Born Teron Delvon Jones on August 12, 1972 in Oakland, California, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is the cousin of West Coast rapper Ice Cube. Del, also known as Sir Dzl or Del Tha Ghost Rapper, is an underground MC who has seen relative success throughout his career. Founding the rap supergroup Hieroglyphics alongside underground battle rapper Casual, Del has made guest appearances on popular alternative bands such as Gorillaz, and has released nine studio albums, most to some critical acclaim.
Del began his career proper as a lyricist for his cousins group, Da Lench Mob, his raw humor contrasting Ice Cube's rough, gritty appearance. Del eventually signed on to Elektra Records, which allowed him to launch his career.
With the help of his cousin Ice Cube and his group, Hieroglyphics, Del released his first album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, at the tender young age of eighteen in 1991. He later released his second album, No Need For Alarm, without the help of his cousin in 1993. Unfortunately, his debut was somewhat understated in the rap scene, though he did sell fairly well. After this began a 5-year hiatus to work with the other members of Hiero on their own projects.
In 1998, Del severed himself from Elektra to publish under Hieroglyphics Imperium, through which he has been releasing ever since.
Discography
- I Wish My Brother George Was Here (1991)
- No Need for Alarm (1993)
- Future Development (1997)
- Both Sides of the Brain (2000)
- Deltron 3030 (2000) (in collaboration with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala as the band Deltron 3030.)
- Eleventh Hour (2008)
- Event II (2013) (as Deltron 3030 with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala)
- Iller Than Most (2014) (released for free on SoundCloud)
Appearances on other artists' albums
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien provides examples of...
- Alliterative Title: "Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo", from his debut album. "Phoney Phranchise" is another example.
- Alternative Hip Hop: The genre he usually operates in.
- Crossover: Appeared on the singles "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House" by Gorillaz on their debut album Gorillaz. Damon Albarn, meanwhile, has appeared on both Deltron 3030 albums.
- He collaborated with Dinosaur Jr. for the song "Missing Link", as part of the Cult Soundtrack album to the film Judgment Night (Said soundtrack was generally themed around rappers collaborating with Alternative Rock and Heavy Metal bands).
- I Have Many Names: He is also known as "Del the Funky Homosapien", "Del Tha Ghost Rapper" or "Sir Dzl".
- Like Goes with Like: "Dark-Skinned Girls" is about his preference for black women lyrically and at great length.
- Mundane Made Awesome: "Homo sapiens" is just a scientific term for humans as we known them today.
- One-Man Song: "Mistadobalina"Ahh, I know I'm drunk nowLadies and gentlemen, I for-I forgot my...My favorite man, sittin' over thereHis name is...Mista Dobalina, Mr. Bob DobalinaMista Dobalina, Mr. Bob DobalinaMista Dobalina, Mr. Bob DobalinaMista Mista Dobalina, Mr. Bob Dobalina
- One-Word Title: His hit song "Mistadobalina".
- Our Ghosts Are Different: In Gorillaz, he is a ghost rapper and friend of Russel; he appears as a Hologram in the music videos.
- Questioning Title?: "What Is a Booty?", from his debut album.
- Shout-Out:
- His album I Wish My Brother George Was Here is a reference to the Signature Line by pianist Liberace.
- "Proto Culture" is a love letter to classic video games.
- Spell My Name With An S: The word "Tha" instead of "the" and the word "funkee" instead of "funky". Sometimes he spells them the standard way.
- Supergroup: Together with Dan The Automator and Kid Koala as Deltron3030.
- Del is also one of the founding fathers of the rap group Hieroglyphics.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: "Sleepin' on My Couch" is about Del's displeasure with mooching friends who come in down on their luck and then proceed to take up roots for as long as possible.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: His artist name.
