BK-One

Bio:

I've been studying music for more than twenty-five years. I have played piano since I was eight, vibraphone since thirteen, and I started collecting records when I was fifteen.

I grew up in Milwaukee, where I met a lot of my early influences, and played in several bands (doing everything from Fishbone and Meters covers, to Tom Waits-inspired originals!). I studied jazz at Rosevelt Middle School and West Division High. There, I had the great fortune of meeting and playing with many of my heroes, including Barry Harris, Yusef Lateef, Jack DeJohnette, Eddie Palmieri, Josh Redman, T.S. Monk, Wynton Marsalis, Benny Carter, and many more. A huge influence on my musical taste was the large library of records and videos that one of my teachers lent out freely (on the low, he also let me borrow the school's music equipment over the summers).

In 1996, I moved to Minneapolis. Within a year, I met up with Aaron Money (a fellow Milwaukeen) and co-founded the city's first underground hip hop radio show, The Beatbox. Through The Beatbox, I met and formed friendships with many performers, including the Rhymesayers crew, Del tha Funky Homosapien, All Natural, the Living Legends, Aceyalone, and most significantly, Brother Ali.

Ali and I began performing together in 2000.

Since I started DJing in 1995, I have shared stages with De La Soul, Brand Nubian, Ghostface, Rakim, Hieroglyphics, The Coup, MF Doom, Big Daddy Kane, The Rocksteady Crew, J-Live, Freeway, Ice-T, Chuck D, Melle Mel, Aceyalone, The GZA, Devin the Dude, Lupe Fiasco, Umar Bin Hassan (of The Last Poets), Kid Capri, Dillinger Four, El-P, Mos Def, UTFO, Little Brother, The Lox, Biz Markie, Murs, Aesop Rock, Dilated Peoples, House Of Pain, The RZA, Lyrics Born, Jurrasic 5, David Cross, Mr. Lif, The Living Legends, Blueprint, Abstract Rude, Vast Aire, The Holdsteady, Immortal Technique, and many, many more...

In 2006, I helped throw The Rhymesayers 10th Anniversary Celebration. I co-created, organized, and DJ'ed the entire two hour long collective performance featuring Atmosphere, Brother Ali, MF Doom, P.O.S., Felt (Slug & Murs), I Self Devine, Eyedea & Abilities, Los Nativos, Musab, Greyskul, Boom Bap Project, Mac Lethal, and Psalm One.


My fist official album "Rádio do Canibal" is available now. The music is all from samples of records I found in Brazil. The rhymes are handled by Scarface, Black Thought, Raekwon, Slug (from Atmosphere), Murs, Phonte (from Little Brother), The Grouch, Blueprint, Haiku D'Etat (Aceyalone, Myka Nine, and Abstract Rude), I Self Devine, Toki Wright, P.O.S., and of course, Brother Ali. The album is co-produced by Benzilla, a talented cat from Minneapolis. Look for it!



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Member Since:

December 06, 2005

Members:

BK-One
Rádio do Canibal
Fifth Element | iTunes | Amazon

Better known as Brother Ali's DJ, BK-One takes his years of experience as a DJ and puts on his producer hat joining forces with up and coming Twin Cities beatsmith Benzilla to craft a Brazilian musical bed for some of Hip Hop's most engaging MC's. Rádio Do Canibal features appearances by Scarface, Slug (Atmosphere), Black Thought (The Roots), Brother Ali, Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan), Murs (Living Legends), Phonte (Little Brother), Haiku D' Etat (Aceyalone, Myka 9 & Abstract Rude), Blueprint, P.O.S. (Doomtree), The Grouch (Living Legends), I Self Devine, Toki Wright, Aby Wolf and The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

When not touring the globe with Brother Ali, BK-One has traveled extensively throughout Central and South America... these travels would become the inspiration for Rádio Do Canibal. The title Rádio Do Canibal refers to the Brazilian poet Oswald de Andrade's "Cannibal Manifesto". Written in 1928, the poem described Brazil as drawing its power from the absorption of other cultures. Decades later, Brazilians were creating wildly inventive music that drew inspiration from a wide range of sources. From the Brazilian sounds of bossa nova, Bahian folk, and samba, to international styles like psychedelic pop, reggae, Portuguese fado, and the soul, jazz, and funk music of the U.S., nothing was off limits. Rádio Do Canibal is a humble attempt to capture the spirit of that Brazilian music, creating something new and exciting.

Influences:

..Those that created this culture called Hip Hop:..
Kool Herc, Grandmaster Caz, Phase 2, Crazy Legs, Grand Wizard Theodore, Melle Mel, Tak 183, Africa Bambaataa, Prince Whipper Whip, Grandmaster Flash, Popmaster Fable, and many, many more...

..Those that I worshipped in my childhood:..
Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube, Jam Master Jay, the Bomb Squad, Whodini, Rick Rubin, Boogie Down Productions, Dr. Dre, Slick Rick, UTFO, Pete Rock, Sir Jinx, Brand Nubian, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Marley Marl, LL Cool J, the D.O.C., Rakim, DJ Premier...

..Those that remind me why I love music:..
Stevie Wonder, Milt Jackson, Art Tatum, Sam Cooke, Jay-Z, Elvin Jones, Johnny Cash, Clyde & Jabo, Nina Simone, Ghostface, Roy Ayers, Donny Hathaway, McCoy Tyner, the Pixies, Ludacris, Willie Colon, Al Jackson Jr., 2Pac, Syl Johnson, James Jamerson, the Mizell Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, Charles Wright, Boots Riley, the Mars Volta, Sonny Rollins, Eddie Hazel...

..Those that inspire me to try new things:..
Charlie Mingus, Prince, Manu Chao, Shuggie Otis, Herbie Hancock, Sir George Martin, Tom Waits, John Coltrane, Zev Love X/MF Doom, Sly Stone, Mumbles, the Clash, Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, TV on the Radio, Tony Williams...

..And those that I've been fortunate enough to learn from personally:..
Cliff Gribble, Tom Noble, Brother Ali, Siddiq, Desmond Henry, Mr. Dibbs, Eyedea, Aaron Money, Brian Wolf, ANT, I Self Devine, Brooks Nagel, DJ Abilities, Slug...

Sounds Like:

Hopefully, an amalgam of my influences.

Record Label:

Rhymesayers Entertainment