by Greg PratoCousin of renowned gangster rapper Ice Cube, Del tha Funkee Homosapien (real name Teren Delvon Jones) was born in Oakland, CA, on August 12, 1972, and got his start with Ice Cubes backing band, da Lench Mob. But Dels rap isnt as grim or violent as Ice Cubes is, in fact, hes been known to include something in his music thats far too uncommon in most rap: humor. Signed to Elektra/Asylum, Dels debut release, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, was issued in 1991 and produced by Cube and like most rap at the time, featured numerous samples of Parliament Funkadelic classics from the 70s. Dels follow-up, 1994s No Need for Alarm, was a departure musically, as Ice Cube was no longer in the production seat and the P-Funk sounds were dropped in favor of a more sophisticated, almost jazzy sound. Despite his noble experimentation, Dels sophomore effort failed commercially, as it would take four years for the rapper to plot his next move and issue another recording. Having left Elektra, Del aligned himself closely to a few fellow rapper friends, Casual and Souls of Mischief, and issued his third release overall, 1998s Future Development, for the same label as his friends, Hieroglyphics Records. 2000 saw the release of an all-new Del solo release, Both Sides of the Brain, as well as a self-titled debut release by a side-project, Deltron 3030, which saw Del join forces with both the Automator and Kid Koala.