| |
Rooted in the creative atmosphere of the Bay Area, Hieroglyphics has emerged as a powerful force within underground hip-hop culture. Comprised of Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, Domino, and the group Souls of Mischief, this crew is one of the first to successfully forge careers as a collective and as individual artists. Sales for the crew have sailed well beyond 3 million units-- and that’s not even including their various tapes and underground records released in the early days.
If you felt the Hieroglyphics camp for the first time when Del emerged on the scene in ‘91 with the classic, I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra) you had to know that great things were ahead. And on and on, good things came from Hiero, including: Del’s 1993 release, No Need for Alarm (Elektra), Souls’ debut in 1993, 93 til Infinity (Jive), Casual’s 1994 release Fear Itself (Jive), and Souls’ follow up in 1995, No Man’s Land (Jive).
In 1997, armed with experience and insight, Hieroglyphics formed their own independent company, Hiero Imperium, and soon released their first album as a collective unit, Third Eye Vision, followed by releases by each of the individual artists on the label. Hiero also built a strong online presence through their award-winning website – hieroglyphics.com (8 years and running!) and a merchandise line prominently featuring their famous three-eyed logo.
The success of the Hieroglyphics Imperium label has enabled them to branch out beyond their own work to expand their musical legacy. In 2002 Hiero released one of Hip-Hop’s first CD/DVD hybrids, One Big Trip, which included a soundtrack on one side of the disc and a movie on the other. Artists within the collective also have collaborated with the likes of Dilated Peoples, Q-Tip, Xzibit, George Clinton, Jurassic 5, and Dan the Automator (Deltron 3030). The most notable of these collaborations was Del the Funky Homosapien’s lead vocal performance on “Clint Eastwood”, the smash single off of the multi-platinum selling album from the Gorillaz.
2003 has also brought about the formation of a brand-new distribution wing of Hiero Imperium, which showcases the next wave of innovative independent artists. Releases have included projects with soul singer Goapele, along with hip-hop artists Z-Man and Encore.
The expansion continues – In 2003, the Hiero Crew followed up Third Eye Vision with Full Circle (Oct, 2003), and 2004 brought a solo release from Tajai-Souls Of Mischief Power Movement (April, 2004), along with a compilation featuring new music from the whole crew, Hiero Imperium Presents: The Building (Oct, 2004).
2005 ushered out solo releases from: Opio-Souls Of Mischief (Triangulation Station), Casual (Smash Rockwell), O.C. from the DITC crew(Smoke And Mirrors) along with the 2nd in the Hiero Imperium Presents V/A series: The Corner. Also included in this surge of creativity is the newly formed multi-media branch of Hiero Imperium, which released a DVD of the recent Hieroglyphics “Full Circle” Tour.
|
|
|
|
|
Home
Browse
Invite
Mail
Blog
Favorite
Log
in