The Last Emperor is the recording name of Jamal Gray,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-born hip-hop artist. Gray took his stage name from the Bernardo Bertolucci film epic of the same name ('' The Last Emperor''). He attended and graduated Overbrook High School (Philadelphia) then went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science/International Relations from Lincoln University.Jamal "The Last Emperor" Gray Love, Truth, Freedom, Peace, and Justice
WaybackMachine He moved to New York and began performing at open mic nights. The Last Emperor was featured in a verse on

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

's "C.I.A. (Criminals in Action)" with Zack de la Rocha. Two years after moving to New York he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, and became a protégé of

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

. In 2003 it was announced that The Last Emperor had signed to Rawkus Records. A few singles were released in a period of 6 months, but the label unexpectedly stopped releasing any music. The Last Emperor then formed Red Planet Music to release his debut album, Music, Magic, Myth. Red Planet's releases are distributed by Raptivism. He has opened for such acts as the former

Def Squad Def Squad is an American rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray, Hurricane G, and Jamal. Before officially forming as a group to release an album in 1998, they had each been featured on tracks by each other. The Def ...

( Redman,

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

Das EFX Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray (also known as Krazy Drayz, born Andre Weston, September 9, 1970) and Skoob (also known as Books and Boogie Bang, born William "Willie" Hines, November 27, 1970). They named the ...

and K-Solo),

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, and

. He has performed at the Lyricist Lounge. He’s traveled around the world performing in places like Denmark (

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

), London (

Jam in the Park Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and enterta ...

), and Norway (

Quart Festival The Quart Festival was an annual popular music festival that took place in Kristiansand, Norway in the beginning of July, from 1991 to 2008. It was the most visited music festival in Norway. It was first named ''Qvadradurmusivalen'' in 1991, but ...

). He also appeared as the guest MC for

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

. The Last Emperor released his debut album ''Music, Magic, Myth'' (''Palace of the Pretender'' in Europe) in 2003. A single, "Black Apache", was released on Red Planet in September 2006. The Last Emperor's album titled 'Wizards Wardrobe' was slated for a release date 27 June 2010 but never materialized, though a music video for the first single "Fine Art" was released.

Discography

Albums * 2000: ''The Legend of Bigfoot'' (Unofficial, internet leak of early demos) * 2003: ''Music, Magic, Myth'' * 2003: ''Palace of the Pretender'' (European release of ''Music, Magic, Myth'') * 2018: ''"Jungle Jim" Season 1'' (with Haak Filmore) * 2019: ''Lord of the Fly'' (with Haak Filmore) * 2022: ''The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wolfman'' (with Haak Filmore) Mixtapes * 2006: ''Hidden Treasures'' * 2009: ''Science Team...Go!'' Singles * 1997: ''Bums / Monumental / Secret Wars Part 1'' * 1999: ''Echo Leader / Charlie / Rap Tyranny'' * 2000: ''Fo'rel / Heavyweight Invincible / The Dozen'' * 2001: ''The Banger / The Umph'' * 2003: ''Who’s That / Prisoner'' * 2003: ''Secret Wars Part 2 / Some Love, Some Hate'' * 2003: ''Here We Are'' * 2006: ''Black Apache / Gangsta Groove'' * 2010: ''Fine Art'' * 2011: ''Pots and Pans''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Emperor, The Living people Rappers from Philadelphia Underground rappers 1972 births 21st-century American rappers