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The Hieroglyphics (also known as the Hieroglyphics Imperium) is a hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The group was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien. The founding members are MC's Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Snupe (who left the group shortly before Third Eye Vision), Casual, Pep Love and Souls of Mischief (A-Plus, Tajai, Opio, and Phesto) and manager/producer Domino. Other "Hiero-affiliated" artists include Goapele, SupremeEx, Encore and Z-Man. In 2005, the underground New York rapper O.C. was officially signed to Hiero Imperium. The Hieroglypics crew are considered to be hip-hop visionaries, featuring fundamentally sound original deliveries; smooth, original and sometimes jazzy beats/samples; and lyrical content - in a time where the importance of these qualities was slowly fading in the face of gangster rap.
History
In 1995, after each individual member of Hiero was dropped from their respective major labels, information on the Hiero crew was sparse. The albums stopped dropping after Souls of Mischief's, "No Man's Land" was released in October 1995, and the crew was subsequently "let go" from their recording contract with JIVE that very same day. Word from the Elektra camp was Del's 3rd studio recording, "Future Development" was indeed in danger of being shelved (Del would soon after receive a letter in the mail from Elektra stating his recording contract would be terminated, effective immediately).
This was the final nail in the coffin of Hiero's major label careers, but it was only the beginning for their future independent renaissance.
In 1995, a 16 year old Hiero fan from Philadephia, Yameen Friedberg AKA "Stinke", began creating a web site all about the Hiero crew. Member Tajai happened upon the website and contacted Stinke in the hopes of making the website the "official" Hieroglyphics web page.
Once the domain name "Hieroglyphics.com" was acquired, the site became extremely popular with Hiero fans. Using it effectively as a promotional tool, Hiero released rarities and unreleased material available for sale through their website in the form of cassettes (still a popular form of media at the time). Later it was announced Hieroglyphics would release Del's 3rd, shelved studio album "Future Development", exclusively online.
Eventually the site led to the creation of an online store, The Hiero Emporium. Sales generated online helped the Hiero crew record their debut group album, 3rd Eye Vision. Stinke and the Hiero members provided near-daily updates on the album's recording, allowing the fans to participate in proximity to the group.
In 1998, 3rd Eye Vision was released in a distribution deal with Ground Level Entertainment, and would eventually sell 70,000 units independently before the distributor dissolved a few years later. Various members released solo material, and another group album (Full Circle) was released. The group began their own label, Hiero Imperium, on which they are reportedly free to make music the way they want to.
Discography
As a collective, Hieroglyphics has only released two studio albums: Third Eye Vision (1998) and Full Circle (2003). In 2005 they released a live DVD and accompanying CD of the 2003 Full Circle Tour. There have also been compilations such as Hiero Oldies Vol. 1, Hiero Oldies Vol. 2, The Building, and The Corner. Individual members of the group have released several albums of their own, either through solo projects or outside group projects.
External links
Hip hop collectives | American hip hop groups | California musical groups | American musical groups
"Hieroglyphics (hip hop)"