Busdriver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the rapper. For the occupation, see Bus driver.

Busdriver
Busdriver performing at Coachella in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Regan J Farquhar
Origin	Los Angeles
Genre(s)	Hip hop Alternative hip hop Abstract hip hop Experimental hip hop
Years active	1996–present
Label(s)	Epitaph Records Mush Records

Busdriver (born Regan J Farquhar^[1]) is a rapper from Los Angeles currently signed to Epitaph Records.

1 History
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 Singles
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

Born in Los Angeles, he was introduced to hip hop at an early age, his father Ralph Farquhar being the screenwriter for the film Krush Groove,^[2] one of the earliest films focusing on hip hop culture. Farquhar began rapping at age 9, and by 13 he had released his first album, as part of the group 4/29.^[3] At the age of 15, he attended open-mic nights at the Good Life Cafe in 1993. A regular at the Project Blowed open mic during the mid-1990s, he would be introduced to fellow underground artists, leading him to being a guest on at least 20 singles.^{[citation needed]} He first recorded in 1995 with Chillin Villain Empire, and was featured on Fat Jack's Cater to the DJ in 1999.

Busdriver released his first album, Memoirs of the Elephant Man, in 2001, followed by This Machine Kills Fashion Tips and Temporary Forever in 2002. 2003 brought a collaboration with fellow underground artists Radioinactive and Daedelus for the experimental LP The Weather. His most recent releases are 2004's Cosmic Cleavage (produced by longtime collaborator Daddy Kev) and Fear of a Black Tangent in 2005, which included a sample of the song "Turtles Have Short Legs" by Can on the track "Avantcore". In 2005 he was also enlisted (along with Vic Booz and Subtitle (now Giovanni Marks)) as a "Corn Ganggster", rapping with The Unicorns' offshoot project, Th' Corn Gangg. He later appeared on the Islands' album Return to the Sea, on the song "Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone."

He gained a small amount of mainstream recognition when "Imaginary Places", from Temporary Forever, appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003.^[4] His latest album, RoadKillOvercoat, was released on Epitaph Records in January, 2007.

Busdriver has worked with MCs such as Aceyalone, Myka 9, Abstract Rude, 2Mex, Rifleman Ellay Khule, and the band Toca, among others. His primary producers have been Paris Zax, Daedelus, Daddy Kev, Omid, Nobody, Fat Jack, and Boom Bip. He's also worked on two albums with DJ D-Styles.

Busdriver is featured in the documentary This is the Life (2008), directed by Good Life MC Ava DuVernay. ^[5]