The Physics is an American hip hop group based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. It was created in the late-1990s when its members, Thig Natural (Gathigi Gishuru), Monk Wordsmith (Njuguna Gishuru) and Just D'Amato (Justin Hare) were students at

O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the school was built. O'Dea is a part of the Ar ...

in Seattle. Since 2007, the trio has released three full-length albums, two EPs and several non-album singles. The Physics are an integral part of the Seattle hip hop community, and much of their music is centered on life in Seattle ("Seward Park" and "Coronas on Madrona," for example). They are known for rapping about everyman themes such as romance, working 9-5 jobs, and enjoying life.

Members

The Physics consists of two MCs, real-life brothers Thig Natural (often referred to as Thig Nat), and Monk Wordsmith (who functions as the group's

hype man A hype man, in hip hop music and rapping, is a backup rapper and/or singer who supports the primary rappers with exclamations and interjections and who attempts to increase the audience's excitement with call-and-response chants. The hype man's ...

as well) and producer, Justo. All three members grew up in a neighborhood known as Seattle's South End. Thig and Monk are first-generation Americans of Kenyan descent, and Just D'Amato (also known as Justo) is half-

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

. The Physics reference their heritage in their music, especially in the ''Tomorrow People'' track, "Journey of the Drum." Thig is also a photographer who shoots primarily fashion and

street photography Street photography (also sometimes called candid photography) is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and ca ...

. Their music frequently features other artists from hip-hop and other genres. They have collaborated with R&B singer
Mario and Malice Sweet
renowned producer Jake One, and

Phonte Phonte Lyshod Coleman, known mononymously as Phonte (born December 28, 1978), is an American rapper, singer, and producer. He is currently of the North Carolina hip-hop trio/duo Little Brother (revived in 2019 without producer 9th Wonder) an ...

THEESatisfaction THEESatisfaction is a former American music duo based in Seattle, Washington. It consisted of Stasia "Stas" Irons and Catherine "Cat" Harris-White. History Stasia Irons was born in 1985 in Tacoma, Washington. Catherine Harris-White was raised ...

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...

, Grynch, Sol, Bambu, Dave B,

Blue Scholars Blue Scholars is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi) and MC Geologic (George Quibuyen), were students at University of Washington. The name "Blue Scholars" is ...

and more. In recent years, they have recorded and performed with a live band including trumpeter Owuor Arunga, guitarist Eben Haase, keyboardist Sam Wishkoski, and Mario and Malice Sweet’s backup vocals.

Distribution

The Physics’ three albums, ''Future Talk'', ''Love Is a Business'' and ''Tomorrow People'' have all been self-released, as have their free EPs and singles. The Physics' most recent album, ''Tomorrow People'', was funded through Kickstarter. The

crowd funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign raised $11,721 dollars from 242 backers – surpassing a goal of $8,000 dollars. The project appeared on Kickstarter's "Staff Picks" and "Popular" pages in July and August 2012.

Critical reception and role in the Seattle scene

The Physics' sound has been synonymous with "Seattle summers," for many, due to its hyperlocal lyrics and laid back, upbeat vibe. "You could hardly imagine better ambassadors of our deep, watery homegrown flow," wrote The Stranger's Larry Mizell Jr. in a 2012 review.

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 ...

writer Todd Hamm wrote, The Physics' most recent album, ''Tomorrow People'', transcends local hip hop to a broader appeal. "Their vibe is positive, their production is intricate and well-finished, and they reach a rare-level of professionalism with each release." The Seattle Times named ''Love Is a Business'' one of the Top 10 local albums of 2011. Radio station 90.3

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the no ...

ranked ''Tomorrow People'' on its "DJ's Top 10 Lists of 2012."
''Three Piece''
was named

's "Best Free EP To Light Up Your Summer" in 2010. ''Love is a Business'' LP ranked No.1 on KEXP’s hip hop and variety charts for eight weeks each, and ''Tomorrow People'' LP hit No. 1 on KEXP's hip hop charts for all of August 2012.

Performances and Tours

The Physics have performed at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival in 2008 and 2010, and the

Capitol Hill Block Party The Capitol Hill Block Party is an annual three-day music festival and block party held each July in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Performance genres include pop, R&B, indie rock, punk, EDM, and many more ...

music festival in 2008 and 2010. They played at South By Southwest in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

in March 2011, and at

Sasquatch! Music Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days. In 2018, it was announced that the festival was ...

at the

Gorge Amphitheatre The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near Columbia River in Central Washington, west of George. The venue is managed ...

in May 2012. The group opened for

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

at CityArts Fest2012. In late 2011, The Physics toured with

on the ''Cinémetroplis Tour'', ending with a sold-out show at the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In fall 2012, The Physics launched ''Tomorrow People Tour'', a West Coast tour with The Bar ( Prometheus Brown and Bambu) and Grynch. They played shows from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. In December 2012 The Physics joined

again on the national ''Town All Day Tour''.

Discography

Albums

* 2007: ''Future Talk'' * 2011: ''Love Is a Business'' * 2012: ''Tomorrow People'' * 2013: ''Digital Wildlife''

EPs

* 2009: ''High-Society'' * 2010: ''Three Piece''

Non-album Singles

* 2012: "After Effect (feat. Grynch)" * 2011: "Fix You" * 2011: "The Recipe (feat. Craig G)" produced by David Dejesus

References

External links

*
The Physics
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

The Physics on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Physics American hip hop groups Musical groups from Seattle American people of Kenyan descent Alternative hip hop groups West Coast hip hop groups