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Gregory James Broussard (born August 31, 1963), better known by his stage name Egyptian Lover, is an American musician, vocalist, producer and DJ, and was a part of the L.A.
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
,
electro, and rap scene in the early 1980s.
History
The Egyptian Lover was born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and started out there as a
DJ with
Uncle Jamm's Army
Uncle Jamm's Army was an American funk/ hip hop collective crew based in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Their singles "What's Your Sign", "Dial-a-Freak", and "Yes, Yes, Yes" were influential to the electro, old school funk, and earl ...
, DJing dances as large as the L.A. Sports Arena with 10,000 people.
[Bell, Max]
"A Freak Is a Freak, and Egyptian Lover Is an Icon"
''Noisey'', 13 April 2016. Retrieved 2017-04-22. He began recording around Los Angeles in 1982 as a member of the Radio Crew, as well as
Uncle Jamm's Army
Uncle Jamm's Army was an American funk/ hip hop collective crew based in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Their singles "What's Your Sign", "Dial-a-Freak", and "Yes, Yes, Yes" were influential to the electro, old school funk, and earl ...
. Members of Uncle Jamm's Army and the World Class Wreckin' Cru, including Dr. Dre, The Unknown DJ, Egyptian Lover, Ice-T and Kid Frost would later go on to help define the early West Coast Hip-Hop sound throughout the 1980s.
Most of the Egyptian Lover's successful recordings were 12" singles. "Egypt, Egypt" was one of the most popular, which was called part of the "
b-boy canon."
[ He eventually released some of the earliest rap LPs, but they were less popular commercially than his singles. On the strength of an alternate mix of his most popular single "Egypt, Egypt", 1984's '']On the Nile
''On the Nile'' is the debut studio album by American electro artist Greg Broussard under the alias of The Egyptian Lover. The album involves party-themed music involving Broussard, attractive women, and escapism. The album was released in 1984, ...
'' was moderately successful, reaching the Billboard Top 200. It was called "one of the first hip-hop records to come out of the left coast
Left Coast is a political expression that implies that the West Coast of the United States leans politically to the left or the expression can refer to states that lean politically left. The implication is that with the exception of Alaska, the ...
". He also collaborated with several other hip-hop and dance music artists. After a break in the early 1990s, Egyptian Lover returned in 1994 with ''Back from the Tomb'', his first full-length album in over ten years.
The Egyptian Lover also established his own record company, Egyptian Empire Records
Egyptian Empire Records is the oldest electro record label owned by Egyptian Lover. Known for its unique style of electro music, it also has a political background because Egyptian Lover was the first Afroamerican Label Owner.
Background
It was f ...
, which included artists such as Rodney O & Joe Cooley, 2 O'Clock & Te & Joezee.
His 2015 release, ''1984'', continues his tradition of using all analog
Analog or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
equipment, including the Roland TR-808, along with much of the same gear used on his recordings of the 1980s. The name "1984" refers to his earlier albums. The album was recorded at Skip Saylor, Encore Studios, and at RUSK Studios, the same studio where ''On The Nile'' was recorded in 1984. It is widely available on double gatefold LP, CD and cassette tape.
2000s
* 2005 – New single "Party", backed with "Dancefloor"
* February 2006 – ''Platinum Pyramids'' was released
* End of 2006 – Recorded "UFO" and "Futuristic" with Jamie Jupiter for Jupiter's new 12" single (never released)
* 2007 – Remade "Modernaire" by Dez Dickerson (from the film ''Purple Rain'') for the label Citinite
* 2007 – Collaborated with Clone Machine and Egypt Ear Werk
* December 2008 – Released exclusive songs on iTunes: "Electro Pharaoh", "Freaky D.J.", and "Scandinavian Summer"
* 2008 – Joined Who Cares on the song "They Killed the Radio"
* 2008 – Worked with Jamie Jones on the song "Galactic Space Bar"
* 2008 – Worked with M.I.A. on "Rock off Shake off" for new artist Rye Rye
* May 2009 – Collaborated with Debonaire on "Do U Wanna Get Down?" for a new Street Sounds compilation
* May 2009 – New video "Freaky D.J." with producer/director Victor Brooks a.k.a. Who007
* 2009 – New album that included songs "Electro Pharaoh", "U.F.O.", "Freaky D.J.", "BellyDance", "Scandinavian Summer", and "Do U Wanna Get Down?"
* June 2009 – Remix of James Pants's Cosmic Rapp was released
* 2011 – work on new album entitled ''1984'' begins
* 2014 – Collaborated with Dye on the song "She's Bad"
* 2015 – 1984 released
Touring
The Egyptian Lover began touring again in 2004 throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. His performances often begin with mixing records on turntables before segueing into his original compositions.
In 2008, he supported M.I.A. in her People vs. Money Tour
The People vs. Money Tour was a 2008 concert tour by M.I.A. in support of her studio album '' Kala.'' Concerts also featured songs from her debut album ''Arular''. It began on 26 April 2008 and ended on 13 June in Manchester, Tennessee.
The tour ...
.
Discography
Albums
EPs
* 1984 – "Egypt, Egypt EP"
* 2009 – "Electro Pharaoh"
* 2009 – "James Pants Meets Egyptian Lover" (split 12" with James Pants
James Singleton, known professionally as James Pants, is an American multi-instrumental recording artist. Although his music defies simple categorization, he is promoted as a purveyor of the "fresh beat," an early-1980s sound with influences from ...
)
Compilation albums
* 2016 – '' 1983-1988''
Charted Singles
References
External links
Westcoastpioneers Biography page
*
Egyptian Lover
on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egyptian Lover
American rappers
American electro musicians
1963 births
Living people
Priority Records artists
DJs from Los Angeles
Record producers from California
African-American rappers
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people