Freestyle Fellowship

History

While in high school in the late 1980s, Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter formed the short-lived MC Aces, a precursor to Freestyle Fellowship, at the Good Life Cafe in Los Angeles, California. Subsequently, former high school friend P.E.A.C.E. was added to form Freestyle Fellowship.

Freestyle Fellowship released the debut studio album, To Whom It May Concern..., in 1991. In 1993, the group released the second studio album, Innercity Griots.

Freestyle Fellowship went on hiatus due to the incarceration of Self Jupiter. In 1998, the group reunited to record the Shockadoom EP, which would be released in 2002. The group released Temptations in 2001, and The Promise in 2011.

Style and influences

According to Los Angeles Times, Freestyle Fellowship incorporates "jazz rhythms into its raps, which have the improvisational ebb and flow and the random explosiveness of a jazz solo." In a 1993 interview with Los Angeles Times, the group's member Myka 9 said, "What we are is liberators, liberating rap from its R&B/funk structures—that (time) prison."

The group has been described by LA Weekly as "the astral jazz-cracked geniuses of sherm-strafed South Central, rapping with caged bird cadences about sleeping on park benches, biblical books, and gangsta rap carpetbaggers."

Discography

Studio albums

• To Whom It May Concern... (1991)
• Innercity Griots (1993)
• Temptations (2001)
• The Promise (2011)

Remix albums

• Version 2.0: To Whom It May Concern... Remixed by J. Sumbi (2001)

Mixtapes

• Power Plant (2011)

EPs

• Shockadoom (2002)

Singles

• "Bullies of the Block" (1992)
• "Hot Potato" (1993)
• "Can You Find the Level of Difficulty in This?" (1999)
• "Sex in the City" (2001)
• "Temptations" b/w "Ghetto Youth" (2002)

Guest appearances

• Nobody - "Planets Ain't Aligned" from Soulmates (2000)
• Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique - "Heavyweights Round 4" from P.A.I.N.T. (2001)

Compilation appearances

• "Hot" from Project Blowed (1994)
• "Can You Find the Level of Difficulty in This? (Hive Remix)" from Defcon 4 (2000)
• "Ummm" from We Came from Beyond (2001)
• "Crazy" from Constant Elevation (2002)

References

References

1. Serwer, Jesse. (October 16, 2012). "35. De La Soul "Transmitting Live From Mars" (1989) / Freestyle Fellowship "Sunshine Men" (1991)". [[Complex (magazine).
2. Weiss, Jeff. (December 15, 2011). "It's Your Anniversary: Underground hip-hop Project Blowed is 17". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn. (2019). "Hip Hop Around the World: An Encyclopedia". [[ABC-CLIO]].
4. Steiner, B.J.. (October 5, 2013). "Today In Hip-Hop: Freestyle Fellowship Releases 'To Whom It May Concern...'". [[XXL (magazine).
5. Madden, Sidney. (April 28, 2015). "Today in Hip-Hop: Freestyle Fellowship Drop 'Innercity Griots'". [[XXL (magazine).
6. Weiss, Jeff. (June 18, 2010). "Knowledge of self: Self Jupiter talks Freestyle Fellowship reunion, returning to school, and the West Coast underground". [[Los Angeles Times]].
7. Chennault, Sam. (July 14, 2002). "Freestyle Fellowship: Shockadoom". [[Pitchfork (website).
8. Haywood, Brad. (February 12, 2002). "Freestyle Fellowship: Temptations". [[Pitchfork (website).
9. Breihan, Tom. (July 25, 2011). "New Release: Freestyle Fellowship: The Promise". [[Pitchfork (website).
10. Hunt, Dennis. (June 29, 1993). "Liberating Rap With Jazz Sound : Freestyle Fellowship Adds Riffs to Rhymes". [[Los Angeles Times]].
11. Weiss, Jeff. (September 27, 2011). "Having Already Influenced Every Rapper You Like, Freestyle Fellowship Are Back". [[LA Weekly]].