The story of Hieroglyphics Imperium, West Coast hip-hop history, and the Oakland music scene
In 2001, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's animated virtual band Gorillaz released "Clint Eastwood" — a number four UK hit built around a Del tha Funkee Homosapien verse and hook. Millions of people who had never heard of Hieroglyphics or Oakland underground hip-hop were suddenly learning Del's name. For many listeners worldwide, "Clint Eastwood"…
When people talk about Souls of Mischief, the conversation usually centers on Tajai and A-Plus — the two MCs who have been most active in press, interviews, and solo projects. But any honest accounting of what makes the group extraordinary has to reckon with Opio and Phesto, whose contributions are essential to the quartet's…
Full Circle is the second Hieroglyphics collective album and in many ways the crew's most confident statement of identity. Released in 2003, five years after 3rd Eye Vision proved the independent model could work commercially, Full Circle arrived as the definitive document of Hiero at their most assured — a collective fully in control…
Every great live hip-hop act has a DJ who makes it possible. For Hieroglyphics, that's DJ Toure — the turntablist and DJ who has held down the live show for the collective through decades of touring, from Oakland clubs to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The DJ's Role in a Hip-Hop Live Show A hip-hop DJ…
In any collective, some artists build the foundation. Domino is that artist for Hieroglyphics — a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and MC whose contribution to the crew's sound runs deeper than any individual track or album credit suggests. Origins Domino was born Shawn Ivy and grew up in Oakland, California, where he became part of the…
Casual has been rapping since the late 1980s, and in the thirty-plus years since his debut, he has never made a bad album. His flow is technically precise, his rhyme schemes are dense without being exhausting, and his ability to shift from street-level menace to philosophical reflection within a single verse is unmatched in…
In 1995, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and the artists around him did something radical: they built a record label that the artists actually owned. Hieroglyphics Imperium was founded in Oakland, California, as a direct response to the exploitative structures of the major label system. Thirty years later, it's still standing — and still 100%…
Del tha Funkee Homosapien is one of hip-hop's most original voices. Complete biography covering his career from Oakland in 1991 through Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Hieroglyphics, and Red Rocks 2026.
Wondering what happened to Hieroglyphics? Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, and the crew never left — they are still active in 2026 with new music, Red Rocks, and 30 years of independence.
In the fall of 1993, four teenagers from Oakland, California released a debut album that would spend the next 30 years quietly expanding its reputation. 93 ’til Infinity by Souls of Mischief was not a commercial hit in the traditional sense — it peaked at #57 on the Billboard 200 and received radio play…