Strange Fruit Project is one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time.
Myth, Myone and Symbolyc One (S1) are Strange Fruit Project. These are 3 emcees that sing and flow. They have come from humble beginnings while all growing up in Waco, a small town in Texas where diversity is not the normal. S1, the music director of the group, grew up in the church playing instruments such as the piano, keyboards and the drums. His influences include Quincy Jones, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, Jay Dilla and a host of other producers. S1 and Myth are cousins who have been rhyming and flowing since the days of Run DMC´s Raising Hell. Myth, short for Mythological, is the abstract one of the crew. His influences include Common, Ghostface Killah, Mos Def and Erkah Badu. He has an unusual rap style that instantly grabs fans attention. In 1996, cousins S1 and Myth formed a group called, Symbolyc Elementz. They received minimal praise as Symbolyc Elementz with the highlight for the group coming in May of 96´ while being chosen for the then credible publication The Source as part of their Unsigned Hype review.
Myone (pronounced my–own), considered the baby boy of the crew, is originally from Indiana. He was always someone hungry to get on the mic and his opportunity came when he met S1.S1 met Myone in 1998 through work (day job). At the time Myone was still in high school, but felt he had the gift of gab to battle and compete with the break time freestyle they always had. S1 would murder him on the freestyles but Myone continued to work hard, craft his art and get better. During the latter portion of 1999 and into 2000, S1 began to vibe and collab with Myth´s long term friend Lysoul and Myone began to hang around the studio. One day they all worked on a track together and S1 really liked how everyone vibed. So they recorded another track and one became 3 and 3 became 6 and before you knew it, S1 had put together an entire album and they collectively decided to call this project the Strange Fruit Project. The choice for this name stemmed from the 1939 song performed by Billie Holiday, which focused on black men being lynched throughout the south at a time when people of color had not rights in the United States. More black men were lynched in Waco in the early 1900´s than anywhere in the U.S. Therefore the music and style of SFP focuses on and targets everyday people´s struggles, trials and life experiences. There´s a message and a story in every verse, not meant to be preachy or hypocritical but challenging those who cannot see, to step outside their comfort zone and experience life musical through the eyes of Strange Fruit Project.
DJ Whiz T met SFP in 2001 and it was like a match mad in heaven. Whiz´s influences include Marley Marl, Grand Master Flash and Kid Capri. Whiz, originally from Louisiana, is considered to be the big kid of the crew, always joking, mixing records and playing video games. Once you hear his style of cuttin n´ scratchin´ on the 1´s and 2´s you understand how his style allows him to compete with the Z–Trip´s and Q–Bert´s of the DJ world.
For more information on Strange Fruit Project, be sure to check out http://strangefruitproject.imeem.com.
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