Frukwan
Encyclopedia
Frukwan Sun-Star Allah-Bey (born Arnold Hamilton) is a Moorish American hip hop music
ian. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop
group Gravediggaz
and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic
.
to Brooklyn
, and he grew up in Breukelen projects
. There, during his middle teens, Frukwan was a Break dancer and started emceeing, he became associated with an older DJ crew called Phase 3 Disco. He began merely carrying crates of records and spending time with them as they traveled the Tri-state area, doing block parties and DJ battles. Eventually he began rapping
.
Frukwan attended Thomas Jefferson High School
where he was one of three captains for the Big Orange Wave football team. He played starting right half back, free safety and backup quarterback for the varsity team but then was injured his senior year. With his dream of college football
on hold, he focused on emceeing. He also attended the Mayer School of Fashion Design in New York.
, which also featured future Gravediggaz
collaborator Prince Paul. Frukwan left Stetsasonic after their second album, and within a couple more years, Stetsasonic disbanded.
In 1992 Frukwan resurfaced as a member of the Gravediggaz, associated with the Wu-Tang family alongside Prince Paul, RZA
and Too Poetic. Performing as The Gatekeeper, Frukwan was the group's most prolific lyricist. Upon RZA and Prince Paul's departures from Gravediggaz in 1997, Frukwan founded Black Lordz Production and Sun-Star Music Group while continuing to perform with Too Poetic. They released 2002's Nightmare in A-Minor
, an album produced by the group's two remaining emcees.
After Too Poetic's death in 2001, Frukwan released a solo album in 2003, Life. A new solo album is scheduled for release in 2009.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
ian. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
group Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, well known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing together Prince Paul , Frukwan , Too Poetic and RZA...
and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic was an American hip hop group formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is remembered as one of the first hip hop crews to use a live band, and the group's positive, uplifting lyrics made it forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip...
.
Early life
When he was young, his family moved from HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, and he grew up in Breukelen projects
Breukelen Houses
Breukelen Houses , also known as Breukelen or Brookline Projects, is a large housing complex maintained in Canarsie, Brooklyn, by the New York City Housing Authority ....
. There, during his middle teens, Frukwan was a Break dancer and started emceeing, he became associated with an older DJ crew called Phase 3 Disco. He began merely carrying crates of records and spending time with them as they traveled the Tri-state area, doing block parties and DJ battles. Eventually he began rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
.
Frukwan attended Thomas Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn, New York)
Thomas Jefferson High School is a former high school in the East New York section of Brooklyn, New York. The New York City Department of Education closed the school and broke it into several different schools in 2007, owing to low graduation rates....
where he was one of three captains for the Big Orange Wave football team. He played starting right half back, free safety and backup quarterback for the varsity team but then was injured his senior year. With his dream of college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
on hold, he focused on emceeing. He also attended the Mayer School of Fashion Design in New York.
Music career
From 1981 to 1989, Frukwan was a member of StetsasonicStetsasonic
Stetsasonic was an American hip hop group formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is remembered as one of the first hip hop crews to use a live band, and the group's positive, uplifting lyrics made it forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip...
, which also featured future Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, well known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing together Prince Paul , Frukwan , Too Poetic and RZA...
collaborator Prince Paul. Frukwan left Stetsasonic after their second album, and within a couple more years, Stetsasonic disbanded.
In 1992 Frukwan resurfaced as a member of the Gravediggaz, associated with the Wu-Tang family alongside Prince Paul, RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
and Too Poetic. Performing as The Gatekeeper, Frukwan was the group's most prolific lyricist. Upon RZA and Prince Paul's departures from Gravediggaz in 1997, Frukwan founded Black Lordz Production and Sun-Star Music Group while continuing to perform with Too Poetic. They released 2002's Nightmare in A-Minor
Nightmare in A-Minor
Nightmare in A-Minor is the third and final studio album by the hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz.By this time, RZA and Prince Paul had left the group, and Poetic died after his 2-year fight with Colon cancer on July 15, 2001, at 1:45 EST...
, an album produced by the group's two remaining emcees.
After Too Poetic's death in 2001, Frukwan released a solo album in 2003, Life. A new solo album is scheduled for release in 2009.
Solo
- LifeLife (Frukwan album)Life is the debut solo album by American rapper and former Stetsasonic and Gravediggaz member Frukwan, released on the BMG label in 2003 .-Track listing:#"Intro"#"Enough"#"It Gets Deep"#"Life"#*Featuring Maraj#"Never Give Up"...
(2003, BMG) - Greatness (2009, SMG/Famous Records)
With Stetsasonic
- On Fire (1986, Tommy Boy Records)
- In Full GearIn Full GearIn Full Gear is the second studio album by American hip hop band Stetsasonic. The album is considered revolutionary in style and production for its time period. Originally released in 1988, Tommy Boy Records re-released the album in 2001 with three bonus alternate versions of the single "Talkin'...
(1988, Tommy Boy Records)
With Gravediggaz
- 6 Feet Deep6 Feet Deep6 Feet Deep is the debut album of the horrorcore supergroup Gravediggaz. It was released August 9, 1994, by Gee Street Records. The album was re-issued in 1997.- Album information :...
/Niggamortis (1994, Gee Street/Island/PolyGram Records) - The Pick, the Sickle and the ShovelThe Pick, the Sickle and the ShovelThe Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel, released October 14, 1997, is the second album by the Gravediggaz, an influential horrorcore hip hop supergroup...
(1997, Gee Street/V2/BMG Records) - Nightmare in A-MinorNightmare in A-MinorNightmare in A-Minor is the third and final studio album by the hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz.By this time, RZA and Prince Paul had left the group, and Poetic died after his 2-year fight with Colon cancer on July 15, 2001, at 1:45 EST...
(2002, Empire Musicwerks/BMG Records) - 6 Feet Under6 Feet Under (album)6 Feet Under is a compilation album by Gravediggaz, consisting of material that originally appeared on Nightmare in A-Minor and Frukwan's solo album Life. This album was released by X-ray/Cleopatra Records without any of the Gravediggaz' members permission, alive or dead, and legal action has been...
(2004, Cleopatra Records)
Other appearances
- "Self Destruction" from The Stop The Violence Movement (1989, Jive)
- TrickyTrickyTricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
vs. Gravediggaz - "Tonite is a special Nite" from The Hell EP (1995, Fourth And Broadway) - "From The Darkside" from Tales From The Hood Soundtrack (1995, MCA Soundtracks)
- "Sweatshop" from KillarmyKillarmyKillarmy is a hip hop group, also known through its affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan It is one of the earliest and most successful of the many Wu-Tang affiliates along with Sunz of Man....
's album "Fear, Love & War" (2001) - "We Run Shit" from DJ HondaDJ Honda, better known as DJ Honda, is a Japanese hip hop DJ, turntablist, music producer, CEO, clothing line designer, and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
's album H-III (2002)
External links
- Frukwan's official page at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- http://www.wu-international.com/misc_albums/Interviews/Frukwan%20Interview.htm at wu international