Toki Wright (born March 27, 1980) is an American rapper and educator from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. His debut solo studio album, ''A Different Mirror'', was released on

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 ...

in 2009.

Early life and education

Toki Wright was born in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States on March 27, 1980. He attended Patrick Henry High School. He later graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Career

Musician

Toki Wright met Adonis D. Frazier in 1998, and they formed The C.O.R.E. (Children of Righteous Elevation). The duo's debut album, ''Metropolis'', was released in 2003. As well as being a member of The Chosen Few, Toki Wright has released a number of solo recordings, including ''A Different Mirror'' (2009), ''Black Male'' (2010), and ''Faders'' (2012). In 2014, he released a collaborative album with producer

Big Cats The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus '' Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...

, titled ''Pangaea''. In 2017, he released an EP, ''At the Speed of Life 3''.

Styles and influences

Toki Wright stated that "A Different Mirror", the title track from his 2009 album, was inspired by Ronald Takaki's '' A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America'', saying: "Unless we look into a different mirror we will only see our own reflection. American history for example might be all apple pies and American flags for many, but the history of people of color in America is filled with poverty ndhatred".

Educator

Toki Wright also launched and led the hip hop studies program at

McNally Smith College of Music McNally Smith College of Music was a private for-profit music school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Initially founded in 1984 as the Guitar Center of Minneapolis, it was renamed Musictech College and moved to St. Paul in 2001. The school was renamed ...

, which closed in 2017. In 2018, he became Assistant Chair of Professional Music at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Metropolis'' (2003) * ''A Different Mirror'' (2009) * ''Pangaea'' (2014)

Mixtapes

* ''Faders'' (2012)

EPs

* ''Black Male'' (2010) * ''Speed of Life: Volume 1'' (2011) * ''Prelude to Pangaea'' (2014) * ''At the Speed of Life 3'' (2017)

Singles

* "Focus" (2006) * "Next Best Thing" (2009) * "More Fiya" (2010) * "25/8/366" (2010) * "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (2010) * "Real Live" (2011) * "Trakhouse" (2011) * "Let Me Live" (2012) * "Short Circuit" (2013) * "For Amiri Baraka" (2014) * "Climate Change" (2017) * "Frequency" (2018)

Guest appearances

* P.O.S - "Ants" from ''

Ipecac Neat ''Ipecac Neat'' is the first studio album by American rapper P.O.S. It was released on Doomtree Records in 2004. It was re-released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2005. Production P.O.S began his hip hop career as half of a rap duo called Cenosp ...

'' (2004) *

Sims Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to: Games * ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series ** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000 ** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004 ** '' The Sims 3'', th ...

- "Market Made Murder" from ''

Lights Out Paris ''Lights Out Paris'' is the first studio album by American hip hop artist Sims, a member of Minneapolis indie hip hop collective Doomtree. It was released July 28, 2005 on Doomtree Records and includes guest appearances from P.O.S, Crescent Moo ...

'' (2005) *

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

- "Crewed Up" from ''

Strictly Leakage ''Strictly Leakage'' is a mixtape by American hip hop group Atmosphere. It was released as a free download through Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2007. Reception Jordan Selbo of ''City Pages'' gave ''Strictly Leakage'' an unfavorable review, saying ...

'' (2007) * BK-One - "Face It" from ''Rádio do Canibal'' (2009) * St. Paul Slim - "Something Better" from ''Bald Headed Samsun'' (2010) * Mike Swoop - "Let It Go" from ''New Love'' (2010) *

Greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

- "Only You" from ''Electric Purgatory Part 2'' (2010) *

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

- "Sun Is Shining (Booka B Remix)" (2011) * Destro - "Yah, Yah, Yah" from ''Ill.ustrated'' (2011) *

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 ...

Musab Musab Saad, better known by his stage name Sab the Artist, Musab, or Beyond, is an American recording artist, rapper, songwriter, record producer, and music executive from Minneapolis, Minnesota, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Career ...

- "Plan C" from ''The Awful Truth'' (2012) *

B. Dolan Bernard Dolan (born March 8, 1981) is an American rapper, spoken word artist, activist, screenwriter, and composer based in Providence, Rhode Island.Strange Famous RecordB. Dolan Biography/ref> History B. Dolan's first performances took place ...

- "Film the Police" from ''House of Bees Vol. 2'' (2012) * Guante and Big Cats - "Until There's Nothing Left" from '' You Better Weaponize'' (2012) *

Mixed Blood Majority Mixed Blood Majority is an American hip hop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their members include Record producer, producer Lazerbeak of Doomtree, Rapping, rapper Crescent Moon of Kill the Vultures and Rapping, rapper Joe Horton of No Bird Si ...

- "Story to Tell" from ''Mixed Blood Majority'' (2013) * Phases Cachées - "L'American" from ''Boule à Facettes'' (2013) *

Culture Cry Wolf Culture Cry Wolf was a live band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Heavily involved in the Twin Cities hip hop scene, they blend ska, punk rock, reggae, and even doo-wop. History Culture Cry Wolf formed in 2009, after Mike Daly and Botzy met at ...

- "Ransom" from ''The Sapient Sessions'' (2013) * IBE & Benzilla - "Wake Up!" from ''This, That and the Third'' (2013) * Atmosphere - "Color in the Snow" (2013) * Shinobi Gaines - "Livin Right" from ''Night Crawler Reloaded'' (2013) * The Regiment - "The Solution" from ''Live from the Coney Island'' (2013) * Ceewhy - "Goodspeed" from ''Freedom = Genius'' (2014) * Sti-Lo Reel - "Blues Brothers" from ''MLK (Mortify, Live & Kill)'' (2014) * Mike the Martyr - "Build Clinton" from ''Marbury'' (2015) * Sleep Sinatra - "Nezhno" from ''Vibranium'' (2016) * G Yamazawa - "Talk That Talk" from ''Shouts to Durham'' (2017) * Adam Meckler Orchestra - "Our Death Under Your Pillow" from ''Magnificent Madness'' (2019)

Music videos

* "Devil's Advocate" (2009) * "A Different Mirror" (2010) * "The Freshest Kids" (2010) * "More Fiya" (2010) * "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (2010) * "The Soul (Go There)" (2011) * "Real Live" (2012) * "This One (Free Verse)" (2012) * "Film the Police" (2012) * "Ode to Maximillian Cohen (π)" (2012) * "No Gimmicks" (2013) * "Livin Right" (2013) * "Short Circuit" (2013) * "High Definition" (2013) * "The Solution" (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Toki 1980 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni Rhymesayers Entertainment artists Rappers from Minneapolis 21st-century American rappers