Damani Thompson, known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s, Phesto and Phesto Dee (born April 29, 1974), is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and producer. He is one of the founding four members of the

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

-based underground hip hop group

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland nat ...

, and, with the Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

, the

Hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...

Biography

Born and raised in

, Phesto D met fellow Souls of Mischief member

Tajai Tajai Massey, known by the stage name Tajai (born April 21, 1975), is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the four founding members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief and, with Souls of Misch ...

, as well as Hieroglyphics' founder,

Del tha Funkee Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

, in

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

. Tajai introduced Phesto to members A-Plus and

Opio Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland ...

, and the group formed in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

before releasing their debut album, ''

93 'til Infinity ''93 'til Infinity'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group Souls of Mischief. It was released on February 13, 1993 on the Jive label. Composition The sound of ''93 'til Infinity'' is characteristic of the distinct style explored b ...

'' on

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. As a rapper, Phesto is "renown dfor his crazy, and up-tempo flows. Rhyming about anything from 'quantum cryptography' to secret

Jedi mind tricks Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 19 ...

, Phesto's skills are undoubtedly a vital piece of the Hieroglyphics foundation.". Phesto has contributed to all four Souls of Mischief albums, as well as the two Hieroglyphic studio albums. He has also produced or performed on solo projects of various Hieroglyphics' members.

Discography

Solo

*Granite Pedigree - EP (2011) *Background Check (2012) *Infrared Rum (2014)

With Souls of Mischief

*''

'' (1993) *''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'' (1995) *''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' (1997) *'' Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution'' (2000) *'' Montezuma's Revenge'' (2009) *''

There Is Only Now ''There Is Only Now'' is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Souls of Mischief. The album was released on August 26, 2014, by Linear Labs. The album features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, The Delfonics, William Hart, Snoop Dogg ...

'' (2015)

With Hieroglyphics

* ''

3rd Eye Vision ''3rd Eye Vision'' is the first studio album by American hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. It was released by Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings on March 24, 1998. It peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as num ...

'' (1998) * '' Full Circle'' (2003) * ''

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...

'' (2013)

References

External links

Discogs Profile - Phesto

Hieroglyphics - Official Site
{{Authority control 1974 births Living people Hieroglyphics (group) members Rappers from Oakland, California 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians