If you were lucky enough to catch Del the Funky Homosapien live when he hit the stage, you know it was a surreal experience. His reputation as a freestyle rapper and talented musician precedes him. You may also know him as his other stage names such as Sir DZL, Del tha Funkee Homosapien or simply Del but this is one artist that always delivers regardless of the name being used.
Introduction to Del the Funky Homosapien
Del was born as Teren Delvon Jones on April 18th 1973 in Oakland, California to parents Robert and Gwen Jones who were both members of the Black Panther Party. His father left the family when he was two years old which led to him being raised by his mother and grandmother together with his brother George who died in 2012 due to colon cancer. After finishing high school, Del joined Digital Underground as a drummer but quickly became an MC after joining the group.
After Digital Underground, Del the Funky Homosapien (who is related to West Coast rapper Ice Cube) started his solo career. Del released his first album in 1991 and has continued to make music ever since. He spent his childhood in South Central Los Angeles, where his high school experiences included gang fights and drug abuse.
Del started his musical career by writing lyrics for Da Lench Mob (his cousin’s Ice Cube’s group). By ’91 he released his first solo album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here at only the age of 18. Ice Cube assisted on the album and it was a commercial success due in part to the breakout single “Mistadobalina”. Although it received commercial success, Del was not happy with the album musically and ended his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his follow-up album, No Need for Alarm.
Prior to the release of his sophomore studio album, Del did a collaboration with the band Dinosaur Jr. for the 1993 movie Judgment Night. The song was featured in the movie and soundtrack and was titled “Missing Link”.
The Start of Hieroglyphics and No Need for Alarm
With the release of No Need for Alarm (1993) we saw the introduction of the Hieroglyphics (aka Hieroglyphics Crew or Hiero for short). This Oakland based crew founded by Del included other underground hip hop artists such as Casual, Pep Love, members of Souls of Mischief and DJ Toure. The group was produced and managed by Domino. You may recognize Domino from some of his commercial success via songs in video games such as Tony Hawk Pro Skater and the HBO TV Series Entourage.
Del the Funky Homosapien produced two of the singles from the album. The first single was “Catch a Bad One”, and the second was “Wrong Place”. Production of No Need for Alarm was handled by Del and a-plus, domino, casual, jay-biz, stimulated dummies and snupe.
The album had moderate commercial success making it into the Billboard Top 200 and received strong critical reception. The album contained 14 songs in total and was released Elektra Records.
Hieroglyphics Imperium Records
To help promote the artists within the Hieroglyphics Crew, the Hieroglyphics Imperium Records label was founded in ’95 by Del. Also known as Hiero Imperium, the American independent record label focused on the recordings of members of the group in addition to other releases from their affiliated artists.
The label released several albums from Hieroglyphics, O.C., A Band Called Pain, Casual and A Plus during the early to mid ’00s. The latest releases as of this writing is the 2019 3rd Eye Vision album by the Hieroglyphics along with the 2021 compilation Hiero Oldies Volume One.
Late ’90s and Start of a New Millennium
During this time period Del the Funky Homosapien was busy touring and releasing new music. For his third album in ’97 we were treated to the album Future Development. Though not reaching the commercial success of his first two albums the album was modestly successful and received strong reviews from critics. In my opinion it is one of his finest works.
Del’s first work of the new millennium included the release of his fourth album, Both Sides of the Brain. The album did well commercially and although it could have used some editing (some of the marathon free-styling sessions were a bit much for me) it is still considered one of his strongest musical outputs.
Role in Gorillaz
Gorillaz is a virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Del joined the band for their 2001 self-titled album, Gorillaz. The role of Gorillaz in the music industry is unique and the vocals of Del the Funky Homosapien was a perfect match. Del collaborated on two songs “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House”. Both were released as singles and went on to mainstream success.
The first single from the album, “Clint Eastwood”, features the music from the theme of the movie The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly throughout the song. It is a cult classic and a song Rabbit Hole Music called one of the best hip hop tracks of the 90’s. The second single, “Rock the House”, has a sick horn section loop sampled from “Modesty Blaise”. Del the Funky Homosapien was the only artist to provide vocals for the song.
Mid ’00s and Late 00’s
During the mid 2000’s Del focused on the Hiero Imperium label as well as other collaborations. During this time, Elektra records released The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years. This was done without approval from Del and in return he pleaded with listeners not to purchase the release. The album contained the songs from his first two releases that were on Elektra, I Wish My Brother George Was Here and No Need for Alarm, both included in our top 10 list of Del tha Funkee Homosapien albums ranked.
During the late 2000’s released a string of new music including the albums Eleventh Hour (2008), Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) (2009), and Automatik Statik (2009).
The album Funk Man was one of his strongest albums since his early days. He released it for free via his Bandcamp page
2010’s and Beyond
Continued to produce a variety of new music through the early 2010’s with a several collaborations along with four new studio albums and the release of his West Coast Avengers Mixtape series.
It Ain’t Illegal Yet (2010)
Golden Era (2011)
Root Stimulation (2012)
Iller Than Most (2014)
Del the Funky Homosapien West Coast Avengers Mixtapes (2012)
The mix tapes in the West Coast Avenger series by Del The Funky Homosapien is clear about not being impressed with the direction rap music is headed. He’s clear in his intention to point out the elephant in the room, and his lyrics are on point, with no wasted bars, on each and every track. The production features spacey and sometimes downright trippy instrumentation, with funky and percussive drums, layered with brass, that is sure to set your feet moving.
What Makes Del the Funky Homosapien Unique?
Del the Funky Homosapien does an excellent job of keeping his battle rhymes flowing and engaging. His smooth rhythmic delivery keeps his rhymes more free-flowing and enjoyable to listen to. He is known for his funky, off-the-wall lyrics and his collaborations with other famous rappers. Combine this with one of the best live performance artists of the time and it was a recipe for success.
Del’s battle rhymes are fast, creative and on point
Del has a lot of flow, technique and range. This is evident from his battle rhymes and his freestyles as well. His quick witted, punchy and cohesive flow makes it easy to tell what he is saying when reading his rhymes. Sometimes the flow can become overly corny. This is mostly evident in his battle rhymes and even freestyles. While his battle rhymes tend to be well structured and structurally tight, they do sometimes fall into the pitfalls of too much punchlines and lack of focus.
Conclusion
The Funky Homosapien is a freestyle rapper and abstract artist who is known for his unique hip style and influence on the hip-hop industry. This is one of the best known rap artists of all time and he is also known to be the best live performance artist of the 90s and ’00s. In this article we reviewed the history of the Del, his career and his influences on the industry as well as the latest releases of his music. We hope you enjoyed and take some time to listen to one of our favorite artists of the hip hop genre. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Discography
Solo studio albums
1991: I Wish My Brother George Was Here
1993: No Need for Alarm
1997: Future Development
2000: Both Sides of the Brain
2008: Eleventh Hour
2009: Funk Man (The Stimulus Package
2009: Automatik Statik
2009: Paralell Uni-Verses (with Tame One)
2010: It Ain’t Illegal Yet
2011: Golden Era
2012: Root Stimulation
2012: Attractive Sin (with Parallel Thought)
2014: Iller Than Most
2015: 3rd World Vision
2018: Gate 13 (with Amp Live)
2020: Gate 13 Remix (with Amp Live)
Mixtapes
2012: West Coast Avengers
2012: West Coast Avengers II
2014: One Percent
With Hieroglyphics
1998: 3rd Eye Vision
2003: Full Circle
2013: The Kitchen
With Deltron 3030
2000: Deltron 3030
2013: Event 2
Other
2008: DEL’s Leak Pack 1
2008: DEL’s Leak Pack 2
2008: Lost Del Demos
2011: The Ice Cold Leak Pack
2011: Del’s Funky Leak Pack Aug. 2011
FAQ
How has he influenced other rappers and the hip-hop industry?
Del the Funky Homosapien is a rapper who is known for his unique style and influence on the hip-hop industry. He is known for his rap style, which is a mix of funky and hardcore hip-hop. His music has influenced other rappers and the hip-hop industry as a whole. The biggest way that he has influenced other rappers is by creating a new sound in the rap world. He has created a hip-hop sound that is completely different from any other type of hip-hop. He has also influenced the hip-hop industry as a whole by bringing back traditional hip-hop.
What are some of his most famous songs?
Del the Funky Homosapien is a rapper and producer who first gained attention with his 1991 release “I Wish My Brother George Was Here”. If you are new to Del, defently start here with the single “Mistadobalina”. For me personally I typically like to explore an artist in chronlogical order but if you want to skip ahead, make sure to checkout his two hits with Gorillaz, the songs “Clint Eastwood” and “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”.
Is Del the Funky Homosapien good?
We can answer this with an ABSOLUTE YES! Del the Funky Homosapien is one of the best rappers of all time. Even though he’s been quiet for some time, he’s still released some of the best music of the 90s and ’00s. All his albums were ahead of their time. They were creative, innovative and ground-breaking. He had a big influence on the hip-hop industry as a whole by bringing back traditional hip-hop.