Giant Panda was an

underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

group from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Giant Panda is composed of childhood friends Alex Newman, Jamaan "Maanumental" McLaren (from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

), and Chikara "Chikaramanga" Kurahashi (from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Career

The trio's name refers to their ethnic and cultural make-up. Their first single was "88 Remix", released independently in December 2002. Their follow-up single was the 12-inch vinyl record "With It" in September 2004 on Tres Records. 2005 saw the release of Giant Panda's first full-length album, '' Fly School Reunion'' (Tres Records). ''Fly School Reunion'' received positive reviews in magazines such as URB (4 1/2 stars) and

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

. Giant Panda made URB's list of Next 100 in 2005. This allowed the group to tour the West Coast with fellow Angelino hip-hoppers

People Under The Stairs The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. In contrast, a ...

and Time Machine. In 2006, Giant Panda hit the road with Ugly Duckling for a European tour. They reached the EU shores again in 2006, touring with People Under The Stairs. 20 May 2008 saw the release of Giant Panda's second effort, '' Electric Laser''.

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in S ...

called ''Electric Laser'' "futuristic funk" that stays true to the group's "

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip hop during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the ...

" and " electro" modes but also moves the sound forward. The group cites

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

Jungle Brothers Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Hailed as pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop g ...

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

and

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

as their key influences.

Discography

Promos

*''Fresh Donuts'' (2002)

Albums

*''Fly School Reunion'' (2005) *''Electric Laser'' (2008)

7" singles

*''Just Cause'' (2001)

12" singles

*88 Remix'' (2002) *''With It'' (2005) *''Super Fly'' (2005) *''T.K.O.'' (2005) *''Speakers Pop'' (2008)

Collaborations

*'' Bloquera'' (2004) (Newman, Maanumental, Sir Kado, and Superbrush 427)

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173617/http://hiphopdx.com/reviews/id.955

External links

Myspace Page
- Currently their "official" site.
Tres Records Official SitePUTS Online
- The "official" unofficial fan site of People Under The Stairs. Also has up to date information on Giant Panda. {{DEFAULTSORT:Giant Panda (Group) American hip-hop groups