Christopher Tafoya (born June 2, 1975), better known by his
stage name
A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Sleep or Sleep of Oldominion, 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 from
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington (Navajo language, Navajo: Tóta') is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and ...
, who is currently based in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. He is a founding member of the
Pacific Northwest hip hop collective
Oldominion and hip hop duo
The Chicharones alongside
Josh Martinez. He is signed to
Strange Famous Records
Strange Famous Records is an indie hip hop record label based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by Sage Francis. Artists on its roster include B. Dolan, Cecil Otter, Prolyphic, and Sleep (rapper), Sleep, among others.
History
Strange Fa ...
.
Early life
Tafoya grew up in the small town community of
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington (Navajo language, Navajo: Tóta') is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and ...
. He is of
Mexican descent. At the age of five, Sleep was already rapping and
b-boying
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City.
Breakdancing consist ...
with his friends and relatives in the small town, with himself naming
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 ...
as an important influence when he first began.
In addition to the hip hop he heard early on, his father was a former bass player for blues musician
Gatemouth Brown, and would play a wide array of music, from Mariachi, to blues, to rock. Sleep also grew up with seven other brothers who all played musical instruments and had a grandfather who was also a multi instrumentalist. Entering the world of rap, he felt that his talents as both an MC and a writer were overly slept on, hence the creation of his name Sleep.
Growing up in New Mexico, Sleep went to the same school as
Onry Ozzborn, which led them to meet Pale Soul. Together, they formed the group Oraclez Creed, which would later become
Oldominion after combining with Frontline (
Destro
Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional Character (arts), character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books, and cartoon series. He is the Scottish people, Scottish leader of ...
, Nyqwil, and Snafu). After the join, the massive
Pacific Northwest hip hop collective grew to over twenty members.
Musical career
2001-2008: ''Riot by Candelight'', ''Christopher'' and the Chicharones
Sleep released his debut album, ''Riot by Candlelight'', in 2002. Following the release, he was heavily involved in the multiple albums by Oldominion. In 2001, Sleep met Canadian rapper
Josh Martinez by chance encounter at the
South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
festival in
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. Together, the two would create the hip hop duo ''
the Chicharones.'' Sleep's second album, ''
Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
'', was released in 2005 (and then re-released with bonus tracks in 2009).
2009-2013: Strange Famous Records and ''Hesitation Wounds''
Leading up to 2009, Sleep had contacted
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 ...
in an attempt to receive a feature for his upcoming album, which eventually led to his signing to Sage's independent label
Strange Famous Records
Strange Famous Records is an indie hip hop record label based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by Sage Francis. Artists on its roster include B. Dolan, Cecil Otter, Prolyphic, and Sleep (rapper), Sleep, among others.
History
Strange Fa ...
. In 2009, Sleep released his third solo album, ''
Hesitation Wounds.'' It features verses from
Grayskul and
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 ...
as well as production from likes of
Zavala and
Reanimator, among others.
2014-present: ''Oregon Failure''
Sleep's fourth solo album, ''
Oregon Failure'', was released on April 15, 2014 on Strange Famous Records as well. The entire album is produced by Maulskull and has features from
Onry Ozzborn and
Ceschi, among others.
Style
Sleep's style has been described as "having intricate rhyme schemes and rapid-fire delivery," with his lyrics being both witty and personal.
Discography
Solo
Studio albums
* ''Riot by Candlelight''
** Released: November 5, 2002
** Label: Under the Needle Recordings
* ''
Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
''
** Released: May 31, 2005
** Label: Up Above Records
** Re-Released: November 24, 2009
** Label:
Strange Famous Records
Strange Famous Records is an indie hip hop record label based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by Sage Francis. Artists on its roster include B. Dolan, Cecil Otter, Prolyphic, and Sleep (rapper), Sleep, among others.
History
Strange Fa ...
* ''
Hesitation Wounds''
** Released: June 29, 2009
** Label: Strange Famous Records
* ''
Oregon Failure''
(produced by Maulskull)
** Released: October 20, 2014
** Label: Strange Famous Records
EPs
* ''Christopher Promo EP'' (2005)
* ''While You Were Sl33ping'' (2012)
(with Maulskull)
Singles
* "Man in a Box / Cats Like Y'All" (2002)
* "Say Goodbye / The Heat" (2005)
* "Testimony" (2005)
Collaborative albums
* ''S7V7N Days'' (2002)
(with Onry Ozzborn, as Aurora)
* ''Combination Locked'' (2007)
(with Zelly Rock)
References
External links
Sleepat
Strange Famous Records
Strange Famous Records is an indie hip hop record label based in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by Sage Francis. Artists on its roster include B. Dolan, Cecil Otter, Prolyphic, and Sleep (rapper), Sleep, among others.
History
Strange Fa ...
Sleepon
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleep (rapper)
Underground rappers
Musicians from Portland, Oregon
Rappers from New Mexico
Rappers from Oregon
People from Farmington, New Mexico
1976 births
Living people
West Coast hip-hop musicians
American rappers of Mexican descent
Hispanic and Latino American musicians
21st-century American rappers