Adil Omar
Adil Omar, photographed by Mobeen Ansari in Islamabad, 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Adil Omar
Also known as	A.O. Paki Rambo Adilla the Hun Hanzo Hasashi The Reptilian Tongue Abominable Sandman The Southeast Savage
Born	(1991-05-17) May 17, 1991 (age 21)
Origin	Islamabad, Pakistan
Genres	Hip-Hop, Rock, Hardcore Rap
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter, lyricist, actor, producer
Instruments	Vocals, lyrics, rapping
Years active	2004–Present
Associated acts	B-Real, Penn Jillette, DJ Solo, Cypress Hill, Soul Assassins, Everlast, Xzibit, Fredwreck, Greydon Square, DJ Lethal, Hard Target, Talal Qureshi, Danny Diablo, Sick Jacken, Meesha Shafi, Kool G Rap
Website	Official Website

Adil Omar (born May 17, 1991) is a rapper and singer-songwriter from Islamabad, Pakistan. He has also collaborated with mainstream artists such as Cypress Hill, Xzibit, Everlast, Kool G Rap, DJ Lethal of House of Pain and Limp Bizkit and Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller among others. He is currently working on his debut album, The Mushroom Cloud Effect, for a 2012 release and has been featured extensively in various press outlets such as Associated Press, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post and more.

Early life[link]

Omar was born on May 17, 1991 in London, England but spent his entire childhood growing up in Islamabad. His mother is a writer and part time television host and his father was a businessman. His great grandfather, Zafar Omar is credited to be the first Urdu detective novelist for writing the book "Neeli Chathri".^[1]

Omar experienced the loss of his father to alcoholism at 10 and his mother had a near-death experience with encephalitis the same year, suffering from amnesia in the early part of her recovery, leaving her with epilepsy. He is also a high school drop out.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Music career[link]

Career beginnings[link]

Omar had started writing lyrics at the age of 9 but recorded his first song at 14. Heavily relying on websites such as Soundclick, Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and iLike to promote his music, he eventually found himself gaining a fan-base by releasing songs as free mp3 downloads. He has also mentioned that he experimented with horrorcore and mafioso rap in his early stages but took a more honest approach with his lyrical content by the time he was 16. Though he dismissed it as being "silly", he also stated that it was a learning experience. Apart from gaining recognition on the internet, he had been getting national news coverage, local live performances and plays on the radio.^[7]

In 2008, Omar was invited by B-Real of Cypress Hill to record a song in Los Angeles for an album titled The Harvest which B-Real had been working on. They recorded a song called "Takeover" which featured Omar and B-Real on the verses, and B-Real's protege Young De on the chorus. Fredwreck was also present during the recording session but was not a part of the song. Omar and Fredwreck continue to stay in touch as friends. Fredwreck has done production work for his debut album.^[8]

Collaborations, rise in popularity[link]

In mid 2009, Omar collaborated with magician, comedian and actor Penn Jillette of the duo Penn & Teller and producer DJ Solo of Soul Assassins on a protest song called "Spookshow". The song was featured on a compilation album by Thick Syrup Records alongside music by Matt Cameron, members of Pearl Jam, Half Japanese, Teenage Fanclub, Mudhoney and Soundgarden.^{[9][10][11][12]}

He has since appeared on songs with MC Lars, Prince Ea and Spragga Benz and done album appearances alongside Canibus and Chino XL. He is also reported to be involved in the Sonic Peacemakers project with Lanny Cordola, Atif Aslam, Shehzad Roy, Arieb Azhar, Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver and more.^[13]

On August 8, 2010, Omar launched his official website with an online single and music video titled "Incredible". The free single was produced by DJ Solo and sampled Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" as well as Jesus Christ Superstar's "Heaven on Their Minds", with an interpolation of "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three in the song's outro. The video was shot around Islamabad and Wah Cantonment, including scenes inside a customized Pakistani truck and also featured a cameo appearance by fashion and media icon Tariq Amin.^[14][15][16]

Debut album, 2011 present[link]

Omar announced his debut album, The Mushroom Cloud Effect, through his website for an early 2012 release. Producers include Fredwreck, DJ Lethal, DJ Solo, Apathy, Talal Qureshi and others, with guests including Xzibit, B-Real, Everlast, Kool G Rap, Meesha Shafi, Sick Jacken and Greydon Square. The first single, produced by Fredwreck and featuring Xzibit, is titled "Off The Handle" and was released on May 24, 2011 with a music video by Matt Alonzo.^[17][18][19]

A second single, produced by DJ Solo, titled "Paki Rambo" was released on October 2, 2011 with a video directed by Shahbaz Shigri and Aisha Linnea. "Paki Rambo" is also the original soundtrack for Shigri and Linnea's feature film 'Gol Chakkar'. "Paki Rambo" was inspired by and sampled dialogue from the Chris Morris film Four Lions, and was also promoted by Four Lions actors Riz Ahmed and Kayvan Novak. Though it received positive reviews, it also generated controversy in Pakistan for objectionable content in its lyrics and music video, as well as its use of the word "Paki".^[20][21] In 2012 he was nominated in the Lux Style Awards for Best Emerging Talent as a solo artist, as well as Shahbaz Shigri and Aisha Linnea in Best Music Video Director for "Paki Rambo".^[22]

Film and television[link]

Omar provided a cameo role, playing himself, for the independent film Slackistan, written and directed by BAFTA nominated filmmaker and screenwriter Hammad Khan. The film's original soundtrack featured bands like The Kominas and Zerobridge. The film also premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2010 but was banned in Pakistan temporarily. The ban was lifted in 2011.^[23][24][25]

In 2011, Omar made guest appearances on Tariq Amin's reality show T With T as well as an uncredited cameo in a short film titled The Wink. He is also on VBS.tv's episode on Islamabad and has been interviewed briefly on Geo TV, MTV Pakistan and other Pakistani channels.^[26]

Omar was offered a role in an upcoming independent film titled Gol Chakkar which he couldn't take due to scheduling conflicts, however he is contributing to the soundtrack of the film with the DJ Solo produced "Paki Rambo", also to be included his album, as well as the Shoaib Akhtar tribute "Pindi Express".^[27]

Style and influences[link]

Omar classifies himself as a hardcore hip-hop artist with concept driven subject matter. He often uses metaphors, multisyllabic rhymes and has a rugged voice. Some of his live performances differ from his recorded music as he tends to use a backing band to accompany him as he performs both his own work and sometimes even cover songs. Two covers he tends to do frequently are "Jump Around" by House of Pain and "99 Problems" by Jay Z. Critics have pointed out his fusing of genres, the braggadocio in his lyrical content, as well as themes of a more emotional nature.^[28][29]

Omar considers his main musical influences to be Trent Reznor, Everlast, Johnny Cash, House of Pain, Nine Inch Nails, Neil Young, Cypress Hill, N.W.A., Motörhead, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang Clan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Big Pun, Kool G Rap, early Eminem, RZA, Tupac Shakur, Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Onyx, DJ Muggs, Gang Starr, Nas, Rick Rubin, Run DMC, Marilyn Manson, Rakim, Kid Rock, 50 Cent, Nate Dogg, Sticky Fingaz and his non-musical influences to be Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Carl Sagan, Christopher Hitchens, Henry Rollins and Mickey Rourke.^[30][31]

Personal life[link]

Omar is a sound-color synesthete and states that he has never used drugs or alcohol.^{[32][33][34][35]}

On May 4 2012, Omar reportedly faced a near death experience upon receiving an electric shock in the shower. He escaped with minor injuries. ^[36][37]

Omar also has tattoos by Mister Cartoon, one which was inspired by Nine Inch Nails' "Just Like You Imagined".^[38]

Controversy[link]

Omar has been critical of MSNBC and The Express Tribune for misrepresentation and lack of research in their articles about him. In December 2009, MSNBC's World Blog featured Omar and he felt that they had misquoted him, taken his thoughts out of context and focused little on his music.^[39][40] In February 2011 The Express Tribune published an article where they introduced him with lyrics from "Like A G6" by Far East Movement which Omar felt was irrelevant, irresponsible and contradicted him as an artist and a human being. He also stated that they got the title of his album wrong and did not listen to his music or conduct any research before interviewing him or publishing the article.^[41][42]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• 2012: The Mushroom Cloud Effect

Collaboration albums[link]

• 2013: 50 Feet Tall (with Hard Target)
• 2013: Serpents of Eden (with Greydon Square)

Filmography[link]

• 2010: Slackistan, cameo
• 2011: The Wink, cameo
• 2011: T With T, himself

Selected guest appearances[link]

• 2009: "Under the Weather" also with Saeed Elahi, from American Scumbag by Hibernation
• 2009: "Violentology", from The Zeitgeist Mixtape by Various Artists
• 2009: "Hollow Cost" also with Prince Ea, from The Grand Deception by Conspiracy of Mind
• 2009: "Spookshow" also with Penn Jillette, from My MPC Is A Pipe Bomb by DJ Solo
• 2010: "Takeover" also with Young De, from The Harvest by B-Real
• 2010: "Islamabad II", from Slackistan: The Soundtrack by Various Artists
• 2010: "Whiplash", from The RapMusic Mixtape by Various Artists
• 2010: "Burn Muthafucka (Incredible/Serbian Film Remix)", from DJ Solo's Nightmare Before Christmas by DJ Solo
• 2011: "No Matter the Stakes", from Mad Thrillz EP by Grey Matter
• 2011: "Gone Crazy" also with Matt Maddox, from Weapons of Mass Awareness by RedPhone Records
• 2011: "First Strike" also with Block McCloud, from Apocalypse by SickSteen
• 2011: "Spookshow" also with Penn Jillette & DJ Solo, from '78 LTD: Compilation CD by Thick Syrup Records
• 2011: "Point of No Return" also with DZK, Cryptic Wisdom and Marpo, from Karma: The Mixtape by Hard Target
• 2011: "SHINE" also with Fredwreck, from SHINE (Single) by thekeenone
• 2012: "Ten Thousand", from Bunny Slippers by Gravity Wisewords
• 2012: "Holy Mountain" also with Dro Pesci and Exel, by Ruste Juxx
• 2012: "Drawing Board", from RPG's by Just 1 and Matt Maddox
• 2012: "End of Silence" also with DJ Solo, Diesel & Adlib, from The Blood of Eden by Danny Diablo
• 2012: "Lollipop", from Lollipop (Single) by Mina Fedora
• 2012: "Love I Feel" also with Marjan, from The Equator by Talal Qureshi

[edit] References

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Adil Omar at Facebook
• Adil Omar at Twitter
• Adil Omar at YouTube
• Adil Omar at Myspace
• Adil Omar at the Internet Movie Database

Dave Abrams, better known as DJ Solo (often stylized DJ SOLO), is an American DJ, producer, rapper and visual artist. He is a part of the Cypress Hill affiliated Soul Assassins collective. His production credits include La Coka Nostra, Everlast, Planet Asia, GZA, B-Real, Adil Omar, Mitchy Slick and others. He has released several mash-ups, remixes and a compilation album of his production work titled "My MPC Is A Pipe Bomb" and produced on the Soul Assassins "Intermission" album. He also hosted 40's & Blunts, a weekly internet show.^[1][2][3]

Discography[link]

• DJ SOLO's Alice In Wonderland
• Requiem For The Living
• A Mile In My Shoes
• Breaking Bass
• Soul Assassins: Classic & Exclusive
• Shut Up & Dance
• SOLOMash
• Jitterbug Driveby (with Roger Jao)
• Hair Metal Hero (with Roger Jao)
• Electric Limo
• My MPC Is A Pipe Bomb
• Open Up The Trunk
• Crush.Kill.Destroy
• DubstepFM: The Dented Sessions 12-13-09
• Fucking & Punching
• In Between Dreams (with Roger Jao)
• Project Blackbook (with Adil Omar)

Remixes[link]

• The Office (DJ Solo Remix) (2010)
• Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop (DJ Solo Remix) (2011)
• Umphrey's McGee - "The Domino Theory" & "Deeper" (DJ Solo Remix) (2012)
• Mitchy Slick x Excision x Downlink - Bass Chasers (DJ Solo's Mashup (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Official Facebook
• Official Myspace
• Soul Assassins Official Site

DJ Premier
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Edward Martin
Born	(1966-03-21) March 21, 1966 (age 46) Houston, Texas, United States
Origin	Houston, Texas, USA
Genres	Hip hop, East Coast Hip Hop
Occupations	Record producer, DJ
Instruments	Drum machine Keyboard Sampler Turntable
Years active	1984 – present
Labels	Wild Pitch/EMI (1987–1990) Chrysalis/EMI (1991–1998) Virgin/EMI (1998–2003) Year Round (2003–)
Associated acts	Gang Starr Foundation, M.O.P., Royce da 5'9", Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Kool G Rap, Blaq Poet, Apathy, Big L, Bun B, D.I.T.C., Game, Termanology, AZ, Buckshot LeFonque, Mobb Deep, Torae
Website	DJ Premier on Myspace

Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966),^[1] better known by his stage name DJ Premier (also known as Preem, Premo, or Primo for short), is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru. Born in Houston and raised in Prairie View, Texas, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York, for much of his professional career. Rolling Stone identified Premier as arguably Hip-Hop's greatest producer of all time.^[2]

The Source named DJ Premier one of the five greatest producers in hip-hop history,^[3] while the editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list.^[4] He also made the "Finals" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe.^[5] He attended Prairie View A&M University.^[6]

Productions[link]

Premier is known for producing all of Gang Starr's songs as well as many of the Gang Starr Foundation's songs. His work also includes production for heavyweight rappers such as (alphabetic order) Apathy, Big L, Bun B, Canibus, D.I.T.C., Fat Joe, Game, Jay-Z, Kanye West, KRS-One, Lord Finesse, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, Rakim, Royce Da 5'9", The LOX, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, rock band Limp Bizkit, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Ill Bill, Joell Ortiz, and pop/R&B singer Christina Aguilera, among many others.

Premier collaborated with MC Jeru the Damaja on the album The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994, as well as the 1996 follow-up, Wrath of the Math.^[1] Also from the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier produced and supervised Group Home's Livin' Proof; although overlooked at the time of its 1995 release, the album has since come to find similar acclaim.^[1] Among others in that are closely tied to the Gang Starr Foundation who have worked with DJ Premier include Afu Ra, Bahamadia, Krumbsnatcha, Big Shug, Smiley the Ghetto Child, and NYGz. He recently produced the majority of Blaq Poet's Tha Blaqprint in 2009 and will produce the entirety of NYGz debut album.

Style and influences[link]

DJ Premier's style of production epitomizes the New York sound of his earlier peers. He is known for sampling jazz, funk, and soul artists, as well as sampling an artist's past work when creating a new track for that same artist. For example, on Jay-Z's "So Ghetto", from the 1999 album, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, Premier samples an older Jay-Z song, 1997's "Who You Wit II".^[7] In addition, his encyclopedic memory of hip-hop lyrics allows him to distinctively speak with his hands by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases.^[8] Premier's beats are known for his oft-imitated combinations of short vocal samples, often from multiple artists, to create a chorus. Premier has also experimented with atonal samples that are not confined to soul, jazz, and funk. For example, he sampled chopped up seminal electro-acoustic music from the 1960s on the track “Mental Stamina” by Jeru the Damaja.

In an interview with XXL Magazine, DJ Premier was asked how his sound evolved, to which he replied, "Marley Marl is my number one inspiration. Jam Master Jay, Mixmaster Ice and UTFO. Grandmaster D and Whodini. DJ Cheese, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa. Jazzy Jay, even Cut Creator. Seeing them do what they do. It’s black music, it’s black culture, it comes from the ghetto. How can you not relate to ghetto people when that’s the rawest form of blackness? Even though it’s not a good place in regards to the economy and how bad people have it in the neighborhood, the realism’s there, and that’s what we were born out of. So I very much pay respect by doing the same type of music in return." DJ Premier attended Prairie View A & M University and may have been influenced by the musical atmosphere at the university.^[9]

Relationships with artists[link]

The early line-up of the Gang Starr Foundation in the mid-1990s included Jeru The Damaja, Group Home, Big Shug, and Gang Starr. DJ Premier was fully responsible for the production of Jeru the Damaja's first two albums, The Sun Rises in the East and Wrath of the Math. Jeru released three albums since then, with Premier having nothing to do with any of them.^[1]

As far as Group Home was concerned, Premier commented, "They don't respect what fed them," in a 2003 interview, going on to say that the only reason he produced a track on their second album was because Guru said he would rhyme on it.^[10]

Besides the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier is closely affiliated with M.O.P., which he names as one of his all-time favorite groups. The relationship started with the remix of “Rugged, Neva Smoove” in 1994, a single from the group's first album, which also included the exclusive B-side “Downtown Swinga.” From then, Premier produced about one-third of the songs on each subsequent album and overseeing and mixing the projects. On M.O.P.'s 2009 Foundation album, however, DJ Premier provided only one track, which was called "What I Wanna B."

Recent and future projects[link]

DJ Premier has his own record company named Year Round Records. Among its artists are New York group NYGz, New Jersey rapper Nick Javas, and Houston rapper Khaleel. Tha Blaqprint by Blaq Poet, which has thirteen Premier productions, was released by Year Round Records through Fat Beats Records. On December 7, Premier's label Year Round Records released a digital compilation album titled Get Used to Us. At the moment Year Round plans to release a debut album fully produced by DJ Premier with the NYGz tenatively called Hustla's Union: Local NYG along with a Nick Javas debut album named Destination Unknown. Khaleel, another label-mate of Year Round Records, is planned to release a debut album titled Already!.

DJ Premier hosts a weekly 2 hour show Live From HeadQCourterz on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Hip-Hop Nation on Fridays.

DJ Premier was one of the artists followed in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION music project. The film followed his production of the song Regeneration using live performance of his work by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra [1]

In a recent interview, DJ Premier said he will produce a beat for Immortal Technique's upcoming album, titled The Middle Passage. He contributed a song on Game's last album The R.E.D. Album called "Born in the Trap." and a song on Bushido's last album Jenseits von Gut und Böse.^[6] In an interview in 2012, DJ Premier confirmed on Shade45 that he is working with Eminem on his upcoming album.

Discography[link]

• The Sun Rises in the East (with Jeru The Damaja) (1994)
• Livin' Proof (with Group Home) (1995)
• Wrath of the Math (with Jeru The Damaja) (1996)
• Beats That Collected Dust (2008)
• Tha Blaqprint (with Blaq Poet) (2009)
• DJ Premier Presents Get Used To Us (2010)
• Beats That Collected Dust Vol. 2 (2011)
• Premo Pimpin' EP (with Wais P) (2011)
• StOoDiOtYmE EP (with Bumpy Knuckles) (2012)
• The Kolexxxion (with Bumpy Knuckles) (2012)
• TBA (with Nas)
• TBA (with M.O.P.)
• Pete Rock v.s. Premier (with Pete Rock)
• Return Of The Boom Bip (with KRS-ONE)

References[link]

External links[link]

• DJ Premier on Twitter
• DJ Premier at Allmusic
• DJ Premier discography at Discogs
• Fansite/newsite about DJ Premier

Young De
Background information
Birth name	Demrick Shelton
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres	Hip-Hop R&B
Occupations	Rapper
Instruments	Rapping
Labels	Audio Hustlaz Entertainment
Associated acts	B-Real, Kurupt, Xzibit, DJ Skee, Soul Assassins, Cashis, The Dogg Pound, Mitchy Slick, Damizza, Apathy, Ras Kass, Adil Omar, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Crooked I, Bitza , Sen Dog, thekeenone
Website	Official Myspace

Demrick Shelton, better known by his stage name Young De, is a rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his collaborations with high profile artists such as Xzibit, Kurupt, Snoop Dogg, Too $hort and B-Real of Cypress Hill. He is also recognized as a protege of Kurupt and B-Real.

Career[link]

The beginning of his career started in 2005 when Kurupt met the group 'Tangled Thoughts' which consisted of Young De, Casanova 'Cas' and Tekneek 'Tek' and took them to California. They released their debut album in 2007, titled 'From Philly 2 Cali' witch feat Kurupt, Roscoe, Reyes Bros and more. After the succes of their album they released 2 mixtapes titled 'T.H.O.' and 'Every Hood's Tha Same'. Young De released his debut mixtape titled Audio Hustlaz Vol. 1 which B-Real contributed to as a producer, co-executive Producer (with Damizza) and was heavily featured on several tracks. It was presented by DJ Skee and hosted by Kurupt. Besides the Audio Hustlaz Vol. 1 mixtape, Young De also released the Homeland Security mixtape in collaboration with Shady/Interscope artist Ca$his. Homeland Security was hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and released by Eminem's Shady Records and featured collaborations with B-Real, Royce Da 5'9 and Crooked I among others. A video was shot & directed by Matt Alonzo for the single "In God's Hands" featuring Mitchy Slick and produced by then 19 year old producer "Los" (Baby Ree productions), He is also featured on B-Real's 2009 album, Smoke N Mirrors, performing on 5 of the 15 songs.

Young De has also performed alongside Ice Cube, Tha Dogg Pound, Too $hort, DJ Muggs, E-40 and Xzibit on the Westcoast Tour in March 2009. In April he toured alongside Xzibit on the first part of the Euro vs. Dollar Tour. In August/September, he joined B-Real for the promotional tour of his Smoke N Mirrors album release, only to return to Europe in December 2009 for the second part of the Euro vs. Dollar Tour, headlining Xzibit.

In late 2009, Young De along with Xzibit and B-Real formed a super group called Serial Killaz. The first single, "Body Bags", was released by the end of 2009. The trio's album is to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]} Apart from his work with the previously listed, he has also collaborated with Cypress Hill, Snowgoons, Kid Frost, Krayzie Bone, Ill Bill, Adil Omar, Apathy, Mitchy Slick, Freeway, Sen Dog, Deen, Bitza and others.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Discography[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• "Audio Hustlaz Vol. 1" (Presented by DJ Skee)
• "Homeland Secutity" (with Cashis)
• "De Is For Demrick" (with DJ Fingaz) with production by 21 The Producer
• "T.H.O (The Free Mixtape)" (with Tangled Thoughts)
• "Every Hood's The Same" (with Tangled Thoughts)
• "Neva LOOK Back"

Albums[link]

• From Philly 2 Cali (with Tangled Thoughts)

Featured Singles[link]

• "It Ain't Nothin" (with Cypress Hill)
• "Jumpoff" (with Tangled Thoughts)
• "Blaze of Glory"
• "Man On The Moon" (with Xzibit)
• "What It Is" (with Xzibit)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Myspace page
• Official Facebook page
• Official Twitter page
• Official Audio Hustlaz website