MED

Growing up in Oxnard, California with many other artists who ended up on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stones+Throw%22">Stones Throw</a> label, Nick Rodriguez, aka Medaphoar (and later, MED), grew up in a musical family, and by age nine he was freestyling to entertain his parents. By junior high he was writing his own rhymes, and by high school he was something of a local celebrity. Looking for beats one day, Medaphoar went to the house of Otis Jackson Jr., or <a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a>, who was impressed by the MC's skills and invited him into his crew, <a href="spotify:artist:2D0NqDyt2R9RVar9MNs8kP">Lootpack</a>, as an unofficial member. After hearing his appearances on the group's 1999 full-length Soundpieces: Da Antidote!, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Stones+Throw%22">Stones Throw</a> head <a href="spotify:artist:3KjYnDT3cEQ8ngiCLTCIl9">Peanut Butter Wolf</a> asked Medaphoar to join his label, and soon he was featured on many of the roster's releases, including <a href="spotify:artist:1rJkz5vopfGxTUGFNB3o4G">Quasimoto</a>'s, <a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a>'s, and <a href="spotify:artist:2aoFQUeHD1U7pL098lRsDU">Madvillain</a>'s. The rapper, who was at this time going by simply MED, finally released his solo debut, Push Comes to Shove, in 2005. Following a few Bang Ya Head compilations/mixtapes, MED's second official full-length, 2011's Classic, would feature special guests <a href="spotify:artist:0lEssBAxQl2In4RpaB1C2Y">Talib Kweli</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0id62QV2SZZfvBn9xpmuCl">Aloe Blacc</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4sXi6Uq6IzBaLfFi8wlb3I">Hodgy Beats</a>. Two years later he teamed with <a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a> and rapper/producer <a href="spotify:artist:1KeJhR0ENFviw187pD4LPT">Blu</a> for The Burgundy EP, then in 2015 the trio released Bad Neighbor, an album that featured the single "Rappcats." Bang Ya Head 4 appeared in 2016, and The Turn Up, an EP with <a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1KeJhR0ENFviw187pD4LPT">Blu</a>, dropped in 2017. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi