| Chali 2na |
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Chali 2na (born '''Charles Stewart''' in Chicago, Illinois , in 1971 ) is an MC for the Hip-hop group Jurassic 5 . His voice, a deep Basso Profondo , is one of the most recognizable in all of hip-hop. He moved to South Central Los Angeles , the home base of Jurassic 5 since the group's inception in 1995, at a young age, and was raised by his grandmother. His Stage Name is a reference to Charlie The Tuna , the deep-voiced Animated Mascot of Starkist . He and Cut Chemist , one of Jurassic 5's two DJ s, became friends in High School . Teamed with Mark 7even , they were part of a seven-man group called Unity Community (the other members- Kermit, Metalogik, Lonjevity and Jahli- later formed a group called Darkleaf , to which Cut Chemist routinely pays homage.) The Unity Community crew would often and spend Thursday nights performing at The Good Life Café , a vibrant L.A. institution where rappers and Spoken Word poets showed off their skills in an open mic format. They were, along with another three-person troupe called the Rebels of Rhythm, routinely chosen as the crowd's favourite performers. The two crews also appreciated one another's styles, and they teamed to record a 12" single, "Unified Rebelution", in 1995. The Rebels of Rhythm were MCs Akil and Zaakir (aka Soup) and DJ Nu-Mark ; the six men banded together to form Jurassic 5. Chali 2na's flow is one of hip-hop's fastest. He is the only member of the group to pay consistent attention to literary techniques: his verses make heavy use of Internal Rhyme schemes in the style pioneered by Rakim , and frequently uses Assonance , Meter , Alliteration , Phonemes , and Allusions to obscure minutiae of Popular Culture . He is a founding member of the racially integrated activist Salsa funk band Ozomatli ; although no longer an official member (having been replaced as resident MC by Dabu of 4th Avenue Jones), he continues to collaborate with them on occasion and maintains his friendships with them. Along with salsa, his music and theirs have been influenced by Reggae and Soul Music ; he is also a fan of House Music . RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE 2na is a Pluralist in regard to religion. Like all three of his fellow J5 MCs, he is a devout Sunni Muslim , and frequently extols belief in God as a saviour from deceit. In the portion of the liner notes allotted to him on Jurassic 5 album sleeves, he invariably begins his list of acknowledgments with the Shahadah . A vocal critic of George W. Bush 's Presidential Administration, especially in regard to the War In Iraq , he has made comments in interviews suspecting that Bush's incentive for war had largely to do with a lust for cheap Crude Oil , and that the Bush Administration is under the influence of Freemasonry . He has also accused the Bush Administration of warmongering, and criticized what he perceives as President Bush's Vigilantist desire to exact revenge on Saddam Hussein for plot to Assassinate Bush's father, George H.W. Bush . He is a vocal admirer of Malcolm X and Jamil Al-Amin . On a track called "Coming War", recorded with Ozomatli, he details an exhaustive list of paranoiac concerns about government malfeasance, including the manufacture of Chemical and Biological Weapons , and the sanctioning of Drug Trafficking and Drug Addiction as a means to keep inner-city populations suffering. Another verse in this vein was that which he contributed to "Frgt/10", a Linkin Park track redone to feature 2na as part of the band's ''Reanimation'' project, which remixed Linkin Park songs to feature hip-hop artists. A certain Moralism is latent in a number of verses he has composed. His verse on "Contribution", a downbeat track wherein Jurassic 5 express concern for the struggles of urban families, is devoted to a deftly rhymed, sincerely felt sermon on the perils of "latchkey kids" and irresponsible parenting, ending in a plea for fathers to spend time with their children. According to interviews, his upcoming album features a song entitled "The Righteous Way", where he further explores this verse's themes. NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE In 2000, while heading to Nashville, Tennessee as a stop on the Warped Tour , Jurassic 5 were involved in a tour bus crash whereupon the driver fell asleep at the wheel and sent the vehicle careening off into a six-foot Ditch . Chali 2na and two of his colleagues were injured and hospitalized, with 2na sustaining the gravest injuries. He was treated for a fractured skull, and as a result, a metal plate was implanted into his head. 2na has stated that survival of this near-death experience has made him more conscious of his religion. COLLABORATIONS ("J5'S AMBASSADOR") Chali 2na has become something of an ambassador for Jurassic 5 to the hip-hop community at large, because of his propensity for Collaborations with other MCs. Many (but not all) of his featured guest appearances are catalogued on ''Welcome to the Fish Market'', a Mixtape he released in 2004. He is a good friend of, and frequent collaborator with, the senior British Hip Hop star Roots Manuva , having worked with him as a tag team on a number of songs (including "Revolution 9", which appears on ''Welcome to the Fish Market'' and '' Dub Come Save Me '', and "Join The Dots", which appears on Roots Manuva's second proper album, '' Run Come Save Me ''). He has also referenced his friend in rhyme. SOLO ALBUM (''FISH OUTTA WATER'') ''Welcome to the Fish Market'' was compiled and released in order to whet 2na's listeners' appetites for a solo album, tentatively titled ''Fish Outta Water'', whose release date has been pushed back several times but which is apparently due for release in Spring 2006. On the album, 2na will reputedly delve into some of the formative experiences that have molded and affected his nature, including an unspecified tragic incident that occurred when he was eight years old. Prospective collaborators include Beenie Man (with whom he recorded the single "International"), Raphael Saadiq , and his longtime friend Rakaa Iriscience (frontman of Dilated Peoples , another Los Angeles-based group with whom Jurassic 5 has consistently allied itself.) "Don't Stop", the would-be first single off ''Fish Outta Water'', appeared in January 2006. It showcased 2na's familiar rapid-fire flow; in its lyrics, 2na professed his unwavering dedication to hip-hop culture, insulting rappers who neglect to pay proper respect to pioneers like Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa . He also spoke deferentially of the beloved fallen Gangsta Rapper Tupac Shakur , perhaps in response to the occasional criticism of Jurassic 5 and other like-minded ''"true-school"'' troupes by those who feel that their "conscious" moralizing can become as stagnant in its orthodoxy as thug-rap clichés can. The song's chorus was sung by Neo-soul artist Anthony Hamilton . It was featured in the soundtrack of the videogame NBA Live 06 . PARTIAL LIST OF NOTEWORTHY COLLABORATIONS
Among those friends or associates in the rap community with whom he hasn't worked are Mos Def , Talib Kweli , Little Brother , Common , Twista , Ugly Duckling , and Skinnyman . |
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