Dead Prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man
and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known
for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused
on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism. The duo maintains
an ethical stance against corporate control over the media, especially
hip hop record labels.
Dead Prez uses the shi hexagram, "Leading" or "The
Army", as part of their logo.
In 1990, M-1 headed to Tallahassee to attend FAMU (Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical University) where he and stic.man met and connected
due to their mutual love of music and similar leftist political ideology.
There, their views solidified, M-1 becoming particularly interested
in the Black Panther Party.
M-1 joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement
in Chicago for three years, stic.man remained in Florida. Burned
out by the arduous labor of Uhuru, M-1 and stic.man chose to focus
on music. Dead Prez transcribed the political education they acquired
into lyrical poetry. Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar discovered them in
New York and signed them a deal with Loud Records. Although Dead
Prez was not always Loud's top priority, they built a fan base due
to their over-the-top performances (they've been known to ignite
dollar bills and toss apples into the audiences, declaring that they
must eat healthily). They also made an early appearance on Big Pun's
Capital Punishment in 1998.
[edit] Releases
The duo's debut album was 2000's Let's Get Free, with their most
popular single to date "Hip Hop". The album was well-received
by critics, and included intense political diatribes featuring prominent
black activist Omali Yeshitela, as well as "Animal in Man" -
a retelling of George Orwell's Animal Farm. The instrumental version
of their song "Hip Hop" was used as Dave Chappelle's entrance
music for his show on Comedy Central, and can be heard on every episode.
The popular video game SKATE also features the song "Hip Hop" in
their sound track. In 2001 they collaborated with The Coup, another
politically active hip hop outfit, to release Get Up.
In 2002, Dead Prez contributed to Red Hot + Riot, a compilation
CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and
work of Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, that raised money for various
charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
They collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists Talib Kweli, Jorge
Ben, and Bilal to remake the famous song by Fela Kuti, "Shuffering
and Shmiling," for the CD. Also in 2002, Dead Prez released
the independent mix tape Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1,
followed by the release of Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2:
Get Free or Die Tryin' in 2003. Also in 2003, their song "Hell
Yeah" was featured in the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. In 2004,
Columbia Records finally released Revolutionary But Gangsta. They
were featured in the film Dave Chappelle's Block Party, in 2006.
In 2006, they and former 2Pac collaborators, the Outlawz, jointly
released an album titled Can't Sell Dope Forever. In 2006, M1 also
recorded a solo album titled "Confidential". From the album,
the song "'Til We Get There" was on the EA Sports video
game NBA Live 2007. In 2007, stic.man released his own solo album
titled "Manhood" with Boss Up Inc. / Traffic records. M-1
appears with ProfessorD.us, of the politically charged Hip Hop group
The Dope Poet Society, on the track "Everything's Political" off
the 2008 album THIRD WORLD WARriors Vol. 1. On the track, M-1 and
ProfessorD.us trade verses in response to the question "why
is your music always so political?". In 2008, Stic.Man appeared
on "Changing Weather", the first single from Marcel Cartier's
album "Revolutionary Minded 2".
Dead Prez released a mixtape entitled "Pulse of the People:
Turn Off Your Radio Vol. 3" on June 23, 2009. The mixtape is
hosted by DJ Green Lantern.[1] On Mother's Day 2010, dead prez released "The
Beauty Within," a remix of B.o.B and Bruno Mars' #1 single "Nothin'
On You." [2] Additionally in 2010, Dead Prez released a mixtape
with DJ Drama entitled Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary But
Gangsta Grillz. The project initially and temporarily was released
for free on their website, and they announced this release was their
ten year commemoration of their most well known and commercially
successful album Let's Get Free.
[edit] Documentary
Dead Prez performing on December 13, 2009.
In June 2006, the cable movie network Starz InBlack began airing
an original documentary called Dead Prez: It's Bigger Than Hip Hop
directed by John Threat. The hour-long documentary featured live
footage and interviews with Dead Prez, along with interviews from
Kamel Bell, owner of Ankh Marketing and son of incarcerated Black
Panther Herman Bell; Fred Hampton Jr., son of Black Panther Chief
of Staff and spokesman Fred Hampton; Bay Area rapper and poet Ise
Lyfe, and hip hop activist and radio personality Davey D. Among the
topics discussed in the documentary are the inadequacies of the public
education system, minority entrepreneurship and social revolution.
“
Our aim is to provide a programming experience that viewers will
not get anywhere else. We like to push the limits and go where other
networks fear to tread. We recognized in Dead Prez a message that
deserves to be heard. Not everyone will agree with them, but that's
OK. We aim to enlighten and entertain, and 'Dead Prez: It's Bigger
than Hip Hop' does both. ”
M1 stated, "We've never had the opportunity to express ourselves
on this level of magnitude. Starz InBlack taking a chance on us lets
us know that the work we are doing is not in vain. That our message
is penetrating, it's getting through."[3]
[edit] Discography
Main article: Dead Prez discography
* 2000: Let's Get Free
* 2002: Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1
* 2003: Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin'
* 2004: Revolutionary But Gangsta
* 2008: Live in San Francisco
* 2009: Pulse of the People: Turn off the Radio Vol. 3 (with DJ Green Lantern)
* 2010: Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz[4]
* 2011: Information Age[5]