Phi Life Cypher were a

British hip hop UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop or British rap, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. The development of UK rap was shaped by a distinct set of regional inf ...

group based in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, composed of two MCs,

Si Phili Simon Philbert (born 22 October 1974), known professionally as Si Phili, is a British rapper. He was a member of the former UK hip hop group Phi Life Cypher, which split in 2012. Since the split of PLC, Si Phili has launched a solo career and ...

and Life MC, and DJ Nappa. The trio started making music together around 1996, and since have had much success on the UK underground circuit. Phi-Life Cypher made it to the final of

Tim Westwood Timothy Westwood (born 3 October 1957), often known professionally simply as Westwood, is a British DJ and presenter. He was described by ''The Guardian'' in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene whose opinions have been able to make or bre ...

's Talent 2000 competition and ripping the mic on DJ Skitz's seminal posse cut 'Fingerprints of the Gods' projected them to the upper realms of the UK hip hop scene. Phi Life Cypher was featured on an earlier version of "

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

" by

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

, however

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and

Dan the Automator Daniel M. Nakamura (born August 29, 1966), better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Daniel M. Nakamura wa ...

decided to use

Del the Funky Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

instead. This version was later officially released on ''

G-Sides ''G-Sides'' (sometimes spelled as ''G Sides'') is a B-sides collection by Gorillaz from their first studio album session, ''Gorillaz'' and the ''Tomorrow Comes Today'' EP. The compilation was originally released only in Japan on 12 December ...

'', a compilation of B-sides which was released in Japan and quickly followed with international releases in early 2002. Phi Life Cypher did however perform the track with Gorillaz at the

2002 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2002 was the 22nd edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20 February 2002 at Earls Court in London. The award fo ...

, featuring the band in 3D animation, weaving in and out of each other on four large screens along with their rap accompaniment. Phi Life Cypher also collaborated with Gorillaz on "The Sounder" and an unreleased version of "Starshine". The group has toured with and appeared on tracks by Gorillaz and

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Discography

Albums

* '' Millennium Metaphors'' (2000, Jazz Fudge) * ''The Instrumentals'' (2000, Jazz Fudge) * '' Higher Forces'' (2003) featuring Skit-Slam * ''Playback'' (2006)

EPs and singles

* "Baddest Man" (1998,

white label White label may refer to: * White-label product, a permitted replication and rebranding of a product * White label record, records with plain white labels attached. * White Label Music, an independent record label based in the United Kingdom * ''Wh ...

) * "Earth Rulers" (2000, Jazz Fudge) * "Herbaholics" (2001, Jazz Fudge) * ''The Chosen Few EP'' (with

Task Force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

) (2002, Jazz Fudge) * "Over" (2003, Zebra Traffic) * "Rap It Up" (2004, Zebra Traffic) * "Playback" (2006)

Guest appearances

— "

" (Phi Life Cypher version), "The Sounder", "Starshine (Alternate version)" *

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

— "Distinguished Jamaican English" (The Herbaliser remix) * Skitz — "Fingerprints of the Gods", "Cordless Mics at 20 Paces" * Mark B. & Blade — "Ya Don't See the Signs" (Phi Life Cypher remix) *

— "Ghetto Rebels" on ''USSR... The Art of Listening''

References

External links

*
Phi Life Cypher
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

English hip-hop groups Musical groups from Bedfordshire English musical trios {{Hiphop-group-stub