The CD only includes songs from his first two albums, along with a handful of B-sides from that era. In 2004, Elektra released The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years without Del's approval.
2003 saw the release of Full Circle, the second full-length album from the Hieroglyphics crew. He appeared on the singles " Clint Eastwood" and " Rock the House" (see Collaborations). With Nakamura and Koala, Del was also a guest performer for Gorillaz's eponymous 2001 album. Two years later, Del released his fourth solo album, Both Sides of the Brain, as well as Deltron 3030 which was a collaborative work with artists Dan the Automator and Kid Koala. Del also released another collaborative work with the Hieroglyphics crew in 1998, which was also the Hieroglyphics crew's first album, 3rd Eye Vision.ĭel performing in Red Deer, Alberta in 2006 Future Development became available in 1998 and was only available on the Hieroglyphics website in tape form but was re-released in 2002 on the Hieroglyphics Imperium label. Together with his crew, Del established his own independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings, which primarily consists of an expanded Hieroglyphics roster and a few other artists with whom the group collaborates on a regular basis. About a month before the release of his third album, Future Development, Del received a letter from his label, Elektra, stating that his contract had been terminated. No Need for Alarm helped to expose both the regional Oakland sound of hip hop, as well as the freestyle based, "golden era 90s" style of hip hop being expanded at the time.ĭel would not produce another album for five years.
No Need for Alarm saw the introduction of the Oakland clique Hieroglyphics, whose original members included Souls of Mischief (Opio, A-Plus, Phesto and Tajai), Casual, Pep Love, Del, and producer Domino. Ultimately Del, who was not pleased with the limited musical range of the album, severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, No Need for Alarm. The album was a commercial success largely due to the popularity of the hit single " Mistadobalina". In 1991, with the help of Ice Cube, Del released his first solo album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, at the age of 18. Music career 1990–1997: Early life and beginnings īorn in Oakland, California, he is the cousin of seminal West Coast rapper Ice Cube, and began his career writing lyrics for Ice Cube's group Da Lench Mob.