Biography
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Born
2 June 1976 (age 47)
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Born In
Farmington, San Juan County, New Mexico, United States
Sleep is an American solo artist, as well as one half of The Chicharones (with Josh Martinez) and one of the founders of the Oldominion collective
Master tactician. That is Sleep in a nutshell. Admittedly addicted to writing lyrics by the time he'd reached just the 2nd grade, this founding member of The Northwest's oldominion crew began forging the unique style that has become his calling card in hip hop at a very young age. As mechanically sound as any other emcee, now or ever, he has proven himself able to syncopate even the most minimal melody with his rhyme schemes and cadences which are complex enough to ensnare even the most uninitiated listener and perhaps even impress the most academic of poets and literary scholars.Citing such influences as Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, Hieroglyphics and early on, Run DMC, Sleep points out that it's the music of his own family that has driven him most.
His father, (a former bass player for blues legend Gatemouth Brown) grew up playing everything from Mariachi to Blues to Rock with his 7 other musical brothers while his Grandfather had already made a name for himself as a multi-instrumentalist, playing Trombone, Sax and Upright Bass. The first emcee in this 3 generations deep family of musicians, it is obvious that music is in his blood. Though unafraid to tackle conceptual rap lyrics, it's the things that Sleep cares about most in life that are ever evident in his writing. Maintaining a level of credibility that is a welcome departure from the fantastic fame and fortune drenched premises that listeners have become accustomed to, Sleep is sure to capture the attention of quite a few ears.
Still, his most notable characteristic as an emcee has to be his near legendary mastery of diction, enunciation, and rapid-fire delivery over even the most up-tempo compositions. His debut solo album, "Riot By Candlelight" cohesively showcases both his phenomenal microphone abilities and his interest in diverse subject matter that ranges from totally expressionist verbiage to conventional story telling, while never once losing the listener. When asked to comment on his album's direction, Sleep explains, "If you took a person and started going through every layer of their character, you would find that the inner person is far more twisted and real than the exterior character they present to the world "Since 1994 Sleep has shared the recording booth with Kid Frost, Micranots and Abstract Rude to name a few as well as sharing the stage with such notables as Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Roots, Company Flow, The Living Legends and the list goes on..
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