Aron Smith, known by his stage name Oneself or MC Oneself, is an American

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- ...

artist based in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. A former member of the

Rusty Ps The Rusty Ps is a hip hop/rap group based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Initially known as the ''Rusty Pelicans'' after forming in 1995, its membership currently consists of Phantom Channel (MC), Count Classic (MC), S Watson (production), and Madhat ...

, he began his career in 1995. Oneself was influenced by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. He says he has gathered inspiration from each genre and incorporates it into his music. He is known for a high energy show, which includes elements of freestyle and

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

Tours and performances

As a member of Rusty Ps, he toured nationally with groups such as

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles in 1989. The original four members of the group are Imani (rapper), Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson ...

. As an opening act, with the Rusty Ps, he also performed with groups such as

Run DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...

Latyrx Latyrx ( ) is an American alternative hip-hop duo composed of Lateef and Lyrics Born. The duo originated from the Solesides collective at the University of California, Davis. History The founding members of SoleSides, including DJ Shadow and ...

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 (stylized JuraSsic 5) is an American alternative hip hop group formed by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup (Jurassic 5), Soup, Zaakir), and Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mar ...

Hieroglyphics Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...

The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

Nappy Roots Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap group. The group met in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1995 while attending Western Kentucky University. They have worked with Rob Run Corleone of Empire Distribution. On the South Rituals mixt ...

and

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. As a solo artist he has opened for

Sage Francis Paul William "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is an American independent underground rapper from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of Strange Famous Records. Early life and education Francis was born in Miami, Florid ...

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland ...

Awards

Wisconsin Area Music Industry Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) is an American volunteer organization founded in 1980, and based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its stated purpose is "to educate and recognize the achievements and accomplishments of individuals in the Wisconsin music ...

- Best Hip-Hop/Rap artist * ''

Shepherd Express ''The Shepherd Express'' is an alternative monthly magazine published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History The paper originated in May 1982 as the ''Crazy Shepherd'', its name derived from a line in Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Footnotes to Howl� ...

'' "Best of Milwaukee" - Voted "best of" by the readers

Discography

Rusty Pelicans/Rusty Ps

*"Prototype RPCP" 12" - The first released recording by the Rusty Pelicans. Recorded at Walls Have Ears, Milwaukee. Vocal recording, mix and mastering done at Hollywood Sound in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

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 ...

. (1999)
RPCP stands for "Rusty Pelican, Civilized Person" *''The Best Part'' - The first full-length CD recorded by the Rusty Pelicans. Recorded at Bionic Studios, Milwaukee. (1999) *"Tread Water" 12" - The second single recorded and released by the Rusty Pelicans in support of their album, ''Out of Many''. This single was released internationally. (2000) *''Out of Many'' - The second full-length CD release recorded by the Rusty Ps. Recorded at Bionic Studios, Milwaukee. This album included collaborations with

and

and was released internationally. (2001) *''One'' - the third full-length CD release recorded by the Rusty Ps. Recorded at Bionic Studios, Milwaukee. (2002)

Solo releases

*"Oneway" - First solo release on 12" vinyl with the songs "Oneway", "Love Like This" and "Cooler by the Lake".

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{hiphop-bio-stub