Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of

stic.man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

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, self-determination, and Pan-Africanism. The duo maintains an ethical stance against corporate control over the media, especially hip hop record labels.

Career

Background (1990–2000)

In 1990, M-1 headed to Tallahassee, Florida, to attend

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

where he and stic.man met and formed a relationship due to their mutual love of music and similar

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political ideology. While there, their views solidified, M-1 becoming particularly interested in the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. M-1 joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in Chicago for three years, while stic.man remained in Florida. Burned out by the arduous labor of Uhuru, M-1 and stic.man chose to focus on music. Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar discovered them in New York City and signed them a deal with Loud Records. Although dead prez was not always Loud's top priority, they built a fan base due to their over-the-top performances (they have been known to ignite dollar bills and toss apples into the audiences, declaring that they must eat healthily). They had begun contributing songs to film soundtracks and made featurings on high-profile albums. Their first recorded song, "The Game of Life (Score)" appeared on the 1997 soundtrack to the film '' Soul in the Hole''. In 1998 their song "D.O.P.E. (Drugs Oppress People Everyday)" was featured in the movie '' Slam''. Also in 1998, they were featured on the skit "The Rain and the Sun" off Big Pun's album '' Capital Punishment'', and in 1999 were featured on The Beatnuts' song "Look Around" off their album '' Musical Massacre''.

Releases (2000–present)

The duo's debut album was 2000's '' Let's Get Free'', with their most popular single to date " Hip-Hop". The album was well received by critics, and included intense political monologues featuring prominent black activist

Omali Yeshitela Omali Yeshitela (born Joseph Waller on October 9, 1941) is an African revolutionary, political leader, theoretician and author. He is the founder and chairman of the African People's Socialist Party, which leads the Uhuru Movement. Accordin ...

, as well as "Animal in Man" - a retelling of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

's ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

''. The instrumental version of their song "Hip Hop" was used as

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...

's entrance music for his show on Comedy Central, and can be heard on every episode. "Hip Hop" has also been featured on the soundtrack of the video game skate. as well as underground graffiti art documentaries of the era. The song is also used in the introduction of ''Hip Hop Evolution'', a show which is currently on Netflix. In 2001 they collaborated with The Coup, another politically active hip hop outfit, to release ''Get Up''. In 2002, dead prez contributed to ''

Red Hot + Riot Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'', a compilation album created by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

. The money raised by the CD was used for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. They collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists Talib Kweli and Bilal and Brazilian singer Jorge Ben to remake the famous Fela Kuti song "Shuffering and Shmiling" for the album. Also in 2002, dead prez released the independent mix tape '' Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1'', followed by the release of ''Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin in 2003. Also in 2003, their song "Hell Yeah" was featured in the

2 Fast 2 Furious ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, from a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), and is t ...

soundtrack. In 2004,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

finally released ''

Revolutionary But Gangsta ''RBG: Revolutionary but Gangsta'' is the second studio album by hip-hop duo dead prez. It was released March 30, 2004 on Sony Records. RBG was described by M-1 as a movement that "comes off the back of the Honorable Marcus Garvey." Accordin ...

''. They were featured in the film '' Dave Chappelle's Block Party'', in 2006. In 2006, they and former

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

collaborators, the Outlawz, jointly released two new albums: '' Can't Sell Dope Forever'' and '' Soldier 2 Soldier''. In 2006, M1 also recorded a solo album titled '' Confidential''. From the album, the song "'Til We Get There" was on the EA Sports video game '' NBA Live 07''. In 2007, stic.man released his own solo record named '' Manhood'' with Boss Up Inc. / Traffic records. M-1 further appeared with ProfessorD.us, of the politically charged Hip Hop group

The Dope Poet Society The Dope Poet Society is a hip hop group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their music is characterized by clever and sometimes controversial lyrics. ProfessorD.us (formerly Professor D) is the lead vocalist of the group. The group has been active ...

, on the track "Everything's Political" off the 2008 album ''THIRD WORLD WARriors Vol. 1''. On the track, M-1 and ProfessorD.us trade verses in response to the question "why is your music always so political?". That same year, Stic.Man appeared on "Changing Weather", the first single from Marcel Cartier's album ''Revolutionary Minded 2''. Dead prez released a mixtape entitled ''Pulse of the People: Turn Off Your Radio Vol. 3'' on June 23, 2009. The mixtape is hosted by DJ Green Lantern. On Mother's Day 2010, dead prez released "The Beauty Within", a remix of B.o.B and Bruno Mars' #1 single " Nothin' On You."thatsthatish.com: dead prez - "The Beauty Within"
/ref> Additionally in 2010, dead prez released a mixtape with DJ Drama entitled '' Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz''. The album is available for free download on their website, and they announced this release was their ten year commemoration of their most well known and commercially successful album '' Let's Get Free''. The new album ''Information Age'' was released on October 16, 2012.

Documentary (2006)

In June 2006, the cable movie network Starz InBlack began airing an original documentary called ''Dead Prez: It's Bigger Than Hip Hop'' directed by

John Threat John Lee, a.k.a. John Threat, used the name "Corrupt" as a member of Masters of Deception (MOD), a New York based hacker group in the early '90s.Village Voice, "Rebel Hackers: The Computer Kids who Phreak Out the Feds," By Julian Dibbell, July 2 ...

. The hour-long documentary featured live footage and interviews with dead prez, along with interviews from Kamel Bell, owner of Ankh Marketing and son of incarcerated

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

member

Herman Bell Herman Bell (April 18, 1915 – September 27, 1970) was an American Negro league catcher between 1940 and 1950. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Bell made his Negro leagues debut in 1940 with the Indianapolis Crawfords. He went on to play ei ...

; Fred Hampton Jr., son of Black Panther Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter Fred Hampton; Bay Area rapper and poet Ise Lyfe, and hip hop activist and radio personality Davey D. Among the topics discussed in the documentary are the inadequacies of the public education system, people of color entrepreneurship and social revolution. M1 stated:

We've never had the opportunity to express ourselves on this level of magnitude. Starz InBlack taking a chance on us lets us know that the work we are doing is not in vain. That our message is penetrating, it's getting through.The 'revolution will be televised' as Starz InBlack presents 'Dead Prez: It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop.
''Frost Illustrated.'' Retrieved through web archive on December 6, 2007.

Discography

Studio albums *2000: '' Let's Get Free'' *2004: ''

'' *2012: '' Information Age'' Live albums *2008: ''Live in San Francisco'' Collaboration albums *2006: '' Can't Sell Dope Forever'' (with Outlawz) Mixtapes *2002: '' Turn Off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1'' (as dpz) *2003: ''Turn Off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin *2009: ''Pulse of the People: Turn Off the Radio Vol. 3'' (hosted by DJ Green Lantern) *2010: '' Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz'' (hosted by DJ Drama)

References

External links

* {{Authority control African-American musical groups American hip hop groups American socialists American musical duos American Maoists Far-left politics in the United States Left-wing populism in the United States Hip hop duos Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Tallahassee, Florida Underground hip hop groups Political music groups Male musical duos 1996 establishments in Florida American anti-fascists New York (state) socialists Florida socialists African-American communists