Aaron Ocosice Phillip (born January 31, 1974), known professionally as Afu-Ra, is an American rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston-based rapper Guru (rapper), Guru. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and is considered a widely influential MC-and-pr ...

, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug and

Group Home A group home, congregate living facility, care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English), adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living as well as medical car ...

Career

Afu-Ra grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

with frequent collaborator Jeru the Damaja. Afu-Ra's first studio appearance was on Jeru's debut studio album '' The Sun Rises in the East'', on the song "Mental Stamina". He made another appearance on Jeru's second studio album '' Wrath of the Math'', on the track "Physical Stamina", in 1996. Afu's debut single, "Whirlwind Thru Cities", was released in 1998, reaching the top 20 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'''s

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

chart. In 1999, he released his second single, "Defeat" b/w "Mortal Kombat". His debut album, '' Body of the Life Force'', was released in October 2000. The album featured production from DJ Premier, DJ Muggs, True Master and Da Beatminerz. Guests included

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

GZA Gary Eldridge Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and the Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in ...

and Masta Killa, M.O.P., Ky-Mani Marley, and the Cocoa Brovaz. The album peaked at 183 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

, 13 on the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

chart, and 42 on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. Afu has released his second studio album '' Life Force Radio'' in May 2002 on MNRK, featuring production from DJ Premier, True Master, Easy Mo Bee, Domingo and

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

. Guests included

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

, RZA, and

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before ...

. The album was slightly less successful, peaking at 184 on the ''Billboard'' 200, 17 on the independent album chart, though 29 on hip hop. In 2004, he released a compilation album titled ''Afu-Ra presents Perverted Monks'', followed by a studio album in 2005, titled '' State of the Arts'' on Decon Records. The latter featured production by DJ Premier and Bronze Nazareth and guest vocals from Masta Killa,

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hi ...

, and

Gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

. In 2012, he independently released ''Body of the Life Force 2''. In 2020 he released the Album "Urban Chemistry" with features of Big Shug, Mann,

Lord Kossity Thierry Moutoussamy (, ; born 23 December 1972), better known as Lord Kossity (), is a French musician. His family is originally from Martinique but he was born in Paris, France and moved back to the French West Indies with his family when he was ...

, Sizzla etc.

Discography

References

External links

* 1974 births African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Five percenters Gee Street Records artists Rappers from Brooklyn Living people MNRK Music Group artists Underground rappers East Coast hip-hop musicians 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Gang Starr Foundation members {{US-hiphop-bio-stub