RBG'z Sonic Jihad / Paris Player

[RBG Street Scholar]

Paris hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and was catapulted onto the national hip-hop scene in 1990 with his hit single and album The Devil Made Me Do It, after earning a degree in economics from the University of California at Davis. Originally released on Tommy Boy Records, his first single from that album, "Break The Grip of Shame," was banned by MTV. Since then his uncompromising stance on political issues and biting social commentary have both aided and hindered his quest to bring solid music and messages to the masses. When his second album, Sleeping With The Enemy was ready for release in 1992, Paris was dropped from now-defunct Tommy Boy Records and distributor Time Warner when they discovered its incendiary content - content which included fantasy revenge killings of then-President Bush and racist police officers. Rather than buckle under pressure, he released the LP himself on his newly-formed Scarface Records to major sales and national acclaim.

Paris signed a major artist and distribution deal with Priority Records for himself and Scarface Records in 1993 and released his third LP, Guerrilla Funk, and several then up-and-coming groups, most notably the Conscious Daughters. Paris and Priority formally severed their business relationship due to creative differences in 1995, and in 1997, Paris signed a one-off deal with now-defunct Whirling Records (distributed by Rykodisc), for the release of his 4th LP, Unleashed. Released in limited numbers, the LP went largely unnoticed due to lack of focus and funding.

In 2003, Paris returned with a vengeance, injecting a much needed dose of reality and consciousness into an industry which now seems to only reflect corporate hip-hop sensibilities. Sonic Jihad was released to strong sales and critical acclaim, with Paris emerging with his new label and website, Guerrilla Funk Recordings. Born out of necessity, it's a musical organization that counters the corporate stranglehold of censorship currently plaguing the entertainment industry, providing a home for projects and material of such notable acts as Public Enemy, Kam, dead prez and The Conscious Daughters, among others. He also released deluxe remixed and remastered editions of his first three albums in '03.

Paris has never been one to shy away from controversy. In 2006, his Guerrilla Funk imprint released three projects, the first being Rebirth of a Nation, the long-awaited Paris-written and produced collaboration with Public Enemy. Receiving robust sales and critical acclaim, the album features dead prez, Kam, MC Ren, The Conscious Daughters and Immortal Technique.

He also released Paris Presents: Hard Truth Soldiers, Vol. 1, the first in a Paris-produced compilation series that is a collection of material that goes against the grain of commercial hip-pop by providing content of substance, touching on subjects ranging from war and police brutality to black on black crime and domestic violence. It showcases contributions from Public Enemy, The Coup, dead prez, Paris, T-KASH, Kam, The Conscious Daughters, Mystic, MC Ren, Sun Rise Above, and The S.T.O.P. Movement (Mobb Deep, Tray Deee, Soopafly, KRS-One, Defari, Daz, J-Ro, RBX, Bad Azz, WC, Dilated Peoples, Mac Minister, The Alchemist, Mack 10, Evidence, Defari, Everlast, and B-Real), among others.

Also in 2006, Paris introduced the world to former Coup-member T-K.A.S.H. and his stellar debut offering, Turf War Syndrome.

His anti-war anthem "What Would you Do?" on his most recent Sonic Jihad album questions the official account of 9/11, and has been embraced by activists and music lovers worldwide for its condemnation of the Bush administration's actions in response to and surrounding the events of that day.

With new music and film projects forthcoming, Guerrilla Funk is set to balance out an industry seemingly hell-bent on exploitation.

[G.O.D.F.A.T.H.A.]

Paris is a strong warrior indeed. Uhuru for now.

[RBG Street Scholar]

On the Line w/ Paris-The Making of Rebirth of a Nation by Davey D powered by ODEO We sat down with the Black Panther of Hip Hop-Paris and spoke to him about the array of projects he has coming down the pipe on his Guerilla Funk record label. That would include the ‘Hard Truth Soldier’ album Vol 1 which includes socially conscious songs from MC Ren, Kam, Dead Prez, Mobb Deep, KRS-One, Cypress Hill, and the Conscious Daughters to name a few. He also has an album from new artist T-Kash out of Oakland which is also set to drop. We also spoke with him about the current state of Hip Hop, the art of emceeing and of course the making of the new Public Enemy album ‘Rebirth of a Nation’. For people who are unfamiliar Paris not only produced but he wrote all the lyrics to the songs featured on the PE album. He spoke about how he and Chuck D came together on this ambitious project. He also spoke about the type of chemistry they developed and the type methodology used which would allow Paris to effectively write lyrics from one of Hip Hop’s most gifted and insightful political icons. Paris explained how he wanted to recapture a moment in time when PE put out some of their most groundbreaking work as exemplified on albums like ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ and ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’. He talked about how he used records like ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ and prophets of Rage as a template. We also spoke about role Flava Flav played in this project as well as the type of dynamics that currently exist in the group and how it may have effective their recording process. Paris talked about sampling versus playing live instruments and how that factored into the new album. Also in this segment we spoke extensively about the art of emceeing and how conscious artists don’t always get recognized for their rhyme skillz… In part 2 of this interview we speak extensively about the inner workings of music business… A RBG Street Scholar EduTainment Design