Cousin of renowned gangster rapper
Ice Cube,
Del tha Funkee Homosapien (real name Teren Delvon Jones) was born in Oakland, CA, on August 12, 1972, and got his start with
Ice Cube's backing band, da Lench Mob. But
Del's
rap isn't as grim or violent as
Ice Cube's is, in fact, he's been known to include something in his music that's far too uncommon in most
rap: humor. Signed to Elektra/Asylum,
Del's debut release,
I Wish My Brother George Was Here, was issued in 1991 and produced by
Cube and like most
rap at the time, featured numerous samples of
Parliament Funkadelic classics from the '70s.
Del's follow-up, 1994's No Need for Alarm, was a departure musically, as
Ice Cube was no longer in the production seat and the
P-Funk sounds were dropped in favor of a more sophisticated, almost jazzy sound. Despite his noble experimentation,
Del's sophomore effort failed commercially, as it would take four years for the rapper to plot his next move and issue another recording. Having left Elektra,
Del aligned himself closely to a few fellow rapper friends,
Casual and
Souls of Mischief, and issued his third release overall, 1998's Future Development, for the same label as his friends, Hieroglyphics Records. 2000 saw the release of an all-new
Del solo release,
Both Sides of the Brain, as well as a self-titled debut release by a side project,
Deltron 3030, which saw
Del join forces with both
the Automator and
Kid Koala. It took eight years for the rapper's next solo full-length to come out, but in the interim
Del kept himself busy with guest appearances, including on the Damon Albarn project Gorillaz's self-titled debut, adding his recognizable vocals to the hit "Clint Eastwood," a song that he also began incorporating in his live sets. In 2007 it was announced that the MC had been signed to Def Jux, who released the long-awaited (and very un-Def Jux-like) Eleventh Hour in March of 2008. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
