Truth Universal

Truth Universal stands apart from Cash Money Records’ dominant bling-rap mainstream through lyrics and political statements that deliberately reject its commercial ethos, placing him instead within New Orleans’ little-known alt-rap underground. Born Tajiri Kamau in Diego Martin, Trinidad, he arrived in the Big Easy in 1977 at the age of four. Drawn first to DJing, he immersed himself in hip-hop during the mid-1980s. Exposure to his parents’ collection of politically charged reggae and calypso—particularly Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose, and Bob Marley—shaped his own record selections and steered him toward Five Percent Nation-influenced artists. His earliest work circulated strictly underground, beginning with the 2000 12"/maxi-single “Dashiki Dialogue” and the 2001 EP Plantation Graffiti. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, he relocated to Houston, Texas. The storm’s political aftermath and the city’s heightened racial tensions sharpened his perspective, prompting his already Afrocentric rhymes to grow more direct and confrontational. While readying his planned debut LP, Decolonization, he met Bay Area MC Paris in early 2006; Paris subsequently offered him a spot on the Guerilla Funk roster. Although Decolonization was ultimately delayed until late 2008, Truth instead issued Self-Determination that April as his first album on Dragon’s Breath Records.