Teren Delvon Jones
(born August 12, 1972 in Oakland, California), [1] better known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien
, is an alternative hip hop artist.
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DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN TICKETS
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Music career
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
,
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
. Del is considered a member of the
Native Tongues Posse according to the myspace page.
No Need for Alarm
also saw the introduction of the famous Oakland clique
Hieroglyphics,
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.
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.
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.
Recent years: 2007-present
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. 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 , 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.
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 2
In 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
.
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.
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. 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.
Discography
Solo studio albums
- I Wish My Brother George Was Here
(1991) 172,433 copies sold
- No Need for Alarm
(1993) 500,000+ copies sold RIAA Certification : Gold
- Future Development
(1998 - Online) (2002 - USA Release)
- Both Sides of the Brain
(2000)
- Eleventh Hour
(2008)
- Funk Man (The Stimulus Package)
(2009)
Other releases
- The Best Of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years
(2004)
- Del's Leak Pack #1
(2008)
- Del's Leak Pack #2
(2008)
Hieroglyphics
- Hiero B-Sides (with Hieroglyphics) (1996)
- Hiero Oldies Compilation (with Hieroglyphics) (1997)
- 3rd Eye Vision
(with Hieroglyphics) (1998)
- Full Circle
(with Hieroglyphics) (2003)
- Hiero Imperium Presents The Building (with Hieroglyphics) (2004)
- Over Time
(with Hieroglyphics) (2007)
- At The Helm (with Hieroglyphics) (2008)
Gorillaz
Deltron 3030
- Deltron 3030
(2000)
- Deltron Event II
(?)
Mike Relm's "Spectacle"
Appearances
This list is incomplete; you can help by [ expanding it]
.
- Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood Single (The Blue Phantom), Debut Album, 2001
- Gorillaz - Rock The House Single (The Blue Phantom), Debut Album, 2001
- Judgment Night (movie soundtrack), Missing Link
(with Dinosaur Jr.), 1993
- The Coup, The Repo Man Sings For You
, Steal This Album
, 1998
- Handsome Boy Modeling School, Magnetizing
, So... How's Your Girl?
, 1999
- Sunspot Jonz, Ice Pirates
, The Child of the Storm
, 2000
- One Big Trip (movie soundtrack), One Big Trip
, 2002
- Handsome Boy Modeling School, White People
, 2004
- Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Haiku D'Etat, and Zion I, Calicomm 2004
, 2005
- Opio of Souls of Mischief, What's Wrong With This Picture?
, from Triangulation Station
, 2005
- Think Differently Music, Fragments,
and Preservation
(with Aesop Rock), Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture
, 2005
- Zion I, What U Hear
, True & Livin'
, 2005
- Molemen, Scarlet Letter
, Killing Fields
, 2006
- Terracotta Troupe, Dynasty
. Released on vinyl with Z-trip
remix and Monster!
- Rainydayz Remixes, released 10 January 2008, remixes of Radiohead's In Rainbows
- Balance, "Left Field" Featuring for Swollen Members
- Twigy, Rockin' It
, Akasatana
, 2007
- Jurassic 5 - "Soul Searching (Remix) - Jurassick! (Freestyles and Rarities), 2003
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 with the song "If You Must"
- [(Marc Eckô´s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure)] with the song " Catch a Bad One"
- Mike Relm - Everytime, Sep. 2008
- Tony Hawk's Project 8 with the song "At the Helm"
- Eligh - A Lesson Garden - Gas Dreams - 2000
- Sleep - Lothar - Hesitation Wounds, 2009
References
- allmusic ((( Del The Funkyhomosapien > Biography )))
- Del tha Amazing Homosapien