Freestyle Fellowship are a
rap group from
Los Angeles consisting of rappers
Aceyalone,
Myka 9,
P.E.A.C.E.,
Self Jupiter and
producer J Sumbi. Their vocal techniques focusing on the method of the
freestyle, as well as a successful infusion of
hip hop and
jazz, established the group as forerunners in the sub-genre of
jazz rap, and also placed them amongst prominent West Coast
underground hip hop acts of the early 1990s like
Hieroglyphics,
Abstract Rude &
Tribe Unique, and
The Pharcyde. They are part of a hip hop collective known as
Project Blowed.
History
The group was formed at the
Good Life Café in Los Angeles during the early 90s.
Myka Nyne stated in an interview that he grew up with
Aceyalone and
Self Jupiter and knew them since elementary school, and he met
P.E.A.C.E. in 10th grade. Before the Fellowship,
Aceyalone, Spoon (of) Iodine, and
Myka Nyne were in a group called the MC Aces in high school.
After releasing the album
To Whom It May Concern… in 1991, the Fellowship became known in tape-trading circles, identified by their range in rhyming, at times bordering on
Jazz scat, and
Afrocentric messages over
jazz inspired beat production. Their 1993 release
Innercity Griots is acknowledged by many to be among the best hip hop albums of the 90s.
In 1993, the group went on hiatus due to the four year incarceration of
Self Jupiter. After his release, the...
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