Karl Jenkins, better known as Dice Raw, is an American
hip hop artist, from Philadelphia. He is associated with
The Roots
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimm ...
, and the now defunct musical group
Nouveau Riche
''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ...
.
He hooked up with the band while still in high school after Kelo, a member of the group's production team, spotted him in a local talent show. The group quickly took the young rapper under their collective wings and decided to bring his talent along slowly. He made his debut in "The Lesson, Pt. 1." Soon after, he made a name for himself with cameos on "Episodes" and "Adrenaline", where his hard-hitting style complemented the heady rhymes of Roots leader
Black Thought
Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...
. Dice Raw has made several guest appearances on several mixtapes. He made an appearance in fellow band member and beatboxer Scratch's first solo album ''Embodiment of Instrumentation''.
In 2000, Dice Raw released his solo debut album, ''Reclaiming the Dead'' on
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...
.
Jenkins recorded vocals for the entrance theme of
WWE wrestler
Kung Fu Naki. titled "Kung Fu San", which samples
Carl Douglas's "
Kung Fu Fighting", and is available on ''
Voices: WWE The Music, Vol. 9''.
Additionally Jenkins has been in the studio functioning as co writer and producer for The Roots, in addition to working on his own material. In May 2010, Dice released his first solo single in ten years entitled "100" off of his upcoming solo project ''The Greatest Rapper Never''. The single is a digital release and was made available on iTunes.
Jenkins has turned his interest to the performing arts world and has written and produced a multitude of musicals including The Last Jimmy, the story of mass incarceration inspired by of escaped slave Henry Box Brown.
Karl "Dice Raw" Jenkins is now board-chair of The New Freedom Theaters of Phi