Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of

stic.man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

and M-1, formed in 1996 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...

, self-determination, and Pan-Africanism. The duo maintains an ethical stance against corporate control over the media, especially hip hop

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

Career

Background (1990–2000)

In 1990, M-1 headed to Tallahassee, Florida, to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where he and stic.man met and formed a relationship due to their mutual love of music and similar leftist political ideology. While there, their views solidified, M-1 becoming particularly interested in the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

. M-1 joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

for three years, while stic.man remained in Florida. Burned out by the arduous labor of Uhuru, M-1 and stic.man chose to focus on music. Brand Nubian's

Lord Jamar Lorenzo Dechalus (born September 17, 1968), known professionally as Lord Jamar is an American rapper, DJ, record producer, actor and podcaster. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Brand Nubian, which was formed in 1989. In 1996, he disco ...

discovered them in

and signed them a deal with Loud Records. Although dead prez was not always Loud's top priority, they built a fan base due to their over-the-top performances (they have been known to ignite dollar bills and toss apples into the audiences, declaring that they must eat healthily). They had begun contributing songs to film soundtracks and made featurings on high-profile albums. Their first recorded song, "The Game of Life (Score)" appeared on the 1997 soundtrack to the film '' Soul in the Hole''. In 1998 their song "D.O.P.E. (Drugs Oppress People Everyday)" was featured in the movie '' Slam''. Also in 1998, they were featured on the skit "The Rain and the Sun" off Big Pun's album ''

Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

'', and in 1999 were featured on The Beatnuts' song "Look Around" off their album '' Musical Massacre''.

Releases (2000–present)

The duo's debut album was 2000's ''

Let's Get Free ''Let's Get Free'' is the debut studio album by hip-hop duo dead prez. It was released February 8, 2000 on Loud Records. Critical reception Although the production was derided by some critics as a "dull musical backdrop", ''Let's Get Free'' wa ...

'', with their most popular single to date " Hip-Hop". The album was well received by critics, and included intense political monologues featuring prominent black activist

Omali Yeshitela Omali Yeshitela (born Joseph Waller on October 9, 1941) is an African revolutionary, political leader, theoretician and author. He is the founder and chairman of the African People's Socialist Party, which leads the Uhuru Movement. According ...

, as well as "Animal in Man" - a retelling of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

's '' Animal Farm''. The instrumental version of their song "Hip Hop" was used as Dave Chappelle's entrance music for his show on Comedy Central, and can be heard on every episode. "Hip Hop" has also been featured on the soundtrack of the video game

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish * Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongi ...

. as well as underground graffiti art documentaries of the era. The song is also used in the introduction of ''Hip Hop Evolution'', a show which is currently on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. In 2001 they collaborated with

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...

, another politically active hip hop outfit, to release ''Get Up''. In 2002, dead prez contributed to '' Red Hot + Riot'', a compilation album created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

. The money raised by the CD was used for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. They collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists Talib Kweli and

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karac ...

and Brazilian singer

Jorge Ben Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

to remake the famous Fela Kuti song "Shuffering and Shmiling" for the album. Also in 2002, dead prez released the independent mix tape '' Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1'', followed by the release of ''Turn off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin in 2003. Also in 2003, their song "Hell Yeah" was featured in the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack. In 2004,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

finally released '' Revolutionary But Gangsta''. They were featured in the film '' Dave Chappelle's Block Party'', in 2006. In 2006, they and former 2Pac collaborators, the Outlawz, jointly released two new albums: '' Can't Sell Dope Forever'' and ''

Soldier 2 Soldier ''Soldier 2 Soldier'' is a collaborative studio album by rappers stic.man and Young Noble. It was released on October 3, 2006. In early 2006, the political, sometimes militant, Dead Prez member stic.man and Outlawz's Young Noble collaborated to ...

''. In 2006, M1 also recorded a solo album titled ''

Confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

''. From the album, the song "'Til We Get There" was on the EA Sports video game '' NBA Live 07''. In 2007, stic.man released his own solo record named '' Manhood'' with Boss Up Inc. / Traffic records. M-1 further appeared with ProfessorD.us, of the politically charged Hip Hop group The Dope Poet Society, on the track "Everything's Political" off the 2008 album ''THIRD WORLD WARriors Vol. 1''. On the track, M-1 and ProfessorD.us trade verses in response to the question "why is your music always so political?". That same year, Stic.Man appeared on "Changing Weather", the first single from Marcel Cartier's album ''Revolutionary Minded 2''. Dead prez released a mixtape entitled ''Pulse of the People: Turn Off Your Radio Vol. 3'' on June 23, 2009. The mixtape is hosted by DJ Green Lantern. On Mother's Day 2010, dead prez released "The Beauty Within", a remix of B.o.B and Bruno Mars' #1 single " Nothin' On You."thatsthatish.com: dead prez - "The Beauty Within"
/ref> Additionally in 2010, dead prez released a mixtape with DJ Drama entitled '' Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz''. The album is available for free download on their website, and they announced this release was their ten year commemoration of their most well known and commercially successful album ''

''. The new album ''Information Age'' was released on October 16, 2012.

Documentary (2006)

In June 2006, the cable movie network Starz InBlack began airing an original documentary called ''Dead Prez: It's Bigger Than Hip Hop'' directed by

John Threat John Lee, a.k.a. John Threat, used the name "Corrupt" as a member of Masters of Deception (MOD), a New York based hacker group in the early '90s.Village Voice, "Rebel Hackers: The Computer Kids who Phreak Out the Feds," By Julian Dibbell, July 24 ...

. The hour-long documentary featured live footage and interviews with dead prez, along with interviews from Kamel Bell, owner of Ankh Marketing and son of incarcerated

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

member Herman Bell; Fred Hampton Jr., son of Black Panther Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ame ...

; Bay Area rapper and poet Ise Lyfe, and hip hop activist and radio personality Davey D. Among the topics discussed in the documentary are the inadequacies of the public education system, people of color entrepreneurship and social revolution. M1 stated:

We've never had the opportunity to express ourselves on this level of magnitude. Starz InBlack taking a chance on us lets us know that the work we are doing is not in vain. That our message is penetrating, it's getting through.The 'revolution will be televised' as Starz InBlack presents 'Dead Prez: It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop.
''Frost Illustrated.'' Retrieved through web archive on December 6, 2007.

Discography

Studio albums *2000: ''

'' *2004: '' Revolutionary But Gangsta'' *2012: ''

Information Age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during ...

'' Live albums *2008: ''Live in San Francisco'' Collaboration albums *2006: '' Can't Sell Dope Forever'' (with Outlawz) Mixtapes *2002: '' Turn Off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 1'' (as dpz) *2003: ''Turn Off the Radio: The Mixtape Vol. 2: Get Free or Die Tryin *2009: ''Pulse of the People: Turn Off the Radio Vol. 3'' (hosted by DJ Green Lantern) *2010: '' Turn Off the Radio Vol. 4: Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz'' (hosted by DJ Drama)

References

External links

* {{Authority control African-American musical groups American hip hop groups American socialists American musical duos American Maoists Far-left politics in the United States Left-wing populism in the United States Hip hop duos Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Tallahassee, Florida Underground hip hop groups Political music groups Male musical duos 1996 establishments in Florida American anti-fascists New York (state) socialists Florida socialists African-American communists