with the Hieroglyphics crew in 1998, 3rd Eye Vision, it was the Hieroglyphics crew's first album. Two 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” Nakamura and Kid Koala, featuring a special guest appearance by Scotty "the Great Gatsby" Beezle. Exposure from the 3030 project helped to expand Del's fan base—the 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.

2003 also 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 has 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: 2007-present

Del performing in Red Deer, AB in 2006

Currently there is a DVD available called 11th Hour, which DVD contains some live footage, footage of him in the studio and around the house, as well as footage of him recording 11th Hour. It was his first solo album in more than seven years.

In 2008, 11th Hour was released first, with the new Deltron album, Deltron Event II to be released afterwards.

"11th Hour" was released by Definitive Jux instead of the usual Hiero Imperium. CEO and MC El-P all but confirmed Del's signing recently in a cryptic myspace blog post[citation needed]. Del is also currently on tour with Embedded/Def Jux artists Iller than Theirs and Junk Science. On November 6, 2007 there was a post on the Definitive Jux website that stated Del had signed with Definitive Jux.

When asked about working with Def Jux, Del commented: "I look at this as an opportunity to spread the gospel a little thicker. El-P and I have known each other for a long time and I respect what he does. I see Def Jux out there doing their thing, I think we can help each other build new audiences. I'm looking forward to working with El-P and Def Jux on future projects as well." El-P added, "Del is and always has been one of my favorite artists and people. It's amazing to get a chance to release Del's vision on Jux. The 11th Hour 100% Del. Conceived and produced completely by the man himself. My hope is just to get the record out to as many people as possible and to support the legacy Del and the whole Heiro Emporium have created. He's one of hip hop's true originals and a legitimate leader of the new and true school that we all love."

Del is currently touring the U.S. on the Funkman Tour. On March 31, 2009 Del's new album Funk Man was made available for free download on the internet. The album is mainly available at his page on Bandcamp.com, though he is giving away some hard copies on his current tour. There is a new video for the first single called "Get It Right Now" on youtube.

[edit] In other media

The Homosapien's songs repeatedly appear in video games. In 2000, the song "Catch All This" from Both Sides Of The Brain was featured in the game Street Sk8er 2In 2000, the song "Jaw Gymnastics", featuring Casual, was featured in the game Knockout Kings. In 2000, the song "Positive Contact" from Deltron 3030 was featured in the game Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. In 2001, the song "If You Must" was featured in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. In 2003, the song "Positive Contact" from Deltron 3030 was featured in the game Tony Hawk's Underground. In 2005, the song "At the Helm" featuring Hieroglyphics was featured in the game Tony Hawk’s Project 8. In 2006, the song "Catch A Bad One" was used in the game Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Also 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. A Hieroglyphics song "Don't Hate the Player" was also featured in NBA 2K7. Also, his song "Burnt" was featured in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

Del has also 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.

[edit] Collaborations

Del was recently seen on an episode of the MTV show MADE in Canada, where he encouraged the youth to drop-in on a mini ramp and later performing and dedicating "If You Must" to the main character. He also provided songs for the soundtrack.[citation needed]

Del collaborated with trip-hop group Gorillaz for two songs on their debut album, both of which became singles: "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House". In their cartoon-based videos he is portrayed as a ghost. Del later commented in an interview on the success of "Clint Eastwood" by saying to the interviewer 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[1]. As part of Russel Hobbs' backstory, the character of Del was one of Russel's friends that was gunned down in a drive-by shooting, whose ghost possessed Russel. When Del was not invited to work on the Demon Days album, a story was written that Del and the other spirits that possessed Russel were exorcised in 2003.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo studio albums

[edit] Other releases

[edit] Hieroglyphics

[edit] Gorillaz

[edit] Deltron 3030

[edit] Mike Relm's "Spectacle"

[edit] Appearances

 This section of a biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2008)
(Find sources: Del tha Funkee Homosapien – news, books, scholar)
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greg Prato. "allmusic ((( Del The Funkyhomosapien > Biography )))". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:h9foxqe5ldte~T1. Retrieved on 2007-09-05. 
  2. ^ a b c d Hieroglyphics. "Del tha Amazing Homosapien". Hieroglyphics. http://ensim.hieroglyphics.com/artists/del/. Retrieved on 2007-09-05. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Hieroglyphics
Casual | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Domino | Pep Love | Souls of Mischief (A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, Tajai)
Albums
3rd Eye Vision (1998) | Full Circle (2003)
Former members
Compilation albums
Hiero-related artists
See also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_tha_Funkee_Homosapien"
Personal tools