Jamall Jernard Bufford (born in southwest

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

), formerly known as by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Buff1, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is a member of Ann Arbor-based rap crew Athletic Mic League (with 14KT, Grand Cee,

Mayer Hawthorne Andrew Mayer Cohen (born February 2, 1979), better known by his stage name Mayer Hawthorne, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. Cohen perform ...

, Sonny Star, Vaughan T, Vital) since 2000, with whom he released three studio albums from 2000 to 2004 via Lab Technicians Productions. He is currently managed by

Mello Music Group Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Kil ...

. In 2005 he started his solo career and released his debut album ''Pure'' in 2007, which was called "incredible" and "classic" by

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

. ''Pure'' includes features from notable Michigan hip hop acts, including

Guilty Simpson Byron Dwayne “Guilty” Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla’s fav ...

Elzhi Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made numerous vis ...

, Invincible,

One Be Lo Nahshid Sulaiman (born Ralond Scruggs; November 7, 1976), better known by his stage name One Be Lo, is an alternative hip hop artist from Pontiac, Michigan. He is well respected for being one half of the rap duo Binary Star (band), Binary Star, ...

, and Monica Blaire as well as production from the Lab Techs,

Mr. Porter Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

, and

Waajeed Robert O'Bryant, also known as Waajeed is a Detroit-born music producer, and one half of the hip hop and R&B group Platinum Pied Pipers, and a founding member of Tiny Hearts. He formed the Bling47 record label in 2002, which has released proje ...

. In 2010, Bufford and

DJ Rhettmatic DJ Rhettmatic (born Nazareth Nirza) is a producer, DJ and member and part creator of Southern California's first turntable band, the Beat Junkies. Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983, with Double Platinum, a DJ group based out of Cerritos, CA. ...

released a collaborative self-titled project, ''Crown Royale'', and went a nationwide tour with Mayer Hawthorne.(August 17, 2011). . ''Jamall Bufford Interview''. He quits using his Buff1 moniker and dropped his third solo full-length in 2013 under his real name. The same year, he formed and runs rap performing arts group The Black Opera along with many other artists.

Accolades

Based on his presence in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

's hip hop scene and the critical response to his album ''Pure'',

Real Detroit Weekly ''Real Detroit Weekly'' (often called just ''Real Detroit'') was a weekly newspaper distributed free of charge every Wednesday from 1999 to 2014, that focused mainly on entertainment news from metro Detroit. It had a proportion of advertisements s ...

named Jamall Bufford the Best Solo Rap Artist of 2007.(March 4, 2008)

. ''The Real Detroit Weekly''. Bufford is listed on URB Magazine's Next 100 (acts to look out for nationally) for 2009. In 2013 Jamall was named one of the Top 25 Artists of 2013 by OK-Tho.com.

There's Only One

After a tour for his first album, he started working on and soon released his second full-length LP, ''There's Only One''. URB Magazine's review called the production "a lengthy album without weakness". For ''There's Only One'', Bufford enlisted help from producers, including

Black Milk Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Career In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-Dan ...

, and Zo! as well as AML cohorts 14KT and the Lab Techs. Features on the album include

a.k.a. DJ Haircut,

, and Black Milk.

Touring

Bufford(June 7, 2011)

''Club Zone''. has shared the stage with some of the biggest acts in hip hop (

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternat ...

, Slum Village,

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart ( Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic ( DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas ...

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, se ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, Little Brother and

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

), and has toured extensively throughout Europe, and the U.S.

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

*''2007: Pure'' (album) *''2008: There's Only One'' (album) *''2013: Victim Of A Modern Age'' (album) *''2018: Time in Between Thoughts'' (album)

Mixtapes

*2005: ''The One And Only Mixtape'' *2006: ''Small City, Big Name'' *2009: ''It's A 1derful Life''

Collaborative albums

* 2000: ''The Thrill Is Gone'' (with Athletic Mic League) * 2002: ''Sweats And Kicks'' (with Athletic Mic League) * 2004: ''Jungle Gym Jungle'' (with Athletic Mic League) * 2010: ''Crown Royale'' (with

as Crown Royale) * 2015: ''Freedom Is'' (with Kensaye as part of The Black Opera) * 2016: ''African America'' (with The Black Opera)