Busdriver

Busdriver
Busdriver performing at Coachella in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Regan John Farquhar
Born	February 12, 1978 (1978-02-12) (age 31)
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Hip hop Alternative hip hop Abstract hip hop Experimental hip hop
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Epitaph Records Mush Records

Busdriver (born Regan John Farquhar February 12, 1978)^[1][2] is a rapper from Los Angeles currently signed to Epitaph Records.

History

Born in Los Angeles, he was introduced to hip hop at an early age, his father Ralph Farquhar being the screenwriter for the film Krush Groove,^[3] one of the earliest films focusing on hip hop culture. Farquhar began rapping at age 9, and by 13 he had released his first album, as part of the group 4/29.^[4] At the age of 15, he attended open-mic nights at the Good Life Cafe in 1993. A regular at the Project Blowed open mic during the mid-1990s, he would be introduced to fellow underground artists, leading him to being a guest on at least 20 singles.^{[citation needed]} He first recorded in 1995 with Chillin Villain Empire, and was featured on Fat Jack's Cater to the DJ in 1999.

Busdriver released his first album, Memoirs of the Elephant Man, in 2001, followed by This Machine Kills Fashion Tips and Temporary Forever in 2002. 2003 brought a collaboration with fellow underground artists Radioinactive and Daedelus for the experimental LP The Weather. His most recent releases are 2004's Cosmic Cleavage (produced by longtime collaborator Daddy Kev) and Fear of a Black Tangent in 2005, which included a sample of the song "Turtles Have Short Legs" by Can on the track "Avantcore". Jhelli Beam came out - in June 2009. In 2005 he was also enlisted (along with Vic Booz and Subtitle (now Giovanni Marks)) as a "Corn Ganggster", rapping with The Unicorns' offshoot project, Th' Corn Gangg. He later appeared on the Islands' album Return to the Sea, on the song "Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone." Nicholas Thorburn once again worked with Busdriver featuring him on the track, "Crony Island," from Reefer's self-titled debut released in November 2008.

He gained a small amount of mainstream recognition when "Imaginary Places", from Temporary Forever, appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003.^[5] RoadKillOvercoat, was released on Epitaph Records in January, 2007 followed by his most recent release Jhelli Beam on June 9, 2009.

Busdriver has worked with MCs such as Aceyalone, Myka 9, Abstract Rude, 2Mex, Rifleman Ellay Khule, and the band Toca, among others. His primary producers have been Paris Zax, Daedelus, Daddy Kev, Omid, Nobody, Fat Jack, and Boom Bip. He was also featured on Z-Trip's album Shifting Gears. He's also worked on two albums with DJ D-Styles.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Memoirs of the Elephant Man (1999)
• This Machine Kills Fashion Tips (2002 compilation, recorded 1995-2001)
• Temporary Forever (2002)
• Heavy Items Such As Books, Record Albums, Tools (2003)
• Cosmic Cleavage (2004)
• Fear of a Black Tangent (2005)
• RoadKillOvercoat (2007)
• Jhelli Beam (2009) ^[6]

Singles

• Imaginary Places (2002)
• Avantcore (2005)
• Take Two Copies with Z-Trip on Shifting Gears Hollywood Records (2005)
• Kill Your Employer (2006)
• Sun Shower (2007)
• Ellen Disingenuous (2008)

Collaborations

• Busdriver Meets Daedelus - Live Airplane Food with Daedelus (2003)
• The Weather with Radioinactive and Daedelus (2003)
• Live Radio Show with 2Mex (2004)
• Taxed Jumper (2006)
• BeatsWaySICK with Moderat = Modeselektor + Apparat + Pfadfinderei (2009)

External links

• Busdriversite.com
• Busdriver bio on ProjectBlowed.com
• Epitaph's Artist Profile, "Artist Info: Busdriver"

References

• The Village Voice's article "Inkblot Integer-Hop" (December 31, 2002)
• Pitchfork Media's article, "Live: Th' Corn Gangg" (March 12, 2005)
• Pitchfork Media's article, "Profile: Busdriver" (March 30, 2005)