Knobody

Hailing from Oakland, California, the Bay Area emcee Knobody ignited his professional trajectory through an alliance with the veteran underground hip-hop crew Hieroglyphics and its associated imprint Hiero Imperium. He first issued his own recordings at age sixteen, distributing self-manufactured EPs of six to eight tracks on the streets of Oakland for minimal sums to expand his reach. In 2006, after a mutual acquaintance vouched for the young rapper, Hieroglyphics member and label A&R executive Casual attended one of Knobody’s local performances. The next year Casual brought him aboard Triple i League, a newly formed Hieroglyphics initiative created to champion established Oakland talent. As the label’s inaugural signing, Knobody released his debut proper album, Tha Clean Up, in the latter part of 2007.