fat jon

Unorthodox producer/rapper Fat Jon is not only the beat-maker for the underground hip-hop collective <a href="spotify:artist:2fxf19eScHHFOfmTwxWcGz">Five Deez</a> but a member of the <a href="spotify:artist:2CXzwsohxy3ZCqht4Duf7H">3582</a> crew and a solo artist with a string of albums that flirt with electronica, downtempo, and dub sounds. Sometimes credited as Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician, Jon started out as a rapper in his native Cincinnati. There weren't many beat-makers on the local scene, so Jon learned how to make his own, working with a set of analog equipment that fit perfectly with his old school-loving, throwback style. As time went on, he became more forward-looking, but the analog equipment stuck around, creating a unique style that was both familiar and strange. Around 2000 his two crews began making waves in the underground rap community, and soon artists like <a href="spotify:artist:3PyWEKLWI0vHPmoNrIX0QE">Rakim</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0lEssBAxQl2In4RpaB1C2Y">Talib Kweli</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:67ei8ib6PLT1w3OkhIb4fB">Black Star</a> were hiring Fat Jon for his dynamic production style.

A year later he struck out on his own with Humanoid Erotica, a laid-back, lounge-ish full-length credited to "Fat Jon as Maurice Galactica." The moody, mellow collection Wave Motion appeared in 2003, and a year later he began working with Stefan Betke, better known as <a href="spotify:artist:2oAUWVDrNRE76jqj9IkVK6">Pole</a>. Now based in Berlin, Fat Jon added his rhymes to <a href="spotify:artist:2oAUWVDrNRE76jqj9IkVK6">Pole</a>'s 2003 self-titled release, a hip-hop-flavored album from a project that had been strictly icy cold and dub previously. Even if <a href="spotify:artist:2oAUWVDrNRE76jqj9IkVK6">Pole</a>'s loyal fan base saw the jump in genres as heresy, the album introduced Fat Jon to a whole new audience. Now armed with computers and plenty of digital gear to go with his analog, Jon put his production hat back on for 2004's Lightweight Heavy, a breakthrough release that benefited from the attention he received with <a href="spotify:artist:2oAUWVDrNRE76jqj9IkVK6">Pole</a>. The year 2006 was extremely busy, with a new <a href="spotify:artist:2fxf19eScHHFOfmTwxWcGz">Five Deez</a> album (Kommunicator), an instrumental album (Afterthought), and a collaboration with the indie electronic outfit <a href="spotify:artist:1xowRVWzOSg2hcOOP4Y2jN">Styrofoam</a> (The Same Channel) all being released. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi