Pigeon John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pigeon John | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Kenneth Dunkin |
| Origin | Omaha, Nebraska, USA |
| Genre(s) | Christian Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | rapper |
| Years active | Early 1990s–present |
| Label(s) | Syntax, Basement, Quannum Projects |
| Associated acts | Brainwash Projects L.A. Symphony |
Pigeon John is an American Underground rapper, raised in Hawthorne, California and based out of Los Angeles, California, USA.
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[edit] Biography
Pigeon John is a popular Los Angeles area rapper who has recorded four studio albums as a solo artist, as well as several others as a member of the groups like L.A. Symphony and Brainwash Projects. Pigeon John has been featured as a collaborator on numerous other recordings with various artists. He is currently signed to Quannum Projects and has performed on several U.S. tours including Cali Comm Tour and has been featured in publications including Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, SPIN Magazine and LA Weekly. In 2006, Pigeon John was featured in an interview on National Public Radio.
In 2007, Pigeon John made his way to The Breakdown, an internet show on ItsHipHop.Tvwhere he was doing part of the interview on the toilet.
[edit] Early life
John Kenneth Dunkin (later changed to Dust) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA and moved to the Los Angeles County city of Inglewood, California at the age of five years old. Being a mixed-race child (half black and half white), John felt out of place in predominantly white Omaha and predominantly black Inglewood. John's mother eventually moved her family from Inglewood to the nearby city of Hawthorne, California. He currently resides with his wife in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, California.
Pigeon John was an avid skateboarder and would often listen to a variety of music on the radio while skateboarding, especially on the legendary Los Angeles hip-hop radio station KDAY. Early on, John was influenced by an eclectic range of artists including The Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Phil Collins, and Madonna. It was when he was only twelve years old he wrote his first rap titled "Inglewood Skater's Dream."
As a teenager, Pigeon John began performing his raps on open mic nights at the famous Good Life Cafe. The Good Life Cafe is a health food restaurant that provided a place for many underground hip-hop artists to display their talent, including Jurassic 5, The Black Eyed Peas, and Freestyle Fellowship. Pigeon John's first recorded performance (credited as MC Pigeon) was a collaboration titled "Judge Not" with the artist LPG, from their 1995 album, The Earth Worm.
He claimed that his nickname was provided by Jesus who was driving around Inglewood, California: "He hopped out and handed me a dead pigeon. He whispered 'Please have a good time, you're really bumming me out.' I watched him sink back into the cushioned seats and drive, quickly away. And that's when it happened, the pigeon started shaking violently and became awake, picked up and flew away. I don't think I had a choice....its was 'pigeon' or die."[1]
[edit] Music career
- Brainwash Projects
In the 1990s, Pigeon John and his childhood friend B-Twice formed the hip-hop duo Brainwash Projects.[2] Brainwash Projects contributed the single "Muchas Muchachas" to the Christian rap compilation "Sanktifunctafyd" released by N-Soul Records in 1995. Brainwash Projects eventually released a record titled The Rise And Fall Of Brainwash Projects on the independent label Jackson Rubio.[3] One reviewer characterized The Rise and Fall as "pure, uncut, holy hip-hop" but gave mixed reviews of its beats and lyrics.[4]
- LA Symphony & Rootbeer
Pigeon John and B-Twice eventually met other like-minded young rappers and formed the hip-hop musical collective known as L.A. Symphony. Members of the L.A. Symphony have at one time or another also included members of The Halieyoos Fishermen (Sharlok Poems, Trendi M.C., and J-Beits aka Great Jason), The Eternals (Cookbook & Uno Mas), Coy (Paul "Coy" Allen), and rapper/producer Flynn Adam Atkins. Pigeon John, B-Twice, and Great Jason have since left L.A. Symphony to pursue solo careers and other projects, but are still considered part of the L.A. Symphony crew. At one time, Pigeon John and Flynn formed a side project called Rootbeer. There is at least one known studio single from Rootbeer titled "The Inevitable Return of the Pretty Boy Virgins".
[edit] Solo career
Between 1997 and 2000, Pigeon John recorded the songs that became his first solo album, Pigeon John Is Clueless. The album was released in 2001 by The Telephone Company and then re-released in 2002 by The Telephone Company/Syntax Records with 3 new tracks and new artwork. He was also responsible for the compilation project, Coalition: the Hip-Hop Alliance, in which he was the executive producer. It featured some of the most diverse artists from all over the U.S., including his alma mater group, LA Symphony, CampQuest, Relentless, New Breed, MG! the Visionary, 4th Avenue Jones, John Reuben and Count Bass D. Pigeon John then signed to Basement Records and released Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister (2003) and Pigeon John Sings the Blues (2005). In 2005, Lyrics Born saw Pigeon John on the Cali Comm Tour and brought him into Quannum Projects. That same year, Pigeon John's single "Deception" was featured on a series of Nestle Crunch commercials.[5] In 2006, after signing to Quannum, Pigeon John released his fourth solo album, And the Summertime Pool Party. The album has received positive reviews from many sources, including LA Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and VIBE. [6][7][8][9]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Album cover | Album information |
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.jpg/120px-Is_Clueless_(2001).jpg) |
Pigeon John Is Clueless
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Pigeon John Is Clueless (re-release)
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Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister
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Pigeon John Featuring Pigeon John
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Pigeon John Sings the Blues
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Pigeon John and the Summertime Pool Party
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Pigeon John Featuring Pigeon John 2
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[edit] Guest appearances
| Artist | Title | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Avenue Jones | "U Rockin'" | Hiprocksoul | 2003 |
| Acid Reign | "Never Fold" | Time and Change | 2006 |
| Adventure Time | "Whetting Whistles" | Dreams of Water Themes | 2003 |
| Apsci | "Stompin'" | Thanks for Asking | 2005 |
| Blackalicious | "Side to Side" | The Craft | 2005 |
| Bobby Bishop | "Show Love" | Government Name | 2005 |
| Braille | "It Won't Last" | Shades of Grey | 2004 |
| Cheap Cologne | "Barry Manilow Is Alive and Well" | Something Random | 2005 |
| CookBook & UNO Mas | "Take Control" | While They Slept | 2006 |
| Crankcase | "The Next Big Thing" | - | 2003 |
| Daedelus | "Something Bells" | Something Bells EP | 2006 |
| DJ Maj | "Golden Motorcycle" | Wax Museum: the Mixtape | 2000 |
| DJ Maj | "God Music" | The Ringleader | 2003 |
| Dj Stibs | "WildNights" | ...And I Love Her | 2007 |
| Fat Jack | "Pay Back" | Cater to the DJ Vol. 2 | 2004 |
| Flipside | "Sunny Days" | - | 1999 |
| Flynn | "Spanish Harlem" | Louder | 1998 |
| Flynn | "Endless Maze" | Burnt Out | 2001 |
| Freedom of Soul | "Not This Record" | The Second Comin' | 1993 |
| Future Shock | "Paperweights" | The Art of Xenos - Entertaining Aliens | 2002 |
| Grayskul | "Dance The Frantic" | Bloody Radio | 2007 |
| Grits | "Open Bar" | Redemption | 2006 |
| Grits | "You Said" | Redemption | 2006 |
| The Grouch & Eligh | "More Greener" | No More Greener Grass | 2003 |
| Heath McNease | "Love Me" | The Heath McNease Fan Club Meets Tonight | 2007 |
| Hi-Fidel & DJ Crucial | "Small Victories" | FF Express: The Company of Wolves | 2007 |
| Mr. J. Medieros | "Money" | Of Gods and Girls | 2007 |
| Joey the Jerk | "Same Dark Sweater" | Average Joe | 2004 |
| JRemy | "You Don't Know Me" | Backwoods Legend | 2006 |
| Kiz Charizmatic | "The Hype, The Hustle" | Rawthentic | 2003 |
| KJ-52 | "Revenge of the Nerds" | Collaborations | 2002 |
| KJ-52 | "All Around The World" | 7th Avenue ('04 Edition) | 2004 |
| KJ-52 | "Revenge of the Nerds (Horns A Plenty Remix)" | Remixed | 2006 |
| Knowdaverbs | "Call of the Dung Beetle" | The Syllabus | 1999 |
| LPG | "Judge Not" | The Earth Worm | 1995 |
| Luke Geraty | "Brandon's Folly" | It's Cold Out Here | 2003 |
| Luke Geraty | "Pandemonium" | It's Cold Out Here | 2003 |
| Lyrics Born | "I'm Just Raw (remix)" | Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live! | 2006 |
| Mars ILL | "Planes and Trains" | Backbreakanomics | 2003 |
| MG! The Visionary | "Scared As..." | Transparemcee | 2000 |
| Mils | "Upside Down" | The And Album | 2006 |
| Neila | "Rules" | For Whom the Bells Crow | 2004 |
| Opio | "Granite Earth" | Triangulation Station | 2005 |
| Othello | "Shallow" | Alive At The Assembly Line | 2006 |
| PAX217 | "Gratitude" | Twoseventeen | 2000 |
| Project Blowed | "The People" | 10th Anniversary | 2005 |
| RedCloud | "The Pigeon John Song" | Is This Thing On? | 2002 |
| RedCloud | "Death of a Salesman" | Hawthorne's Most Wanted | 2007 |
| RedCloud | "Tapatio" | Hawthorne's Most Wanted | 2007 |
| .rod laver | "The Official Pigeon John Guest Appearance" | The Dialogue: Rudolph Wayne Vs. The Man | 2004 |
| Sharlok Poems | "Driven By Facts" | Left | 2002 |
| Shape Shifters | "Little Life" | Was Here | 2004 |
| Sup the Chemist | "Reaching" | Eargasmic Arrangements | 2003 |
| Soul-Junk | "Sea Monsters and Gargoyles" | 1956 | 2000 |
| Tapwater | "The White Man" | Two Forty Five | 2001 |
| Wordburglar | "Breeze" | Burglaritis | 2006 |
[edit] References
- ^ "LAist Interview: Pigeon John", LAist, 11 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Powell, Mark Allan (2002). "Brainwash Projects", Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, First printing, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 105. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.
- ^ "the rise and fall of the BRAINWASH PROJECTS". Published by Jackson Rubio. Available through the Internet Archive.
- ^ Jones, Justin W. (1999-03-01). Brainwash Projects : The Rise and Fall of. The Phantom Tollbooth.
- ^ Sweetdisaster Newsblog Archives. Sweetdisaster (May 12, 2005).
- ^ Sullivan, Kate (December 6, 2006). L.A. Music '06: Welcome to Indie Land: Retro-Futuristic Postmodern House Party". LA Weekly.
- ^ (June 8, 2006) LA Weekly.
- ^ "" (September 2006). Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ (October 2006). VIBE Magazine.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Official MySpace
- LA Weekly Article
- NPR Interview
- Format Mag Interview
- Pigeon John Videos
- Pigeon John's Vlaze.com profile page with videos
- Pigeon John Interview with Art of Rhyme
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