Rahzel
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Rahzel (born Rahzel M. Brown) is an American rapper. He is a hip hop MC who specializes in beatboxing or vocal percussion. He is probably best known as a member of Grammy Award-winning band The Roots. He is also called The Godfather of Noyze.
Growing up in the Bronx, Rahzel went to Grandmaster Flash's shows regularly and later became a roadie of the Ultramagnetic MCs. He was also influenced by artists like Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Bobby McFerrin, Buffy of the Fat Boys, and Al Jarreau.
Rahzel has expanded the art of beatboxing in a unique way, creating vocal beats while singing lyrics simultaneously, as is best displayed by his famous acapella performance of "If Your Mother Only Knew" (an interpretation of Aaliyah's song "If Your Girl Only Knew") of which an MP3 is in wide circulation[citation needed].
In 1995, Rahzel also contributed to the album Lauschgift by Die Fantastischen Vier, a German hip hop band. He contributed to the two songs, "On The Next Album" and "Locker Bleiben." Rahzel made many contributions to the SSX series of video games, an unrealistic and extreme snowboarding series, including announcer work for the first two games in the series and collaborating with Mixmaster Mike on the main theme of the first two games, Slayboarder.
Rahzel released his album Make The Music 2000 in 1999 on the MCA record label. In 2004, Sureshot Recordings released his album Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts which features Rahzel collaborating with many other artists including Slick Rick, RZA, and Cee-Lo.
Also in 2004, Rahzel collaborated with Björk and other beatboxers Shlomo and Dokaka for her album Medúlla. Rahzel's beatboxing skills are also featured on The Crystal Method's album Legion of Boom, in which he provides the vocals for the song "The American Way" and others on the album.
Rahzel has been performing live with musician and vocalist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantômas, etc.) as "Patton & Rahzel". Rahzel most recently (as of May 27, 2006) lent his voice to Mike Patton's latest album Peeping Tom. On May 26, 2006, they performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He is currently touring with Peeping Tom.
[edit] Discography
- Make The Music 2000 (1999)
- Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts (2004)
[edit] Trivia
- Rahzel served as the announcer on SSX, and SSX Tricky.
- Dave Chappelle reportedly offered Rahzel $1,000,000 to "be his iPod".
[edit] External links
- Rahzel - forums, images, and all the latest information on Rahzel and his beatboxing techniques
- Rahzel quick facts
- Rahzel on AFTM
- Rahzel's IBA profile
- YouTube video of Rahzel
| The Roots |
|---|
| Black Thought | Captain Kirk Douglas | Kamal Gray | Hub | F. Knuckles | ?uestlove Malik B. | Ben Kenney | Kid Crumbs | Martin Luther | Rahzel | Scratch | Scott Storch |
| Discography |
| Organix (1993) | From the Ground Up (1994) | Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995) | Illadelph Halflife (1996) | Things Fall Apart (1999) | The Legendary (1999) | The Roots Come Alive (1999) | Phrenology (2002) | The Tipping Point (2004) | Game Theory (2006) |
| Related articles |
| Dice Raw | Okayplayer | Ursula Rucker |
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