Pigeon John

Infobox musical artist
Name = Pigeon John


Img_capt = deletable image-caption
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = John Kenneth Dunkin
Origin = Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Genre = Christian Hip hop, Nerdcore
Occupation = rapper
Label = Syntax, Basement, Quannum Projects
Years_active = Early 1990s–"present"
Associated_acts = Brainwash Projects L.A. Symphony

Pigeon John is an American Underground rapper, raised in Hawthorne, California and based out of Los Angeles, California, USA.

Biography

Pigeon John is a Los Angeles area rapper who has recorded four studio albums as a solo artist, as well as several others as a member of the groups like L.A. Symphony and Brainwash Projects. Pigeon John has been featured as a collaborator on numerous other recordings with various artists. He is currently signed to Quannum Projects and has performed on several U.S. tours including Cali Comm Tour and has been featured in publications including Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, SPIN Magazine and LA Weekly. In 2006, Pigeon John was featured in an interview on National Public Radio.

In 2007, Pigeon John made his way to [http://www.itshiphop.tv/shows/thebreakdown/3/35 The Breakdown] , an internet show on [http://www.itshiphop.tv ItsHipHop.Tv] where he conducted part of the interview on the toilet.

Early life

John Kenneth Dunkin (later changed to Dust) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA and moved to the Los Angeles County city of Inglewood, California at the age of five years old. Being a mixed-race child (half black and half white), John felt out of place in predominantly white Omaha and predominantly black Inglewood. John's mother eventually moved her family from Inglewood to the nearby city of Hawthorne, California, where John attended Hawthorne High School. He currently resides with his wife Harmony in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, California.

Pigeon John was an avid skateboarder and would often listen to a variety of music on the radio while skateboarding, especially on the legendary Los Angeles hip-hop radio station KDAY. Early on, John was influenced by an eclectic range of artists including The Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Phil Collins, and Madonna. It was when he was only twelve years old he wrote his first rap titled "Inglewood Skater's Dream."

As a teenager, Pigeon John began performing his raps on open mic nights at the famous Good Life Cafe. The Good Life Cafe is a health food restaurant that provided a place for many underground hip-hop artists to display their talent, including Jurassic 5, The Black Eyed Peas, and Freestyle Fellowship. Pigeon John's first recorded performance (credited as MC Pigeon) was a collaboration titled "Judge Not" with the artist LPG, from their 1995 album, "The Earth Worm".

He claimed that his nickname was provided by Jesus who was driving around Inglewood, California: "He hopped out and handed me a dead pigeon. He whispered 'Please have a good time, you're really bumming me out.' I watched him sink back into the cushioned seats and drive, quickly away. And that's when it happened, the pigeon started shaking violently and became awake, picked up and flew away. I don't think I had a choice....its was 'pigeon' or die."cite news | url=http://www.laist.com/2007/01/11/laist_interview_pigeon_john.php | accessdate=2007-12-01 | date=11 January 2007 | publisher="LAist" | title=LAist Interview: Pigeon John | name=Anti ]

Music career

;Brainwash ProjectsIn the 1990s, Pigeon John and his childhood friend B-Twice formed the hip-hop duo Brainwash Projects.cite book |last=Powell |first=Mark Allan |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music |year=2002 |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |location=Peabody, Massachusetts |isbn=1-56563-679-1 |edition=First printing |chapter=Brainwash Projects |pages=105] Brainwash Projects contributed the single "Muchas Muchachas" to the Christian rap compilation "Sanktifunctafyd" released by N-Soul Records in 1995. Brainwash Projects eventually released a record titled "The Rise And Fall Of Brainwash Projects" on the independent label Jackson Rubio." [http://web.archive.org/web/19991103064409/www.jacksonrubio.com/bpstats.html the rise and fall of the BRAINWASH PROJECTS] ". Published by Jackson Rubio. Available through the Internet Archive.] One reviewer characterized "The Rise and Fall" as "pure, uncut, holy hip-hop" but gave mixed reviews of its beats and lyrics.cite web |last=Jones |first=Justin W. |url=http://www.tollbooth.org/review99/brainwash.html |title=Brainwash Projects : The Rise and Fall of |date=1999-03-01 |publisher=The Phantom Tollbooth]

;LA Symphony & RootbeerPigeon John and B-Twice, and now KarateE! Mouse, eventually met other like-minded young rappers and formed the hip-hop musical collective known as L.A. Symphony. Members of the L.A. Symphony have at one time or another also included members of The Halieyoos Fishermen (Sharlok Poems, Trendi M.C., and J-Beits aka Great Jason), The Eternals (Cookbook & Uno Mas), Coy (Paul "Coy" Allen), and rapper/producer Flynn Adam Atkins. Pigeon John, B-Twice, and Great Jason have since left L.A. Symphony to pursue solo careers and other projects, but are still considered part of the L.A. Symphony crew. At one time, Pigeon John and Flynn formed a side project called Rootbeer. There is at least one known studio single from Rootbeer titled "The Inevitable Return of the Pretty Boy Virgins".

olo career

Between 1997 and 2000, Pigeon John recorded the songs that became his first solo album, "Pigeon John Is Clueless". The album was released in 2001 by The Telephone Company and then re-released in 2002 by The Telephone Company/Syntax Records with 3 new tracks and new artwork. He was also responsible for the compilation project, , in which he was the executive producer. It featured some of the most diverse artists from all over the U.S., including his alma mater group, LA Symphony, CampQuest, Relentless, New Breed, MG! the Visionary, 4th Avenue Jones, John Reuben and Count Bass D. Pigeon John then signed to Basement Records and released "Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister" (2003) and "Pigeon John Sings the Blues" (2005). In 2005, Lyrics Born saw Pigeon John on the Cali Comm Tour and brought him into Quannum Projects. That same year, Pigeon John's single "Deception" was featured on a series of Nestle Crunch commercials. [cite web|url=http://www.sweetdisaster.com/archives/2005_05.html|date=May 12 2005|title=Sweetdisaster Newsblog Archives|publisher=Sweetdisaster] In 2006, after signing to Quannum, Pigeon John released his fourth solo album, "And the Summertime Pool Party". The album has received positive reviews from many sources, including LA Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and VIBE. [cite web|title=L.A. Music '06: Welcome to Indie Land: Retro-Futuristic Postmodern House Party"|author=Sullivan, Kate|date=December 6 2006|publisher=LA Weekly|url=http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/la-music-06-welcome-to-indie-land/15139/] [(June 8 2006) "LA Weekly".] [cite journal|journal=Entertainment Weekly|date=September 2006|title=] [(October 2006). "VIBE Magazine".]

Discography

tudio albums

Guest appearances

References

External links

* [http://www.pigeonjohn.com Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/pigeonjohn Official MySpace]
* [http://www.laweekly.com/music/music/everybody-do-the-pigeon/14406/ LA Weekly Article]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6074210 NPR Interview]
* [http://formatmag.com/features/pigeon-john/ Format Mag Interview]
* [http://www.rapzilla.com/rz/content/blogcategory/16/46/ Pigeon John Videos]
* [http://www.vlaze.com/pigeonjohn Pigeon John's Vlaze.com profile page with videos]
* [http://artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/Pigeon-John/8/ Pigeon John Interview with Art of Rhyme]