Quarashi

Though the Icelandic rap-rock group Quarashi did not issue its American debut until early 2002, the musicians had already spent years refining their sound throughout the mid-1990s. Sölvi Blondal, who handled production and drums, joined forces with rappers and vocalists Hössi Olafsson, Steini Fjelsted—a onetime Icelandic skating champion and graffiti artist—and Omar Swarez to establish the band in 1996. They took the name Quarashi, pronounced “kwa-ra'-she,” from an Icelandic word denoting the supernatural that had once served as Fjelsted’s nickname. The quartet captured its first full-length album during October 1997. While promoting that record, Quarashi supported both the Fugees and the Prodigy on tour, and Blondal supplied a remix of the Prodigy track “Diesel Power.” Quarashi followed with the 1999 album Xeneizes, which moved another 6,000 units and secured the band’s second straight gold certification at home in Iceland. March 2002 brought the arrival of Jinx, the group’s long-awaited U.S. release, whose lead single “Stick ’Em Up” appeared on the soundtrack to Orange County.