Biography
Wise Intelligent served as the primary MC for Poor Righteous Teachers, the Trenton, New Jersey trio steeped in Five Percent Nation teachings during hip-hop’s golden age. Their jazz-inflected style never reached the commercial heights attained by Brand Nubian or A Tribe Called Quest, yet the group exerted comparable influence on the wave of alternative rappers who emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Wise Intelligent’s own pro-Black stance drew directly from a difficult childhood in Trenton, where he and his nine siblings moved frequently between homeless shelters. He and Culture Freedom, having grown up together in the city, later joined forces with DJ and producer Father Shaheed to establish PRT around 1989. Following the 1996 release of New World Order, the group largely withdrew from view, though Wise Intelligent simultaneously delivered his debut solo project, Killin’ U for Fun. Around the same period, numerous artists from that generation found themselves relegated to underground and independent circuits as rap shifted toward mainstream pop dominance. In 2000 Wise Intelligent launched Intelligent Muzik, an imprint that also launched youth and community initiatives back in Trenton. Several years later he resurfaced on the underground scene with politically charged lyrics aimed at igniting a fresh socially conscious movement. Conceived as the opening installment of a planned seven-album Back to School series, The Talented Timothy Taylor appeared in July 2007.
Albums
