Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, consisting of rappers

Onry Ozzborn Michael Sean Martinez (born March 25, 1979), better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is an American rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is a founding member of alternative hip hop groups such as Grayskul, Dark Time Sunshine, and ...

and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion.

History

In 2003,

and JFK, both members of the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion, teamed up with bassist Rob Castro to form Grayskul. They recorded about 55 songs in 8 months at ATB Studios; these would eventually become the albums ''Creature'', ''Thee Adventures!'' and ''Deadlivers''. After opening for

Eyedea & Abilities Eyedea & Abilities (often abbreviated as E&A) was an American hip hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip hop scene, be ...

, their music was brought to the attention of

Rhymesayers Entertainment Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad (Sab th ...

. Grayskul's label debut, '' Deadlivers'', was released in 2005. It featured guest appearances such as

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998. ...

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

and

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 ...

. The album also featured the song "Secret Wars", which featured the Oldominion emcees that had been in the group at the time. In 2007, Grayskul released their second album on Rhymesayers Entertainment, ''

Bloody Radio ''Bloody Radio'' is a studio album by American hip hop group Grayskul. It was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2007. "Scarecrow" was released as a single from the album. Background The album sees Onry Ozzborn rapping under the guise of Co ...

'', this time with Onry Ozzborn going by the name Count Draven and JFK going by the name Count Magnus. While this album excluded Rob Castro,

Cage A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

and

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

provided guest verses. In 2009, Grayskul in collaboration with producer Maker released ''Graymaker'' on Taxidermy Records. In an interview with ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'', Onry Ozzborn said: "Of the albums we've done in the past, we've never had a whole project that's straight-ahead hip-hop ... People always say our stuff is dark, weird, bugged-out, but I think this one will catch people by surprise. aker'sbeats in general made us write different. He uses more breakbeats, slower BPMs, so you'll be able to hear that." In 2013, Grayskul released ''

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

'' on Fake Four Inc.

Style and influences

Members of Grayskul cited Cannibal Ox's ''

The Cold Vein ''The Cold Vein'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Cannibal Ox. It was produced by El-P and released on his Definitive Jux label on May 15, 2001. The album has since been reissued by iHipHop Distribution. Release ''The Cold Vei ...

'' as an important influence.

Discography

Albums

* ''Creature'' (2004) * ''Thee Adventures!'' (2004) * '' Deadlivers'' (2005) * ''Wand and the Gun'' (2005) * ''Name in Vain'' (2006) * ''Blood Sweat and Fears'' (2006) * ''Facefeeder'' (2007) (with Xperience) * ''

'' (2007) * ''Graymaker'' (2009) (with Maker) * ''

'' (2013)

Singles

* "Prom Quiz" (2005) * "Scarecrow" (2007) * "Mod Volatile" b/w "At the Time" (2009)

Guest appearances

Boom Bap Project Boom Bap Project is an American Northwest hip hop group from Portland, Oregon. It consists of Karim, DJ Scene, and Destro, who are also part of the Oldominion collective. History Boom Bap Project released the first album, ''Circumstance Dictat ...

- "War of the Roses" from ''Reprogram'' (2005) *

Fakts One Fakts One (born April 6, 1977) is an American hip hop DJ & producer from Boston, Massachusetts. Fakts One was a founding member of the hip hop group The Perceptionists with long-time collaborators Akrobatik and Mr. Lif but left the group shortly ...

- "Set the Mood" from ''Long Range'' (2008) * The Insects - "Fear" from ''Gone'' (2009) *

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

- "Hesitation Wounds" from ''

Hesitation Wounds Hesitation Wounds is an American hardcore punk supergroup formed in 2012. The band was founded by Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré; guitarist Neeraj Kane of The Hope Conspiracy and formerly of The Suicide File and Holy Fever; bassist Stephen LaCour ...

'' (2009) * IAME - "Tight" from ''I Am My Enemy'' (2009) * Sapient - "Cold How We Keep It" from ''Famine Friends'' (2009) * The Kid Espi and The Wright Family - "Am Flag" from ''Here and Happy'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{Authority control American hip hop groups Musical groups from Seattle Underground hip hop groups Musical groups established in 2003