Toki Wright (born March 27, 1980) is an American rapper and educator from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

. His debut solo studio album, ''A Different Mirror'', was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2009.

Early life and education

Toki Wright was born in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, United States on March 27, 1980. He attended Patrick Henry High School. He later graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Career

Musician

Toki Wright met Adonis D. Frazier in 1998, and they formed The C.O.R.E. (Children of Righteous Elevation). The duo's debut album, ''Metropolis'', was released in 2003. As well as being a member of The Chosen Few, Toki Wright has released a number of solo recordings, including ''A Different Mirror'' (2009), ''Black Male'' (2010), and ''Faders'' (2012). In 2014, he released a collaborative album with producer Big Cats, titled ''Pangaea''. In 2017, he released an EP, ''At the Speed of Life 3''.

Styles and influences

Toki Wright stated that "A Different Mirror", the title track from his 2009 album, was inspired by

Ronald Takaki Ronald Toshiyuki Takaki (April 12, 1939 – May 26, 2009) was an American academic, historian, ethnographer and author. Born in pre-statehood Hawaii, Takaki studied at the College of Wooster and completed his doctorate in American history at t ...

's '' A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America'', saying: "Unless we look into a different mirror we will only see our own reflection. American history for example might be all apple pies and American flags for many, but the history of people of color in America is filled with poverty ndhatred".

Educator

Toki Wright also launched and led the hip hop studies program at McNally Smith College of Music, which closed in 2017. In 2018, he became Assistant Chair of Professional Music at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Metropolis'' (2003) * ''A Different Mirror'' (2009) * ''Pangaea'' (2014)

Mixtapes

* ''Faders'' (2012)

EPs

* ''Black Male'' (2010) * ''Speed of Life: Volume 1'' (2011) * ''Prelude to Pangaea'' (2014) * ''At the Speed of Life 3'' (2017)

Singles

* "Focus" (2006) * "Next Best Thing" (2009) * "More Fiya" (2010) * "25/8/366" (2010) * "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (2010) * "Real Live" (2011) * "Trakhouse" (2011) * "Let Me Live" (2012) * "Short Circuit" (2013) * "For Amiri Baraka" (2014) * "Climate Change" (2017) * "Frequency" (2018)

Guest appearances

* P.O.S - "Ants" from '' Ipecac Neat'' (2004) * Sims - "Market Made Murder" from '' Lights Out Paris'' (2005) *

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. ...

- "Crewed Up" from '' Strictly Leakage'' (2007) * BK-One - "Face It" from ''Rádio do Canibal'' (2009) * St. Paul Slim - "Something Better" from ''Bald Headed Samsun'' (2010) * Mike Swoop - "Let It Go" from ''New Love'' (2010) *

Greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

- "Only You" from ''Electric Purgatory Part 2'' (2010) *

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

- "Sun Is Shining (Booka B Remix)" (2011) * Destro - "Yah, Yah, Yah" from ''Ill.ustrated'' (2011) *

Abstract Rude Aaron Pointer, better known by his stage name Abstract Rude, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is the MC of Abstract Tribe Unique, alongside dancers Zulu Butterfly and Irie Lion King, turntablist DJ Drez and producer Fat Jack. He is ...

+ Musab - "Plan C" from ''The Awful Truth'' (2012) * B. Dolan - "Film the Police" from ''House of Bees Vol. 2'' (2012) *

Guante Kyle Tran Myhre (born January 23, 1983), better known by his stage name Guante, is an American hip hop recording artist, national slam poet champion (2008-2009), activist and educator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Myhre's work has been publ ...

and Big Cats - "Until There's Nothing Left" from ''

You Better Weaponize ''You Better Weaponize'' is the second studio album by American rapper Guante and producer Big Cats!. It was released by Tru Ruts on Election Day, November 6, 2012. Release Upcoming to the album's release, the duo released a music video for t ...

'' (2012) *

Mixed Blood Majority Mixed Blood Majority is an American hip hop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their members include producer Lazerbeak of Doomtree, rapper Crescent Moon of Kill the Vultures and rapper Joe Horton of No Bird Sing. The group has shared stages ...

- "Story to Tell" from ''Mixed Blood Majority'' (2013) * Phases Cachées - "L'American" from ''Boule à Facettes'' (2013) * Culture Cry Wolf - "Ransom" from ''The Sapient Sessions'' (2013) * IBE & Benzilla - "Wake Up!" from ''This, That and the Third'' (2013) * Atmosphere - "Color in the Snow" (2013) * Shinobi Gaines - "Livin Right" from ''Night Crawler Reloaded'' (2013) *

The Regiment The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

- "The Solution" from ''Live from the Coney Island'' (2013) * Ceewhy - "Goodspeed" from ''Freedom = Genius'' (2014) * Sti-Lo Reel - "Blues Brothers" from ''MLK (Mortify, Live & Kill)'' (2014) * Mike the Martyr - "Build Clinton" from ''Marbury'' (2015) * Sleep Sinatra - "Nezhno" from ''Vibranium'' (2016) * G Yamazawa - "Talk That Talk" from ''Shouts to Durham'' (2017) * Adam Meckler Orchestra - "Our Death Under Your Pillow" from ''Magnificent Madness'' (2019)

Music videos

* "Devil's Advocate" (2009) * "A Different Mirror" (2010) * "The Freshest Kids" (2010) * "More Fiya" (2010) * "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (2010) * "The Soul (Go There)" (2011) * "Real Live" (2012) * "This One (Free Verse)" (2012) * "Film the Police" (2012) * "Ode to Maximillian Cohen (π)" (2012) * "No Gimmicks" (2013) * "Livin Right" (2013) * "Short Circuit" (2013) * "High Definition" (2013) * "The Solution" (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Toki 1980 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni Rhymesayers Entertainment artists Rappers from Minneapolis 21st-century American rappers