Biography

Cousin of MC-turned-movie-star Ice Cube, Del the Funkeé Homosapien was born Teren Devlon Jones on August 12, 1972, in Oakland, California. Del got his first start with Ice Cube's protégés da Lench Mob, and infused his humorous attitude and lyrics with the groups grim and violent appearance. With Ice Cube as his executive producer, Del was signed to Elektra Records by legendary A&R man Danté Ross and was able to release several albums, including "I wish my brother George was here," and "No need for Alarm." Del eventually dropped the P-funk sounds after Cube's departure in favor of a more sophisticated, jazzy sound. Despite his noble experimentation, His sophomore effort failed commercially, and it would take four years for the MC to plot his next move and issue another recording.

Having left Elektra, Del aligned himself closely with a few fellow MC friends, Casual and Souls of Mischief, and issued his third release overall, 1998's "Future Development," for the same label as his friends, Hieroglyphics Imperium. 2000 saw the release of an all-new Del solo release, titled "Both Sides of the Brain," as well as a self-titled debut release by a side-project, Deltron 3030, in which he joined forces with producer Dan "the Automator" Nakamura and turntablist Kid Koala. Del also worked with the two in the animated concept band Gorillaz and in Handsome boy modeling school, along with Prince Paul and Damon Albarn.