Del The Funky Homosapien- A Rare, Dope Interview (He Appears to be Super High!) Del Tha Funky Homosapien (who seems to be really high)talks about how he started in the business, IceCube, The Hieroglyphics and more. A tribute to the golden age and the innovators of Hip Hop! My collection of music videos, exclusives and interviews. SUBSCRIBE NOW!!!! http://www.youtube.com/user/MMMVintageVideos Early life and beginnings: 1990-1997 Born in Oakland, California, he is the cousin of seminal west coast rapper Ice Cube, and began his career writing lyrics for Ice Cube's band, Da Lench Mob. 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, severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, No Need for Alarm. No Need for Alarm saw the introduction of the Oakland clique Hieroglyphics, whose original members included Souls of Mischief (Opio, A-Plus, Phesto and Tajai), Casual, Pep Love, Del, and producer Domino. No Need for Alarm helped to expose both the regional Oakland sound of hip hop, as well as the freestyle based, "golden era 90's" style of hip hop being expanded at the time. Middle era: 1998-2006 Due to touring, mundane activities, and frequent psychedelic drug use,[citation needed] Del would not produce another album for five years. About a month before the release of his third album, Future Development, Del received a letter from his label, Elektra, stating that his contract had been terminated. Future Development became available in 1998. The album was only available on the Hieroglyphics website in tape form, but was re-released in 2002 under the Hieroglyphics Imperium label. Del also released another collaborative work with the Hieroglyphics crew in 1998, which was also the Hieroglyphics crew's first album: 3rd Eye Vision. 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 and Kid Koala. With Nakamura and Koala, Del was also a guest performer for Gorillaz' 2001 eponymous album Gorillaz. He appeared on the singles "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House" (see Collaborations). 2003 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 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.

• published: 01 Feb 2013
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