Si Phili

This article is about the rapper. For other uses, see Si Phili.

Si Phili
Si Phili
Background information
Birth name	Simon Philbert
Born	22 October 1974 (1974-10-22)
Origin	Luton, England
Genres	Hip Hop
Years active	1996-present
Website	http://www.siphili.com

Si Phili is a rapper from Luton, England. Known for being a solo artists as well as part of the group Phi Life Cypher.

Biography

Career breakthrough

Phi Life Cypher is a hip hop trio composed of two MC's, Si Phili and Life MC, and DJ Nappa all from Luton UK. The trio started making music together around 1996, and since have had much success on the UK underground circuit. Phi-Life Cypher made it the final of Tim Westwood's Talent 2000 competition and ripping the mic on DJ Skitz's seminal posse cut 'Fingerprints of the Gods' projected them to the upper realms of the UK Hip Hop scene.

Si Phili along with Phi Life Cypher released "Clint Eastwood" the track on the Gorillaz G-Sides, a compilation of the B-sides from the first three singles was released in Japan and quickly followed with international releases in early 2002. The new year also saw a complicated performance at the 2002 Brit Awards, featuring the band in 3D animation, weaving in and out of each other on four large screens along with rap accompaniment by Phi Life Cypher.

Solo

Mid 2008 Si Phili entered Hugo Boss Urban Rules competition the programme devised by HUGO Fragrances was to find the best new urban talent. Si Phili went on to win the competition winning the chance to release a single under Xtaster and UK record Label, Si Phili released his track "Sunshine" with "Stand Up" on the B side of the record, the track was met with much accompliment and made it into BBC Radio One's top 30 tracks of the time.

Promotional and campaign work

• Si Phili is an ardent fan of Craig Markus, he can often seen wearing one of the Cut and Sew pieces from its collection. Si Phili and Craig Markus are currently trying to get an Anti Knife and Gun Crime Campaign started and have been lobbying local councils, Police forces and schools to help push the Campaign forwards.

Discography

Albums

• Millennium Metaphors (2000, Jazz Fudge)
• The Instrumentals (2000, Jazz Fudge)
• Higher Forces (2003)
• Playback (2006)

EPs and singles

• "Baddest Man" (1998, white label)
• "Earth Rulers" (2000, Jazz Fudge)
• "Herbaholics" (2001, Jazz Fudge)
• The Chosen Few EP (with Task Force) (2002, Jazz Fudge)
• "Over" (2003, Zebra Traffic)
• "Rap It Up" (2004, Zebra Traffic)
• "Playback" (2006)

Guest appearances

• Gorillaz — "Clint Eastwood" (Phi Life Cypher version), "The Sounder" (edit)
• The Herbaliser — "Distinguished Jamaican English" (The Herbaliser remix)
• Skitz — "Fingerprints of the Gods", "Cordless Mics at 20 Paces"
• Mark B. & Blade — "Ya Don't See the Signs" (Phi Life Cypher remix)
• DJ Vadim — "Ghetto Rebels"

References

• http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/uk-rap-the-word-on-the-streets-654015.html
• http://oldtothenew.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/uk-stand-up-raw-documents-british-rap-documentary/
• http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/phi-life-cypher/higher-forces.htm
• http://ukhh.com/features/articles/zebra/zebra.html

External links

• Si Phili official website
• Si Phili on Myspace