S1

Although rap music seldom emerges from Waco, Texas, that city serves as the base for producer and rapper S1, whose name stands for Symbolyc One. His atmospheric, inventive productions primarily underpin the verses of the Texas underground collective Strange Fruit Project, a trio in which he participates. While the approaches of Quincy Jones, Pete Rock, and Jay Dee left an impression on him, his foundational training occurred inside church walls, where he mastered piano, drums, and keyboards. Prior to assembling Strange Fruit Project alongside cousin Myth and friend Myone, S1 and Myth operated under the name Symbolyc Elementz during the mid-'90s; that brief project yielded no notable output. Recognition arrived after he joined New Jersey beat-maker Illmind for the 2005 album The Art of One Mind, most notably through their underground single "Milk 'Em," which included an appearance by Ghostface Killah. That momentum paved the way for Strange Fruit Project’s 2006 release The Healing, an effort that drew considerably more notice than the group’s 2004 debut, Soul Travelin'.