I’ve lived and loved the culture of Hip Hop since I was in grade school, 1985. I use to study and memorize the greats like Melle Mell, Slick Rick and Whoodini. When KRS-One, Rakim and Public Enemy came out in the late 80’s it blew my mind. I started writing and recording my own songs in Jr. High. By High School I was battling in cyphers everywhere I went and rockin’ school dances. 

I met the Rhymesayers crew in the late 90’s and learned the next level of DIY music. Ant and I started working together in ’02. We made Shadows On The Sun and I started touring in support of Atmosphere (my label-mates and big brothers).

We toured constantly for the next few years with comrades like Brand Nubian, Immortal Technique and Rakim. The Champion EP dropped in 04 and we kept it moving.

Our last major release was The Undisputed Truth in Spring of ’07. I had a great couple of years because of that record. My crew and I did our first headlining tours in the US, Canada and Australia. I was featured in The Source Magazine’s “Hip Hop Quotable” and Rolling Stone’s “Artist To Watch” columns. I played on TV a few times including Late Night with Conan O’Brien (Mint Condition backed me up for that one). I did a US tour with Rakim and Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan. I was also blessed to tour Europe and Australia several more times with Atmosphere.

This past March we released the final chapter in the Undisputed Truth movement. “The Truth Is Here EP/DVD is a collection of music that ANT and I made during the few precious breaks we had from our tour schedule. The DVD is my sold-out homecoming show from The Undisputed Truth Tour.

Ant and I just released our latest full-length album “Us”. Whereas my last projects have been strictly autobiographical, this album opens the lens to showcase the amazing and sometimes tragic lives of my friends and loved-ones who have shaped me as a man. I hope that by illustrating these stories that are so dear to my heart, I might shed some light on how similar we all really are. Society makes us think we’re in different worlds because of our race, religion, class, sex etc. I tried to make something that shows how alike we really are.

Bambu is a father, MC and community organizer. Raised in Los Angeles, as a young boy he experienced a life that other rappers have glorified, but rarely experienced. As he navigated through a turbulent youth, Bambu turned around the destructive energy that surrounded him and poured it into making music. Bambu has been lauded by his fans and contemporaries for his lyrical storytelling abilities. Whether fictional or autobiographical, his vividly-detailed narratives are characterized by an honesty that is equal parts brutal, thought-provoking and liberating. Bambu music is not for mere performance – he utilizes his music as a tool for a larger goal – to reach and support youth who face similar issues that he did, and move them to question what goes on in the world. Bambu has reached audiences across the country and internationally with his explosive and engaging live performance. Being paired on concert billings with such acts as Immortal Technique, Blue Scholars, Zion I, Psycho Realm, dead prez, Evidence, Atmosphere and Brother Ali, to name a few, has afforded Bambu the opportunity to garner fans from varying demographics. With a catalog of music stretching the span of ten-years, the Los Angeles emcee has allowed his fans to witness the growth of a gracefully honest artist, who truly embodies the sentiment of the people.

DJ LAST WORD may not be a household name, but he’s earned respect for his work producing and live mixing for local rappers like Dialogue Elevators, Ernie Rhodes, and more. He’s been spinning since 2000, getting his start at former Dinkytown sandwich shop/music venue Bon Appetit.

MaLLy aka Malik Watkins sought out to build a name for himself and his craft, and ever since his debut record, The Passion, to his work with The Sundance Kid on the Free on the 15th series, and his most recent album, The Last Great…, he has cemented his place in the local scene as one of its most heralded artists. He was #8 in City Pages Picked to Click poll and voted the best Hip-Hop artist by the readers of the City Pages, and has been praised in many local and national press outlets, such as the Star Tribune, Okayplayer, Complex Magazine, Ruby Hornet, and 2DopeBoyz, and that’s just a few of a lengthy list. Not only has he gotten a fair amount of press, but he’s also been name checked by Monie Love, Sway Calloway of Sway In The Morning on Shade 45, and Chuck D for his music.

Aside from the critical acclaim, he has rocked stages with such luminaries as Souls of Mischief, Blue Scholars, Watsky, Elzhi, Evidence, and Blueprint. He also has done Soundset, the largest Hip-Hop festival in the Midwest not once, but twice; once as a performer, and the other time as a co-host alongside Brother Ali, and he was part of the lineup for Atmosphere & Rhymesayers Entertainment’s “Welcome to Minnesota” 2012 tour, and has also opened for Atmosphere at the famed Red Rocks Ampitheater. MaLLy has also been a part of First Avenue’s Best New Bands showcase, and has also performed at the Minnesota State Fair for Radio K’s artist showcase.

Aside from the accolades and the impressive list of talent that MaLLy has performed alongside with, the secret to MaLLy is his persona as an artist. Influenced by such artists as Joe Budden, Stevie Wonder, and Skyzoo, MaLLy has a penchant for writing rhymes that are accessible to a wide array of audiences. Within the blink of an eye, he can showcase his fury as a hungry artist with his very authoritative and direct style, and then can flip that to help bring him back down to earth as a man who is striving to do better for himself and his craft. Add to that an arsenal of expansive vocabulary, similes, and metaphors, and what you have with MaLLy is an artist who doesn’t have to compromise his integrity or personality to make bodies of work that speak to everyone.

“…wasn’t for my earth, or the unseen savior, might’ve quit rappin’, turned to unclean behavior, time for me to see I’m blessed, it sure took some, never front on life like that, it’s been a good one…”