The Last Emperor is the recording name of Jamal Gray,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-born hip-hop artist. Gray took his stage name from the

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

film epic of the same name (''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

''). He attended and graduated

Overbrook High School (Philadelphia) Overbrook High School is a public, four-year secondary school in Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. School Overbrook High School is designated by the School District of Philadelphia as Location #402, in the West Region. The buildin ...

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's "C.I.A. (Criminals in Action)" with

Zack de la Rocha Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, and political activist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Through both Rage Agains ...

. Two years after moving to New York he was signed to

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...

, and became a protégé of Dr. Dre. 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 Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s. Career K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hit S ...

), Common, The Roots, and KRS-One. He has performed at the

Lyricist Lounge The Lyricist Lounge is a hip hop showcase of rappers, emcees, DJs, and Graffiti artists. It has spawned the album '' Lyricist Lounge, Volume One'', ''Lyricist Lounge 2'' and '' Lyricist Lounge & Ecko Unlimited presents: Underground Airplay'', ...

. He’s traveled around the world performing in places like Denmark ( Roskilde Festival), London ( Jam in the Park), and Norway ( Quart Festival). He also appeared as the guest MC for Gorillaz. 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