Aloe Blacc Biography
Aloe Blacc is a Southern California-based rapper, neo-soul
singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and general renaissance
man, who is known for fluid lyrical constructions in both
Spanish and English. Since he began performing in 1995 as half
of the indie rap duo Emanon (alongside DJ Exile), he has graduated
from the University of Southern California with a degree in
Communication and Linguistics/Psychology in 2001, released a
full-length album on Stones Throw Records entitled Shine Through
(2006), and collaborated with Japanese producer Cradle for a side
project called Bee in 2008. He has also become somewhat of cult hero
on USC campus for parodying the Biz Markie’s song “Just a Friend”
as “I Love USC (And I Hate UCLA).”
Born E. Nathaniel Dawkins to Panamanian parents in Orange County in
1979, his father was an English professor in Panama (and later
military in the US) and his mother a stay at home disciplinarian
who stressed grades. He began playing trumpet at a young age,
continuing through high school where he met DJ Exile. He began playing
guitar and piano at this time, and took the name Aloe Blacc based on
aloe representing the lotion smoothness of his rapping. Though he
always had a passion for music, by the time he went to USC on a
full-ride scholarship he was mainly concentrated on studying, making
music as a secondary pursuit. In 1999 he wrote the aforementioned
“I Love USC (And I Hate UCLA)” for a talent show called “Showtime at the
Bovard, and he won the $500 grand prize. A year later, he released a
10-song compilation of songs by fellow USC students, and credited his
Biz Markie parody to Tommy Trojan
He went to Europe in the late 1990s with Lootpack—the three-headed
hip-hop machine of Madlib, DJ Romes and Wildchild—as a “stow away.”
The act was signed to Peanut Butter Wolf’s label, Stones Throw, his
eventual label for the full-length Shine Through. During the trip
he became friends with rapper Oh No, Madlib’s brother, who would
later produce and collaborate with him.
In 2005, as a core member of the collaborative effort Emanon with
his long-time partner Exile, Shaman Works Recordings released The
Waiting Room, the duo’s vaulted debut that showed off Aloe Blacc’s
wares as a songwriter and performer. A year later, Shine Through
(2006) came out on Stones Throw, and it was a showcase of Aloe Blacc’s
Latin-tinged mellifluous voice over the pulse of trip-hop and
staccato beats. His delivery prompted on description of Aloe Blacc as
“the indie R. Kelly.” The album was also a testament to his production
ability, as he meticulously produced all but two of the album’s 16
tracks. One of tracks he didn’t oversee, the Oh No-produced adaptation
of Sam Cooke’s song “A Change Is Gonna Come” called “Long Time Coming,”
stood out as an innovative R&B page-turner. A couple of the songs on
the album stayed true to his Panama roots, such as an in-Spanish remix
of John Legend’s “Ordinary People,” and Palenque’s “Severa,” while
others—like the bluesy “Busking”—show off his range and admiration of
negro spirituals, folk music and blues.
His next album was Good Things (Stones Throw)— in late 2010, and
features the soulful single “I Need a Dollar.” That track was aptly
selected as the intro to the HBO show, How To Make it In America,
with the singles "Loving You Is Killing Me" and "Green Lights" appearing
in 2011. In 2013 Blacc collaborated with Swedish DJ Avicci and produced
the international number one hit "Wake Me Up," putting both artists into
the strosphere in popularity the world over. That same year Blacc
released his latest- and first for new label Interscope- CD entitled
Lift Your Spirit.
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