Binary Star

Binary Star is an alternative hip hop group formed in 1998 that was composed of One Be Lo and Senim Silla. One Be Lo met Senim Silla, and the two formed Binary Star during their time in Hiawatha Correctional Facility.^[1] One Be Lo took the time to gather extensive amounts of knowledge pertaining to the music industry, such as copyrights, publishing, and how to successfully start a record company. In his own words, he "learned how to hustle legally".^[1]

History

Their debut effort, Waterworld was produced on a $500 budget^[2] and released in 1999, under the label Terrorist Records. An extensive tour of Michigan followed, as both members of the duo were on parole and were not permitted to leave the state. Binary Star then switched to Subterraneous Records and released Masters of the Universe, named for a track on the album. This album was essentially just a remixed version of Waterworld,^[3] but garnered far more attention, as the album sold 20,000 copies.^[4] However, the pair were not getting along particularly well,^[1] and, citing creative differences,^[5] Binary Star was discontinued. They reunited briefly in 2002, doing a concert together at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont,^[6] but they did not record any new material. Although there has inevitably been speculation about a reformation of Binary Star, One Be Lo has stated that this is unlikely. "I seriously doubt it", he said, proceeding to claim, "Artists are real, real picky and real, real closed minded. They can be real, real strongly opinionated. If there ain’t no real chemistry, it ain’t going to work."^[5]. One Be Lo and Senim Silla are now back in the studio and slowly working on new material. Actual development is in its infant stages, but a new album is hopeful. A 2009 Binary Star tour is set to kick off on October 10, 2009!

Binary Star's legacy, while minor, is still apparent, as Masters of the Universe and its earlier counterpart Waterworld are still highly regarded by many fans of underground hip hop.^[7][8] In a recent interview with Senim Silla ^[9], Silla stated that they are "working on [a new Binary Star project] right now". ^[10]

Binary Star has ended their sabbatical and will be performing their first show ever in the San Francisco Bay Area on November 20th of 2009 at the 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco at the Reignforest Collective's Hip-Hop monthly, "Listening Lounge". The Bay Area Hip-Hop heads will be there to celebrate their highly influential cult classic, "Waterworld/Masters of the universe" and their reunification.

Discography

• Waterworld (1999, Terrorist Records)
• Masters of the Universe (2000, Subterraneous Records)

One Be Lo

• WaterWorld Too (2001, Subterraneous Records)
• Project: F.E.T.U.S. (2002, Subterraneous Records)
• S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (2005, Fat Beats/ Subterraneous Records)
• The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. (2007, Subterraneous Records)

Senim Silla

• The Name, The Motto, The Outcome (2007, Infinite Rhythm Network)

References

External links

• Binary Star at Allmusic
• [1] Binary Star November 20th, 2009 San Francisco concert info