Defari
Defari (* in Santa Monica , California ; real name Duane Johnson, Jr. ), also Defari Herut or LA's Own Billy the Kidd , is an American rapper .
biography
Defari began to deal with music in 1982, but at the beginning still as a DJ , before he began rapping in 1987. Still, he treated the whole thing more as a hobby and cared more about his career. He studied sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and eventually earned a master's degree in history and education from Columbia University. He then took a position as a high school teacher.
The turning point in his life began when he in 1994 the producers & rappers Tha Alkaholiks , E-Swift met. Together with him he recorded some songs and from now on he was part of the Likwit crew, together with Tha Alkaholiks & King Tee . He sent his songs to various labels , from which Tommy Boy Records finally signed him and he was able to record his debut album in 1999.
Due to the failure of this album, the contract ended and he released the successor independently on ABB Records under his pseudonym LA's Own Billy the Kidd .
In the meantime he had met the rapper Xzibit , who was also part of the Likwit crew, and had just gotten to know, with the help of Dr. Dre , had released a platinum-rated album . Xzibit signed him for his newly founded record label Open Bar Entertainment and took him on his world tour . After he had performed there in front of a very large audience, he realized, according to his own statement, that he would rather make music in smaller circles. The contract was terminated by mutual agreement and the album was released again in 2003 independently via High Times .
In the same year he returned to ABB Records , where initially a collection of unreleased songs by him was released as an EP .
This was followed by an album under the group name Likwit Junkies , along with DJ Babu from the Dilated Peoples , with whom he had worked on each of his albums.
In 2006 he officially released his third solo album Street Music .
In 2017 the album Rare Poise, produced entirely by Evidence , was released .
Discography
- 1999: Focused Daily
- 2000: LA's Own Billy The Kidd - The Saloon Music LP
- 2003: Odds & Evens
- 2003: LA Collection EP
- 2005: The LJ's (with DJ Babu as Likwit Junkies)
- 2006: Street Music
- 2017: Rare Poise
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Defari |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Johnson, Duane Jr. (real name); Herut, Defari (pseudonym); LA's Own Billy the Kidd (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rap artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Santa Monica , California , USA |