Diverse
Encyclopedia
Diverse is an American
rapper. An underground hip-hop artist, he has received critical acclaim "from knowledgeable heads worldwide".
. He has worked or associated with Chicago hip-hop mainstays such as J.U.I.C.E.
, Modill, and Iomos Marad. His debut EP, Move, featuring the track "Time", appeared in 2001.
He has professional relationships with RJD2
and Prefuse 73. He contributed to Prefuse 73's album One Word Extinguisher, rhyming on the track "Plastic". Prefuse 73 also produced the original beat for "Wylin' Out," a track that paired Diverse with the beloved New York
rapper Mos Def
. The single "Wylin' Out" was well-received, with remixes by Definitive Jux
's RJD2 and K-Kruz, and included on the 2002 Urban Renewal Program compilation.
-flavored beats for "Jus Biz," "Leaving," and the interlude "Amberglis." RJD2's work on the album is some of the most directly rock
- and funk
-influenced work of his career. Other producers who contributed to the project were K-Kruz, Overflo, and Madlib
. Guest appearances were made by Cannibal Ox
's Vast Aire
, the fierce Jean Grae
, and Quannum Projects
' Lyrics Born
.
Two of Diverse's songs from his One A.M. album, "Blindman," produced by K-Kruz, and "Explosive (Caural Mix)," were featured on the soundtrack of Capcom
's 2006 game Final Fight Streetwise for the PlayStation 2
and the Xbox
. Also featured on the soundtrack was "Wylin' Out (RJD2 Remix)" with Mos Def.
In the same year, Diverse was featured on the track "Gray Scale" by Montreal
-area DJ Ghislain Poirier
.
, appearing on a track called "...Something." Magnif, the producer associated with Lawless Element, is among those working with Diverse on his second full-length, Round About.
with headliner Aceyalone
, Ugly Duckling
, Mayday!, and Wrekonize. Diverse's setlist drew heavily from the still unreleased album and mixtape.
In June 2006, Diverse was featured on the Chocolate Swim EP, a collaboration of Chocolate Industries and Cartoon Network
's Adult Swim
. On the six-track EP, Diverse appeared on a Kut Masta Kurt remix of "Wylin' Out" with Mos Def and a DJ Mitsu The Beats remix of his song "Ain't Right". This EP was available for free download on the Adult Swim website.
, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Hezekiah, and the late J Dilla
. Featured guest performers are slated to include Gift of Gab
(of Blackalicious
), Strange Fruit Project
, Invincible, and The Hypnotic. As of May 31, Diverse is said to be wrapping up production on the album.
Slated to precede the release of Round About is The Standard, a mixtape
comprising snippet
s from Round About, exclusive content, rare works, little-heard remix
es, previously unreleased songs, and, chiefly, covers of songs considered "standards" or "classics" of the hip-hop genre.
Standards: The Mixtape was released in 2006.
A mixtape entitled "B-sides & remixes" was released in 2009, however there have been no new announcements about releasing Round About.
, and Posdnuos of De La Soul
as his three main influences.
imagery. His tracks, even his battle rap
s, are more delicate and less confrontational in tone than many rappers'. This can be attributed to his roots in poetry
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper. An underground hip-hop artist, he has received critical acclaim "from knowledgeable heads worldwide".
Career
Diverse got his start in the Chicago hip-hop scene while being employed at a post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. He has worked or associated with Chicago hip-hop mainstays such as J.U.I.C.E.
MC Juice
Terry Parker, better known by his stage name MC Juice or simply Juice, is an American freestyle rapper from Chicago, United States. He beat Eminem at Scribble Jam in 1997. He was regarded in 2004 as one of finest freestyle rappers ever produced by Chicago...
, Modill, and Iomos Marad. His debut EP, Move, featuring the track "Time", appeared in 2001.
He has professional relationships with RJD2
RJD2
RJD2 is an American music producer, singer and musician. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks...
and Prefuse 73. He contributed to Prefuse 73's album One Word Extinguisher, rhyming on the track "Plastic". Prefuse 73 also produced the original beat for "Wylin' Out," a track that paired Diverse with the beloved New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
rapper Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
. The single "Wylin' Out" was well-received, with remixes by Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
's RJD2 and K-Kruz, and included on the 2002 Urban Renewal Program compilation.
2003: One A.M.
Both Prefuse 73 and RJD2 contributed tracks to Diverse's 2003 debut full-length, One A.M. Prefuse 73's contributions were the ambientAmbient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-flavored beats for "Jus Biz," "Leaving," and the interlude "Amberglis." RJD2's work on the album is some of the most directly rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
- and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-influenced work of his career. Other producers who contributed to the project were K-Kruz, Overflo, and Madlib
Madlib
Otis Jackson Jr. in Oxnard, California, known professionally as Madlib, is a Los Angeles-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and music producer...
. Guest appearances were made by Cannibal Ox
Cannibal Ox
Cannibal Ox, also known as CanOx, is an abstract hip hop duo from Harlem, New York City. Its members include Vast Aire and Vordul Mega. They are often accompanied by DJ Cip-One...
's Vast Aire
Vast Aire
Vast Aire is a rapper from New York City. He is one half of the New York hip hop duo Cannibal Ox, which consists of him and fellow rapper Vordul Mega. He is also a member of the rap group Atoms Family...
, the fierce Jean Grae
Jean Grae
Jean Grae , born November 26, 1976 is an American hip hop artist who hails from South Africa. She rose to prominence in the underground hip-hop scene in New York City, and has since built an international fanbase.- Early life :...
, and Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects is a hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the independent record label that releases their records, as well as those of a number of other...
' Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
.
Two of Diverse's songs from his One A.M. album, "Blindman," produced by K-Kruz, and "Explosive (Caural Mix)," were featured on the soundtrack of Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
's 2006 game Final Fight Streetwise for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. Also featured on the soundtrack was "Wylin' Out (RJD2 Remix)" with Mos Def.
In the same year, Diverse was featured on the track "Gray Scale" by Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-area DJ Ghislain Poirier
Ghislain Poirier
Poirier is a DJ/producer from Montreal who is signed to the Ninja Tune record label. He has, however, also worked with other labels such as Chocolate Industries, Rebondir, Shockout, Musique Large, Intr_version and 12k. His work mainly consists of original instrumental mixes and mixes featuring...
.
2005
In 2005, Diverse teamed with a Detroit-based crew called Lawless ElementLawless Element
Lawless Element is an underground hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The duo is composed of cousins Griot as emcee and Magnif as DJ, producer and emcee...
, appearing on a track called "...Something." Magnif, the producer associated with Lawless Element, is among those working with Diverse on his second full-length, Round About.
2006
Summer 2006 saw Diverse participate in The Storm Tour, travelling across North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with headliner Aceyalone
Aceyalone
Eddie Hayes, better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American rapper.He is a founding member of the Freestyle Fellowship. Apart from his role in Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone is also a member of Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team , and he is a co-founder of Project Blowed.After releasing a...
, Ugly Duckling
Ugly Duckling (hip hop group)
Ugly Duckling is an American hip hop group that formed around 1993 in Long Beach, California. Ugly Duckling's members include Dizzy Dustin , Young Einstein and Andy Cat . They took the name Ugly Duckling because they felt like outcasts on the Southern California hip hop scene of the mid-1990s...
, Mayday!, and Wrekonize. Diverse's setlist drew heavily from the still unreleased album and mixtape.
In June 2006, Diverse was featured on the Chocolate Swim EP, a collaboration of Chocolate Industries and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
. On the six-track EP, Diverse appeared on a Kut Masta Kurt remix of "Wylin' Out" with Mos Def and a DJ Mitsu The Beats remix of his song "Ain't Right". This EP was available for free download on the Adult Swim website.
Round About
Diverse's second album will be called Round About. The few published progress reports on it have indicated the continued contributions of Madlib, K-Kruz, and Prefuse 73 and also involvement from Oh NoOh No (rapper)
Oh No is an underground hip hop artist from Oxnard, California who has released several albums on Stones Throw Records.-Biography:...
, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Hezekiah, and the late J Dilla
J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan...
. Featured guest performers are slated to include Gift of Gab
Gift of Gab (rapper)
Gift of Gab is an American MC best known for performing in the Bay Area hip-hop duo Blackalicious with DJ Chief Xcel...
(of Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
), Strange Fruit Project
Strange Fruit Project
Strange Fruit Project is an underground hip hop group from Waco, Texas, which consists of producer and emcee Symbolyc One , his cousin emcee Myth and emcee Myone...
, Invincible, and The Hypnotic. As of May 31, Diverse is said to be wrapping up production on the album.
Slated to precede the release of Round About is The Standard, a mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
comprising snippet
Snippet
A snippet is defined as a small piece of something, it may in more specific contexts refer to:* Sampling , the use of a short phrase of a recording as an element in a new piece of music...
s from Round About, exclusive content, rare works, little-heard remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es, previously unreleased songs, and, chiefly, covers of songs considered "standards" or "classics" of the hip-hop genre.
Standards: The Mixtape was released in 2006.
A mixtape entitled "B-sides & remixes" was released in 2009, however there have been no new announcements about releasing Round About.
Influences
Diverse cites Mos Def, Pharaohe Monch of Organized KonfusionOrganized Konfusion
Organized Konfusion is an alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York. Though not commercially popular, the duo was one of the most respected and acclaimed underground hip hop acts of the 1990s, largely due to the groundbreaking lyrics of Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry.-Recording career:Group...
, and Posdnuos of De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
as his three main influences.
Lyrical style and content
His style is clear with a large vocabulary and frequent use of similes and poeticPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
imagery. His tracks, even his battle rap
Battle Rap
Battle rap is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents"...
s, are more delicate and less confrontational in tone than many rappers'. This can be attributed to his roots in poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.
Albums
- 2001 Move EP
- 2003 One A.M.One A.M. (album)One A.M. is the first studio album by rapper Diverse, which features production by Prefuse73, RJD2, Madlib, and Jeff Parker from TortoiseGuest Appearances include Jean Grae, Vast Aire and Lyrics Born-Tracklisting:# "Certified"# "Uprock"...
- Round About (forthcoming)