Azizi Gibson

Azizi Gibson, a rapper whose travels spanned multiple continents, moved frequently with his military family before eventually establishing himself in Los Angeles to focus on music. Drawing from sources as varied as Eminem, Outkast, anime, and video games, he built an early following through several underground mixtapes and EPs, a few of which appeared on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder imprint. Operating independently via his own preHISTORIC label, Gibson delivered his debut full-length, Prehistoric Til Death, in 2015 and maintained a steady pace of one album annually into the early 2020s, among them 2017's Memoirs of the Reaper, 2018's Xenophile, and 2019's Chimera Act, before issuing This is not an Album. This is a Killer Playlist, Vol. 1 in 2021.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1990 to a family with roots in Zaire, Gibson experienced a nomadic childhood that took him first to Singapore and Thailand and later to Maryland. Throughout these relocations he developed a deepening interest in experimental hip-hop beats and lyrics. After leaving college in 2010 he relocated to Los Angeles, carrying with him a modestly produced mixtape that already displayed his precise delivery alongside clear echoes of Eminem and the Pharcyde. Repeated chance encounters with Flying Lotus led to Gibson handing the producer a copy of that tape, resulting in a Brainfeeder deal and the 2013 release of the more refined mixtape Ghost in the Shell. The following year brought the Backwards Books EP, followed by the proper debut album Prehistoric Til Death in 2015, which included Waka Flocka Flame on “Slave Ship” and Dragon Ball Z voice actor Christopher Sabat on “Marriage Skit.” His second album, A New Life, arrived in spring 2016 and featured Big K.R.I.T. on “Issues” along with DJ Paul on “Mischeif.” Memoirs of the Reaper appeared in 2017, by which point Gibson had parted ways with Brainfeeder to launch preHISTORIC.

The same steady output continued with Xenophile and Backwards Books 2 in 2018, Chimera Act in 2019, and Reaping the Benefits in 2020. Without interruption he unveiled This is not an Album. This is a Killer Playlist, Vol. 1 in 2021, which included Maxine Ashley on two tracks and frequent collaborator AKTHESAVIOR on “Genesis.”